We’re living in a highly innovate, but strange time. There’s so much information at our disposal (even though it’s up to you to parse out what’s true and what’s not), so many people to connect with and potentially connect with, and a lot more ways to make money for yourself as a result of social media. That’s where the innovation comes in, and these are good things. But what happens when you choose to use platforms like Instagram, TikTok or Facebook purely for entertainment, and let the algorithms consume you? There are a few reasons why this can be detrimental to your mental health, cognition levels and general drive in life.
And let’s not pretend like you don’t have any control over this matter. You do, and that’s that. If you’re one to mindlessly scroll down your timelines, you’re choosing to do this and not something else you know is productive. But I think even the most disciplined in this regard still slip up and catch themselves going on Instagram once in a while for a laugh, and longer than intended. It’s a widespread consequence of living in the digital era. That said, I think it’s important to be aware that this use of your time says quite a bit about where you are in the system, and that your mind is suffering as a result of excessive use of social media.
Social Media and Dopamine
Platforms are designed to grab your attention and keep you engaged for as long as possible. On the consumerist side – to leave out the productive side – it’s an effortless way to access your reward and motivational circuits for the purpose of emotional release. The notion that it’s as easy as picking up your phone and turning on an app is important to take into consideration. Combine that effortless process with extended periods of leisure time and you’re left with a fried dopamine system. This will make it more difficult to find enjoyment in the small and bigger moments in life; and as a result you’ll be less engaged with what’s going on.
As a teenager, young adult or adult, the solution for this is simple: to reduce the amount of time spent on social media or delete the apps altogether for a little while. Andrew Huberman mentioned on a podcast episode that he had a friend whose teenage son had a video game problem. This kid found it difficult to concentrate at school and was losing his drive toward responsibilities in his life. So, he cut out video games and all other forms of dopamine release (including social media on smart phones), and after 29 days, regained concentration, stabilized his mood and generally improved his life. A fast from activities or substances that require no real effort on your end will go a long way for your mental health and cognitive functioning. In the case of younger kids, I think it becomes more difficult to control excessive use of social media unless parents are monitoring their usage. I say this because there are going to be settings in which parents aren’t there, like school or at friend’s houses; or conversely for the parents that don’t care about their usage, there is no telling how far gone their kid could could become. When you’re that young, you don’t really understand what’s good for you and what isn’t – so there is no internal motivation to take breaks from pleasure. I can only imagine what the consequences might be in these brain-developing years.
A Lack of Personal Contentment
It’s natural to look up to those who are successful, or whose qualities are considered superior. The aim is to take note of what they’re doing differently than the average person, hopefully to one day elevate your own status; this is our imitative capacity being brought to the surface. And social media is the perfect outlet to allow you to see exactly who you want to see. Not to mention the algorithms that push content toward you, tailored to your interests and taste. The problem is, the notion that seeing this content will create a drive in you to improve your life, or even to simply admire another while appreciating your own, isn’t always true for everyone. Maybe it should first be emphasized that there are people out there who will always have more than you, no matter who you are, so that at least there’s an understanding to prepare you for what you’ll see. But we have a proclivity to compare ourselves with others as status, power, desirable physical and mental attributes, and resources are among the most innate human desires. And in doing that, we lose gratitude for what is in our own lives. A lack of gratitude is an easy contributor to poor mental health.
That said, the younger crowds, once again are suffering the most. Easily impressionable and more narrow-minded as a result of little life experience, it’s easy to see why kids are more depressed in the digital era than ever before. Not to mention how normal it’s considered nowadays to be immersed online for long periods of time. Without a break from it at least once in a while, you’re not really giving yourself a chance to appreciate what you have in reality. That also goes for anyone of any age choosing excessive use of social media.
Misinformation
It’s clear that as we gravitate more toward excessive use of social media for entertainment and pleasure, we also do so to keep tabs on current events. Platforms are integrating all forms of media, including news, to consolidate everything a person would want or need online. But what you’re informed of online is not always true; individuals and companies have incentives to misinform the public on a range of topics. It’s become so prevalent that there are actual organizations dedicated to fact-checking what is being pushed, such as the CrossCheck project in France. Profit and agenda-pushing are two reasons that come to mind for intentionally spewing false information. But I think it becomes more difficult to discern the truth the more time you spend online, and consequently, the more you see the way others are reacting to it (as social psychology makes it clear that we make decisions around things based on what others are saying or doing). I sometimes have to catch myself if I don’t question all the facts in a story I read on Instagram. Can’t assume it’s fully true.
This brings me smoothly into the next point: that as we lose our grip on what is true, we contribute to the problem further by reposting and sharing to others what we assume is the case. In a study using 1000 people, participants were given true and false content to discern from. 32.4% more were willing to share false headlines than rated them as accurate. So in this case, if something as intriguing at face value as a headline appears convincing enough, actual information aside, some are likely to believe it and attempt to inform others of the story. And once it’s shared, not only do that person’s followers see it, but there is potential for some of those people to share it if found convincing enough; turning into a whole network of people being mislead.
Time Wasted
If you’re avidly on social media, find out how much time you’re spending on your favourite platforms. This isn’t hard as smart phones have screen time information for individual apps. I’d say that if it’s above an hour, consider what else you could be doing in that time. And think productively. Once you’re aware of not only the amount of time you’re spending, but how you’re spending this time, you might have an epiphany. I used to waste my time with all sorts of outlets, starting with social media, then Netflix, video games and dirty websites. But from age 23 onward, I gradually reduced these distractions from my life after realizing what else I could be doing. And social media is arguably the most subtly detrimental of them all; it’s disguised as a way to stay informed of what other people are doing and what’s going on in the world, but in actuality it’s an endless source of entertainment and dopamine. At least with some other outlets, you know you’re intending to waste your time with them.
Using Platforms to Your Advantage: Producing vs. Consuming
If you don’t watch Netflix or even have a subscription to it, good on you. One less distraction in life. But we all have entertainment vices, and mine is Netflix (but not as a daily habit); although, I can count on one hand how many times a year I’ve binged watched a show since 2021, plus a few documentaries. One of the documentaries that I came across last year was The Social Dilemma. For the sake of perspective, I recommend watching it if you have’t already (assuming you have a Netflix subscription). One of the key themes from it that hasn’t left my mind is that social media is free because you are the product. Attention is their currency. This means that the people who work for Instagram and Meta are constantly tracking your activity (as a consumer), creating personalized algorithms according to your specific interests. Once the algorithms are set in place, the content you watch is designed to evoke emotion, ensuring that they retain as much of your attention as possible. That said, do you really want to be someone else’s puppet? Does the pleasure of entertainment outweigh the reality that you’re being used for a company’s benefit?
Contrarily, the notion of being a producer of content made me rethink the way these apps could be used. By using an app like Instagram as a platform for your business, website or content, you’re avoiding the trap of falling victim to the algorithms, and by extension the companies, while simultaneously leveraging a free means of self-promotion. We’ve established why the apps are free, so why not reverse the intention? In other words, you’re intended to consume content in the algorithms from the company’s point of view. To them, that’s what you’re on the app for. But if most of what you do there is promote your business, you’re now the one who’s leveraging potential profit rather than the developers. However, even if you are using it in a more productive way, I think it’s still easy to fall into the consumer trap; so it’s best to be aware of how often you’re on these platforms and discipline yourself accordingly.
Sources
- Pennycook, G., et al. (2020). Fighting COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: Experimental Evidence for a Scalable Accuracy-Nudge Intervention. Sage Journals, 31(7). https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620939054.