The rise of social apps that make you feel good
Apps that encourage you to enjoy the real world
Smartphones and specifically socially media has had huge impact on how we live our lives over the past decade, both positive and negative. The Atlantic recently published an article asking Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation? It’s worth the read. The key takeaway is
The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression.
That’s scary. But…
There is hope
There are two apps right now that I do think improve my offline and online life: Strava and Goodreads. I have high hopes that Voro will also be one.
My favorite app right now is Strava. Strava lets you track your runs and bike rides with a heavy social bend to it. It’s well designed and it just works. I’d like it if I didn’t have any friends on there, but having friends makes a huge difference, even if it’s only a few. I look forward to tracking my runs and sharing them with my friends. They notice when I get personal records. Activities that I used to do by myself and wished I could share with others I now can. I also get to support my friends and their healthy activities.
Goodreads is centered around books. What books are my friends reading, which books am I reading? I can also share my book recommendations with friends. Similarly to running, reading is usually done by yourself. Goodreads, just like Strava, makes a positive activity in my life and let’s me share it with my friends. I like that.
Conclusion
I hope we’re able to figure out the impact of social media. I think we pay a large price for it. I hope that both Strava and Goodreads continue to foster their communities and don’t add features that make their product more “sticky” at the expense of the end users best interests. I also hope that these communities will continue to prove that not all social apps devolve into highly curated content that encourages vanity.
