The Struggle of Social Media
Whether it is Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok, they all have one purpose: buy our attention to make as much money as possible. Social media developers study the psychology of human beings to learn how to grab users’ attention. They design subtle features to make the use of social media irresistible. When you scroll down a page it is sort of like gambling. This uncertainty about what picture or article might pop out makes the game more addictive. Particularly, social media could become an addiction since it activates reward pathways in the brain.
What is more frustrating is that the people who develop social media have all your information and track down every move you make. For example, they can know how much time you have been looking at a picture. By following every action you take, they can shape your personality, and sometimes they can even predict your next move! Who knows they might know you better than you know yourself. They are aware of your tastes in music, your political affiliations, or your secret crush. They can find out anything about you which makes it easier for them to manipulate you. They will tend to provide you with information on your feed that coincides with your opinions.
Social media have increased the standards of society. Especially young adolescents tend to suffer from depression because of social media and can be the victims of suicides. Vulnerable people will think that they do not have the perfect body or that they do not live the adventurous lives that influencers show to the public. Most people tend to forget that influencers post only the positive and extraordinary aspects of their lives (which is exaggerated most of the time) and hide all the ugly truths about themselves. So what can we do about it? How can we not be the victims of social media? How can we flip the coin and use social media in our best interest?
Well, first I would say that acknowledging the fact that we are manipulated and recognizing the problem is an important step. Next, you could train yourself to pay more attention to the way social media manipulate users. For instance, if you use a certain medium to follow politics the social media will eventually figure out your political affiliation. Your feed would tend to show more information about political ideas that you would agree with. One way to fight against social media manipulation is to follow accounts that do not share the same point of view. By doing so, users will be able to build up a more objective perspective about a certain political topic. Also, social media can be used to share ideas in a way that makes you grow. As human beings, it is important for us to connect with others and to share our opinions. So, while you are using social media, make sure that you are interactive and not only stalking the private life of people. Interact and comment genuinely on a post, share a moment that marked your life or write a text about something meaningful to you. Use social media actively and not passively while always keeping a critical mind behind the information you come across.
Resources:
The Social Dilemma (documentary on Netflix)
