Does it sound relatable when it is said that we begin our day with a quick glimpse of our Facebook profiles and end it with a quick ‘selfie’ upload on our Instagram handle? Whether it is uploading a picture or voicing one’s unsolicited opinion, the digital media platforms are just one click away, especially for the self-proclaimed ‘keyboard’ warriors! But that is not the actual problem.
When one begins to upload random images of themselves, one after another, with fancy captions and just cannot keep their hands off their mobile phones or devices so that they can keep checking for the ‘number of likes and comments’ on these images, and ridiculously going to the extent of even supplanting their own priorities, then it’s a precarious predicament indeed!
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Nonetheless, when habitual usage gets ‘out of hand’, the result is addiction and even worse, obsession! Today, the list of social media platforms available at our disposal are endless; with Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, Pinterest being some such!
Social networking has become an exceptionally simple way to establish connections across the globe. And while we do that, we tend to forget that we live in the real world and real people exist around us! So, what then are some of the warning signs that you are becoming a ‘social media addict?’ Consider these:
1. Checking your mobile phones, every few minutes.
2. Inability to focus on important tasks because you are too worried that your photo/post is not getting the number of likes or comments you anticipate.
3. The feeling of having a breakdown when there is no access to the internet.
4. The obsession of posting ‘check-ins’ of every location you visit.
5. Falling prey to the trend of #hash-tagging #everything!
6. Finding comfort and ease in communicating with virtual contacts rather than the ones who are actually physically present.
7. Continually undergoing feelings of ‘FOMO’ that is, Fear of Missing Out.
8. Losing touch with the real language and habituating to the use of millennial lingo.
What was introduced merely as a mode of providing periodic entertainment, has now become an irreplaceable component of our day-to-day lives! Psychologists worldwide have conducted numerous studies and have observed that escalated reliance on social media has adversely affected the mental health of people. Immersing oneself into the virtual world has significantly damaged our societal and emotional development. Further, augmented exposure to social comparisons and reduced interest in one-to-one interactions has culminated in humans being reduced to mere ‘tech-tools.’
The globally famous OTT platform Netflix, in the year 2020, released an eye-opening documentary, namely, ‘The Social Dilemma’ that explores the rise of social media and the damage it causes to society, focusing principally on the exploitation and manipulation of social media users for financial gain through surveillance capitalism i.e., an economic system that commodifies personal data for profit-making purposes.
It also looks at data mining which involves discovering patterns in large data sets with the goal of extracting information with Artificial Intelligence methods and transform that information into a comprehensible structure for further usage.
Throughout the course of the documentary, various former Facebook, Google, and Apple engineers go into great detail about the ways in which tech giants are manipulating their users through a range of services such as Facebook’s ‘Like’ button and its notification system, the architecture of Google Inbox and many more.
Individuals of all age groups are discussed, but the most striking aspect of the documentary is the one that touches on the subject of vulnerability of teenagers who use these social media apps every single day and have been moulded by its influences. Additionally, it highlights the statistics on depression, anxiety and even suicide that correlate with the rise of social media.
Here are a few ways that could help us rebuild our ‘people’ skills:
1. Opt for a ‘digital detox’ and give yourself a reality check by taking a much-needed break from the constant social media buzz.
2. Snap out of the virtual cosmos and meet people for real by taking an initiative to organize a get-together with your friends and family.
3. Make social media access a source of positive reinforcement and utilize it as a reward rather than as a recluse.
4. Turn those push notifications off, once in a while.
5. Prioritize elevating your concentration on things that truly matter rather than falling for digital distractions.
All in all, what is of utmost substance is to level out the ‘real-virtual’ equilibrium.
