>> Technology Is Ruining Your Life. There Is Nothing Social About Social Media Taking Over Your Life, Mood And Feeling Of Self-Worth. Wake up.
The statistics are shocking:
- 210 million people suffer from social media and internet addiction worldwide.
- Social media disagreements cause one in three divorces.
- 91% of Gen Z’ers experienced emotional or physiological stress-related symptoms from social media. (from Marisa Peer Newsletter)
Social Media app founders/owners and big corporations don’t care about how you feel. In fact they want you to feel bad about yourself and life so you buy many things to try and improve it. They cash in.
We all want a loving partner and now this is the playground:
As a guy on Social Media, you are competing for attention with other guys, who are showing off and showcase their real? success and wealth often times with rented cars, houses and girls.
As a girl, you are not competing with other girls. You are competing with filters, photoshop and in many cases a team of plastic surgeons, hired PR companies and even porn stars showing OFF.
In both cases it is a battle that you can not win.
Let me repeat that: IT IS A BATTLE THAT YOU CAN NOT WIN. No matter how hard you try. No matter how rich or naked you get you will never be the best in this fake, parallel universe. It is a set-up. A facade. Eine Scheinwelt as we say in German.
Now you could say it is up to each person, if they want to take part in this or not. Considering especially young people, will fall into the peer pressure category.
They do what is ‘IN’ now. What the majority of their peers are doing.
There is no reality check police on social media. Everything and all goes and is published with the tab of a button. Just like there are no fact checkers for a big number of news outlets.
For many teenagers or people in general, this means: Whatever is being presented to them on Social Media, is real as far as they are concerned. They carry their phone around at all times.
Nothing else matters anymore. This is where ALL their attention is going. A like = a short feel good moment. And it is a trap. They are being deprived of real human connection.
No big social media app company wants to take responsibility (they only want to take your data) for screwing up these young lives but in my opinion (and this is an opinion piece), this is exactly what they are doing.
They keep us on these screens for the ad dollars.
There was an article about app developers that are being sent to seminars by their companies, teaching them how to manipulate people to keep their eyes on their phone for as many hours in a day as possible.
Before the pandemic I have also noticed, so many people being on their phone during work in restaurants, at museums, the airport, the store. They did not pay attention to their job or duties. This addiction is a pandemic in itself.
We only have the timeframe that is given to us in our lifetime. Valuable time for real life experiences and the people around us, to connect and be there for each other. 5 senses have been given to us. We are social creatures.
On top of Social Media addiction which was already bad before, we are now isolated because of covid. A like gives you a dose of dopamine, a short moment of joy. You want more so you go back and stare at your phone.
We used to get tons of dopamine by interacting with other humans in real life.
Personally, I have quit my instagram at the end of 2018. If you check on my posts, for me it was like a photo diary of my Canada time and I wanted to document things I encountered and the good parts of it.
Also because I knew absolutely no one when I moved to Toronto in 2017. Maybe at that time it was a potential tool to connect. The officer at immigration said: 'So you are just going to wing it?' I was like: I guess so..
It is easy for some parents to give their kids a phone or tablet to keep them entertained for a while. But in the long-run at what cost? What is the psychological impact? Studies have not been concluded but the impact is obvious.
The problem is, there are not that many alternatives. Especially in 2020 when we were encouraged to not leave the house at all because of the pandemic. Eyes on the screen at all times.
Social Media seemed like a quick fix. A way to connect?
Even back in my teenage years there was not much to do in our small hometown. No places to meet, productive things to do. I think our cities and states are failing young people since decades.
If you give them places to meet, things to do in a group, activities or creative projects, they will not only learn, they will also bond with people and connect in real life.
Where is all that tax payer money they collect and why is it not being spent on improving the lives of young people? They need options! They need a chance. A way to discover their interests, talents and abilities.
And yes, in the beginning (10 years ago?) Social Media was this exciting new thing. It was fun to see where your friends are, what they are doing in that moment or discover new people. But what has it become?
Just another advertising platform, sprinkling in some photoshopped images of success and perfection to make you feel inadequate. Bombarding you with fakery - and all the things you are NOT - all day long.
To make you feel so bad so you buy all the stuff they suggest to make you feel better. That is the concept. And IT PAYS. BIG TIME. They are thriving based on our suffering.
Especially in a time like this, when we are looking for true meaning and connection, Social Media is not where we will find it.
Or when one of your favorite actors passed away and the only option to react is to 'like' or with a heart LOVE IT. No I don't like that nor do I love it. I feel sad about it. Where is that button?
Or another example, if people do not show up at your birthday party because they already LIKED the fact that it is your birthday online. And that's done. Don't you feel so loved? (talking about pre-covid times)
Sorry but you can't outsource human contact. A phone notification is not a substitute for a hug or kiss.
Or as Brightside.me put it: 'Psychotherapists are convinced that people create emotional bonds with their devices, which is unhealthy and leads to various problems in relationships. If you want to have a healthy relationship, keep in mind that hugs, kisses, touches and presents can not be replaced with digital communication.'
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Spending your life on a screen is like living in theory. Not actually living.
As you can see, instagram has now become something like a public version of Tinder. With thousands of people staring blankly into nothing. Documenting their own loneliness.
Until a certain point, I was no exception until I realized, where this is going. That this is harmful to me, my well being and my psychology. I took back my life to where it belongs, privacy. Occasional travel post on this Blog! :)
Trends are as old as time itself. Everyone wants to have the latest gadget, wants to take part in the new thing that everyone else is doing. What if it is our only option to connect at all in covid times..
Well you still have whatsapp to keep in touch with people. To me this one is not a social media app. Even though Facebook bought it, like everything else - to find out what YOU are up to!
But can we for a moment, just stop, take a step back and ask ourselves if Social Media apps and spies like Alexa are improving our lives or if they are actually making things worse by isolating = hurting us?
It is on ourselves to create a different lifestyle. To put the phone and tablet down. Despite of what the masses are doing. So what if I am not cool, if I don't use them. I'd rather be uncool and have a better life quality instead.
Marisa Peer on 'How to break your Social Media addiction'
This is how clearly I see it in my age range. Now imagine what this time that we are currently living in, feels like for a teenager who is just starting to navigate life. It is not an easy task.
You decide how you spend your (life)time
Yes go ahead and share this anti-social media post on social media, using these buttons that just showed up now and can not be removed.
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