Social Media is ruining YOU (and I)
We all use social media. They have become a staple piece in our lives. If you say you don’t use social media, then you are simply lying.
Because.
Guess what, medium counts as social media.
Yeah. That being said,
We are in trouble, and we do not realize that we are in trouble.
Scary, I know.
Speaking of scary, do you watch zombie movies? Yes? No? Doesn’t matter.
In zombie movies, there are obviously zombies, right?
And these zombies want to eat brains. In most movies.
But we have come to associate zombies with eating brains. Zombies can’t live without brains.
Most of the actors even trick the zombies because they are suckers for……. brrrraaiiinnnnnn( my best zombie impersonation).
The same way zombies can’t live without brains is the same way we can’t live without social media.
Now, some people actually use social media for businesses and all that. But you and I both know, deep down in our souls, that most of our time spent on social media is very unproductive.
We have become online zombies.
Like I mentioned before, some people use social media for businesses. So, we can safely conclude that social media has its benefits.
But I will argue that the cons of social media outweigh the pros.
Let’s take a look at some of the cons of social media from my perspective.
Time burning
Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, x and the likes are literally engineered to waste your time.
Once you start viewing things on these apps it is so hard to stop because of how autonomous the experience is.
I know you understand what I am talking about.
There has definitely been a time when you told yourself, “I just want to check this video out” or “I would only check IG for a while”, but you find yourself spending hours on the app.
These apps benefit from you wasting your literal life using them. So, they do everything to keep you on the app.
The time you can spend doing things that actually make good use of your time is being spent, burnt, on social media.
It’s equivalent to you burning dollar bills, huge wads of cool cash.
Because time is your most valuable asset in life.
Endless loop of dopamine rush.
You have probably heard the word dopamine, a lot.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is involved in how we feel pleasure and satisfaction. You probably know this as well.
It is also involved in movement, memory, attention, mood and motivation. It also helps us think and plan. I bet you didn’t know this.
Dopamine is undoubtably important.
And like I mentioned in my previous point, social media apps are literally engineered to waste your time and hold your attention.
Which in turn causes the release of dopamine.
An addiction expert, Dr. Anne (I think) said that social media has turned us into dopamine junkies.
Just like my online zombies claim.
You have also most likely heard the phrase “too much of anything is bad”.
This holds true for dopamine as well.
The effects of too much dopamine include:
Confusion,
Addiction,
Little satisfaction from anything other than social media,
Decreasing happiness,
we become duller,
Cognitive decline (same as the previous point),
ADHD (in extreme cases),
You get the gist; social media is bad for you. Very bad.
All hope isn’t lost though. It looks grim but there is always a solution.
I would write on this after I reflect more on the subject, but you can check my previous post to see a potential solution.
Click here to read my last post.
See you guys in the next post.
