Sorry, Not My Problem.
On Social media addiction
We live in a world that is changing rapidly. The last twenty years have seen a massive shift.
Internet.
Almost every aspect of our lives is affected by the internet in someway.
Everything is available at the touch of our fingers (literally).
The internet is a global network that connects billions of computers and other devices worldwide. It serves as basis for infrastructure for a wide range of services, facilitating information access, communication, and providing a platform for accessing various applications.
Through one device you can dive into a sea of information. Information about everything that ever existed.
Social media is an important part of this internet. It connects people via different apps and allows users to connect, create content, voice opinions etc. It is mostly free and there are also ways to monetize your content. Sounds pretty enticing doesn’t it?
But there is an aspect of social media that an average user is completely oblivios of. The fact that it is fueled by attention i.e your attention (mine included).
Attention is a scarce/limited resource. When you apply an economic system on top of it, you get an attention economy that considers attention as a commodity. On one side, there is this whole economic ecosystem that is running on user attention. On the other, the user is not aware of how it has been turned into a commodity. The user/commodity is distracted and feels this constant need to be stimulated.
Right there, we have a perfect economic model. There is a need/demand and there are products that satisfy that need.
The economic system makes profit everytime you get a dopamine hit.
It benefits from your mindless scrolling.
It benefits when you are bored.
It benefits when you are dissatisfied.
It benefits when you are addicted with it products (social media).
If you pay attention (pun intended) and notice, the screams have never been louder.
The screams of content designed to get your attention.
In my opinion, social media companies make profit the same way a drug dealer makes profit when a junkie takes a heroin shot. The only difference is that the drug dealer is arguably more honest in running his/her enterprise and does not involve any third party (advertizers).
The shot you take is not a cocaine hit or a heroin jab but it is equally potent to turn you into an addict.
Oxford dictionary defines addiction as, the condition of being unable to stop using or doing something as a habit, especially something harmful.
You might think that mindless scrolling is not equivalent to taking heroin jab which is true. The substance of addiction maynot be equally harmful.
Agreed.
But what it does to your brain is no less that that. It is shaping your neural pathways in a way which is different than that of a heroin or any other drug addict.
According to a new study by Harvard University, self-disclosure on social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that also ignites when taking an addictive substance. The reward area in the brain and its chemical messenger pathways affect decisions and sensations.
Initially enjoyable, addictive substance eventually leads to compulsive consumption. Only after spending enough time mindlessly indulging in it, does one realize (or not) the consequences.
According to American Psychiatric Association, there are five major stages of addiction:
- Experimentation- The first stage where a person tries the substance for the very first time.
2. Regular use- As the experimentation continues, the substance is used more and more.
3. Risk taking- At this stage, the individual starts to take more risks associated with the substance despite potential negative concequences.
4. Dependence- Physical or psychological dependence develops where the person feels they need the substace to function normally.
5. Addiction- This is the final stage where the person has lost control over their use, often experiencing cravings and continuing to use despite knowing it causes harm.
Which stage of this addiction are you at?
I believe if you are on social media from over a decade and spend more than two hours doomscrolling you will find yourself in third or fourth stage.
Take a moment and ask yourself,
Why do you need to know about Kim Kardashian’s latest washroom sink?
Why do you need to know if some celebrities private life is falling apart?
Why do you need to know bout the Monkey in Indonesia that snatched a banana from a tourist?
Why do you need to know if gala apples are better than Braeburn apples?
Why?
It is useless information, but the dopamine hit that you get from consuming it is highly addictive. While you receive temporary pleasure, it strongly programs your neuro-cerebral circuits to crave for more of it. The need to consume content mindlessly.
Also, you may experience a sense of unease when not engaged with social media platforms, akin to the feelings of an addict missing out on something significant.
So, what can you do about it? Are we eternally doomed? I can give some generic solution. The internet is full of “hacks” to fix this. But take a moment understand the actual problem.
The problem is of, Attention. It is the commodity that you are mindlessly spending.
You as a consumer are completely unaware that you are the one being consumed.
Unless you are aware of how you are being consumed there is no coming out of it.
If I told you that you have limited money for the day for e.g hundred rupees. You will be extremely mindful of how and what you spend it on. Same goes with attention, “Attention is a limited resource.” You only have so much of it. If you know that fact you will have to be selective in what you are spending it on.
Winipeg Gallagher, the author of the book Rapt, mentions in her book that, “We can attend to only 110 bits of information per second, or 173 billion bits in an average lifetime — our moment-by-moment choice of attentional targets determines, in a very real sense, the shape of our lives.”
First, you must understand how you (or your attention) are (is) being consumed.
Secondly, you must be mindful of what you spending it on.
You must be mindful with your expenditure. You must understand that not every problem in the world is your problem. You must consciously decide where you want to spend your attention.
Being mindful is simply the ability to recognise your mindlessness when you are indulging. While consuming the mindless content on social media, if you just pause, take a moment and ask yourself, “Do I really want to watch this?”. You will get your answer.
Understand, not every problem in the world is your problem.
The primary issue with addiction is that the individual often fails to recognize they are addicted until it’s too late.
So next time you come across a reel predicting when the world is coming to end. Learn to say, “Sorry, Not my problem.”
Thank you for reading!
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