It’s time to escape the depressing addiction of social media
Social media is nothing new, websites such as Myspace were founded almost 15 years ago. Ever since, we have become a generation addicted to taking pictures of our food and sharing even the most mundane moments of our lives with the world. So why has social media addiction only recently become so apparent?
At it’s peak, Myspace had almost 76 million daily active users. According to recent statistics, Facebook has over 2.2 billion daily active users an 11% increase year on year. That’s just over a quarter of the people on the planet. And that’s just Facebook. There is a plethora of other apps ready to fight for your attention. Instagram recently reached over 1 billion users. Social media usage is everywhere, and this addiction is negatively impacting people from all corners of the world.
The addictive nature of social media is no accident. As former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya explains in this video, the platform was cleverly crafted to use engagement loops that trigger the release of dopamine in our bodies, which give us gratification and ultimately, addiction. That little red icon you see when you have a message or notification for example. It feels good, right?
