avatarLeonid Hass

Summary

The article discusses the dichotomy of social media's impact on modern life, contributing to both connectivity and isolation, as well as influencing mental health and productivity.

Abstract

The author of the article explores the paradoxical effects of social media and the internet on society. While these technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for learning, communication, and commerce, they also foster isolation, social anxiety, and a sense of dependency. The piece argues that the internet can either be a tool for self-improvement and economic gain or a source of endless distraction and psychological manipulation by companies seeking to maximize user engagement for profit. The author emphasizes the importance of mindful internet usage, advocating for activities that promote personal growth and creativity over passive consumption of entertainment content.

Opinions

  • The author believes that the internet, if used correctly, can lead to significant personal development and financial benefits.
  • There is a critical view of social media platforms, suggesting they employ psychological tactics to increase user engagement, often at the expense of users' mental well-being.
  • The article suggests that individuals must actively choose to use the internet for constructive purposes, such as learning and creating, rather than succumbing to the passive consumption of entertainment.
  • The author points out that the content we consume on social media is designed to be addictive, with companies profiting from our time spent on their platforms.
  • A distinction is made between beneficial internet activities (learning new skills, creating content, earning money) and detrimental ones (mindless scrolling, watching funny videos, playing games for extended periods).
  • The article encourages readers to reflect on their internet usage and consider the long-term effects on their lives, urging them to use technology as a means to enhance their capabilities and achieve their goals.

The Dark Side of Social Media: How it Contributes to Isolation and Mental Health Issues

Image by Freepik

In the era of high technology, smart devices, and Internet technologies, we have a fantastic opportunity to stay connected with the world. Nowadays, we can create the following things without leaving our apartments:

  • create groups in socials
  • advertise our products
  • seek help and support
  • find advice and instructions

The Internet became the most powerful tool humanity had ever had before. We can get any lessons, courses, or information for free.

Today, with Chat GPT, we can even chat with the robot, which can help us solve any issue and get sage advice.

But what do we have in the real life? The wrong side of this I see in the following items:

  • endless scrolling of the news
  • stupid stories
  • hours spent on Instagram and TikTok
  • social anxiety and diffidence
  • feeling tired

What’s going on, my friends? Why do these remarkable technologies bring so many problems in our lives?

I might admit the one thing I found for myself and want to share with you. In two opposite cases, the Internet and technology might be your friend or an enemy.

If you want to get 100% benefits from usage of the Internet, you might need to do the following things:

  • learn new skills
  • create content
  • look for answers to your questions
  • watch online courses and lessons
  • earn money

These items can make you a better person. If you are working on something important, studying, improving yourself and your life, then it’s excellent!

You can also earn money and create stuff for people, and that’s amazing!

On the other hand, if you want to become dependent on the Internet, you need to do the following things:

  • watch funny videos
  • scroll the endless feed
  • consume entertaining content
  • play games for hours
  • get distracted by notifications

This list might be much longer, but I’ve selected the most essential items from my viewpoint.

I think you have an idea that things that don’t help you to become better, learn something new, or do creative work take energy from you.

The main reasons for this addiction are:

  • companies earn money with their content
  • appearance of short content type on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram

Regarding companies, I must say that most of them use analytics tools to track all our steps to understand what attracts us the most, and one of the main goals they have is to increase indicators like:

  • average spend time on their apps
  • daily active users

Now imagine that companies like TikTok or Instagram will do anything, using any psychological trick to keep you in their apps for several hours daily.

If you want to earn money during this time, you won’t spend time with your family, talk to your friends, clean your home, etc. You won’t do anything significant during this period!

But companies will earn money on you because you’ve used their products, seen their advertisement, and made actions they wanted you to do.

And now the choice is yours. Do you want to consume and be used by all these big companies, or do you want to become a better version of yourself?

Do you want to get benefits from the Internet, or do you want to become dependent on this?

This article brings you the right thoughts and will head you in the right direction. If you want to get more helpful stuff, check the following articles.

Social Media
Mental Health
Addiction
Psychology
Self Improvement
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