Social media is controlling your life.
Social media is controlling your life.
Written by Ahmad Sameer
13/12/22
It's worse than it looks
Pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that social media apps generally do have a few cons or disadvantages associated with them such as procrastination, not spending adequate and quality time with family, etc. But the average population is unaware of the effects that social media has on our mental health, how it affects our decision making and how we choose to spend our limited time. Some of the negative psychological effects include:
- Social comparison
- Body dysmorphia
- Anxiety
- Depression.
You're not in control
The average joe is unconscious about the things that go behind developing these social media apps.
Millions of dollars are invested for research on improving the apps, so it can hold our attention for longer. Companies like Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok are hiring engineers to optimize the apps so that it can exploit our psychology to keep us on their platform. They know how our brains work and are not reluctant to tweak these apps to take advantage of the impulsive nature that rests within us. Why does the notification symbol in Instagram glow red? Why do notifications make the sound they make? The answer to these questions is the fact that they release the most dopamine inside our brain. These apps also use algorithms to note down what we enjoy the most and they recommend those things to keep us engaged at all times. To understand this topic better, I'd urge my readers to read the following article:-
Your attention is being sold
Everyone is conscious of the fact that most of the social media apps are free to use. But what most people fail to understand is that our attention is the price that we are paying to these companies. These companies sell our attention to other businesses by allowing them to post ads. Hence, the apps are designed to keep us hooked as long as possible to generate more profit for the companies. Not only our attention but also our personalized data are being sold to other companies for product research, etc. More in detail can be found here: Social Media Jacked Your Attention And Sold It, How To Get It Back And Thrive
Final thoughts
These is no doubt about the fact that social media make our lives easier in various ways, but we cant be ignorant to the devastating effects that these apps have on us, especially on the youth. Many of us constantly find ourselves mindlessly scrolling on and on, and losing track of our time. These apps also overstimulate our brains and makes it more difficult to focus on our work. Hence, for the reasons I've mentioned, we must limit our use of social media and be conscious of the unethical practices of the social media companies.
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