We have covered the fact that social media is an important tool that has come a long way from what it was originally intended to do. The original purpose of social media was to just connect and interact with your friends and family, share fun little pictures and memories, post how you are feeling etc etc. but boy, have we strayed far away from those days. So, let's talk about it!
When i open twitter or tiktok I get a curated feed of videos, tweets and the like of things that the algorithm has picked up that i might be interested in. however, this past month, my feed has been incredibly different from what it looked like last year. And you might attribute it to me getting another year older, and that might be true, my interests have changed over the passed year. but now when i am scrolling through my socials it's such a unique experience, because one moment you can see the funniest video and the next video is quite literally a video of a building getting bombed to the ground and the endorphins that your body released just a second ago suddenly fades away and you are hit with reality. I won't go into the psychological effects it has on your mental state, because i'm simply not an expert in that, but for me, after seeing a months worth of those videos and all the other graphic videos that circulate the deep dark web these passed few months/ years i feel like it has desensitized me to a certain extent.
There is such a thing as too much information, call me ignorant, but i truly believe that humans are not supposed to have access and witness every little thing that is going on in the world, it isn't healthy. This is not to say that we shouldn't be aware of major important things in the world, but i don't think we should be bombarded by it every second of the day. This also extends to how reliable and informative the information is that we actually observe. We have gotten to the point where critical information is boiled down to small ten slide posts of infographics on instagram or 1 minute videos on tiktok, but can we really say that we get the gist of it then? when something is truly horrifying, it shouldn't be presented on a pastel colored post that an influencer feels the need to share otherwise she/he/them would get cancelled. I don't enjoy cable news because there is no discourse, however, i do think it's a better option than thousands of people speaking on things that they quite frankly aren't equipped to speak on. However, i think i took up enough of your time already, thank you for reading some of my thoughts.
I agree! Social media has a lot of content ranging from different genres, age groups, and graphic intensity. Sometimes the videos that just appear on you feed/explorer page are distressing to view. According to the Pew Research Center, “69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media” (mcleanhospital.org). Social Media platforms are constantly developing new designs and creative strategies to keep their audience’s attention and to be addictive/necessary. Social media is not only harmful psychologically, but it can also be harmful in a marriage. In June 2018, the New York Times ran a piece on a newlywed couple that almost divorced after their honeymoon. The explanation for this is that the woman spent far more time arranging the vacation and sharing selfies, rather than spending her time with her husband. Social media can be harmful in many aspects and the unlimited possibilities that social media features can be beneficial when learning new skills or new material and dangerous at the same time.
ReplyDelete“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.” Here's How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health | McLean Hospital, 21 Jan. 2022, www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health.
You perfectly described information overload. People's attention spans are shortening as a result of the internet. We are so accustomed to short TikToks and Instagram Reels that we fail to focus and fully grasp complex ideas. I myself struggle to remain attentive at times when reading long articles and journals. As well, there is also the aspect of news burnout, where people are becoming more depressed because they are constantly hearing about bad news. Indeed, there can always be too much of a good thing. Although social media is, at its core, a useful tool, it can also cause harm when one is exposed far too much to it.
ReplyDelete