4 Things To Take Note About Social Media And The Attention Economy
One of the most prevalent attention getter is in our own hands. Literally.
It’s easy for someone to download a new app and use it in their daily lives, its just one tap away.
But is it easy for them to understand the negative implications if they aren’t aware of the effects of social media addiction?
It sounds pretty clear, but don’t be surprised If you realise that not many people out there actually know the consequences of being addicted to social media and what negative implications it has on their daily lives.
Not many of us truly understand the vast complicated and massive side effects of social media, but once we are aware of the fundamental implications of how social media turns us into addictive psycho scrollers or hunched-back swipers, then we might have a chance to prevent deteriorating our mental health and its negative impact on our lives.
1) The scrolling mechanisms
It’s on your mobile devices and your web-page interface… the infinite scrolling and swiping actions you make, has the same effect as pulling a lever on slot machines in casinos.
It urges you to do it again.
This seems like a no brainer to people, like obviously it is designed to make you keep coming back to the app. It’s supposed to be that way, right?
Well yes, but it shouldn’t make you contemplate your life decisions or stall your daily life behaviours, simply because you can’t stop scrolling and swiping, when that happens…
you need a break.
Pause, and let yourself stop for just a second, cause if you don’t, you’ll realise that time passes way faster than it usually did, and now you’ve spent almost 3 hours non-stop scrolling. And multiply that per day.
It takes effort and discipline to control those habits of unnecessary procrastination, but when you’ve got it checked, you’ll realise how much more productive you’ve become.
2) The convenient apps
Service apps has made it easier for us to live. We don’t have to cook food to eat, we can simply order a delivery online within 10 minutes, or waste our time shopping at a mall when we can do the same online in our PJs.
This isn’t focused on Social Media per se, but when it’s part of the algorithm in mass marketing and statistics from our google searches and our online behaviours, it’s sort of relevant to how we consume our apps on the daily basis.
Don’t be surprised if you notice an Ad on your Instagram page about a manual pasta machine after you’ve just ordered a pasta meal via online delivery.
This is not to undervalue the wonders of convenience through apps and technology, but we need to be fully aware of how it could downgrade ourselves as human beings. That it could make us agitated that we couldn’t just wait 15 more minutes for our food to come to our dining table, or that we complain so easily on the most smallest issues in life, when convenience has made our mindsets attributed towards uncontrolled self-indulgence and high levels of impatience.
Sometimes, taking a step backward and being fully aware of our behaviours in the way we do things online and living a lavish lifestyle, can help decrease our levels of intolerance and increase our level of patience.
Try not to fall into the pits of thinking that life is always convenient, cause in reality, it sometimes isn’t.
3) The Insta-worthy posts
The more likes and comments you get, the happier you should be right? Who doesn’t enjoy the popularity, the constant buzzes of notifications and the gradual increase of likes on your latest post?
It’s exciting.
But the more you sink yourself into that addiction, the more your self-esteem falls into oblivion.
Your self-worth would become belittled and grouped into statistics of likes and comments, slowly decreasing your confidence and dignity as a human being. This is not entirely your fault, because these Social media designs created such unfortunate effects on your behaviour.
However, it shouldn’t continue to diminish your image of self-acceptance and self-esteem simply because someone is ‘living the best life’ more than you do based on a picture they’ve recently posted. Their life behind the screens are completely different, you wouldn’t know how someone looks like under a mask, would you?
To be actively conscious on how you view those likes and comments, and not dwell on how much you need them to determine your self-worth, can definitely make your life more serene and contented.
Before you post something, do ask yourself why do you want to post it? To send a message? To share and let others know what’s going on with your life? To start a conversation? Or to gain as many likes as you can?
4) The Misinformation
Social media has become one of the most common outlets for news consumption. People scroll through their feed and stumble upon shared posts of what’s happening in the world or what information had sparked debates.
It’s not easy to identify the truth in a complex climate in today’s world, but we can be sceptical and verify such truths online, by being aware and proactive.
Instead of immediately sharing what you think is true, fact check them across other articles, the power of misinformation is often underestimated.
Algorithms on social media platforms has made false information spread effortlessly by referring to our online behaviours, and with not much human fact checking and no human emotional response to how that information could cause harm, it has become tremendously difficult to manage that space in the online world.
Thus, one of best ways to prevent that spread of misinformation, is for us to be aware of the information we consume and the things we post.
Don’t be the victim of misinformation, be responsible and be actively aware.
Tristan Harris, Co-Founder of the Center for Humane Technology and ex-employee of Google, is an advocate for tech companies to change their business models and strategies on the way apps and online platforms consume our attention.
It is important, not just for tech developers, but also consumers to understand the effects of devoting our attention to our devices every single day.
It is the awareness that initiates the one step towards building some resilience and contentment in our lives that we are trying to built.
