Social Media is a huge aspect of a lot of people’s lives. It dominates our time, focus and energy. Despite it being a beacon for freedom of speech, it has created a false perception of happiness or caring in many people’s lives. Consuming so much information about other people’s lives, creates this habit of comparing and contrasting, which can cause depression. Social media providing people’s value numerically (number of likes or follows), affects overall mental health.
I don’t think that change is something that can forced upon someone. Connecting one’s identity on social media to actual likability in reality is a newfound issue. The lives portrayed on Instagram or snapchat can be fabricated to appear happier. This has become a learned trait, and I think it has created a self-esteem issue, especially in our youth.
If I were to create a new tool, it would be within the phone system. It would act as a guideline of what apps should be opened at certain times of the day to increase happiness, productivity, and quality of sleep. Apple does app limits, where after a set amount of time, the preferred app will shut down and will not open up until the next morning, unless you ignore the limit. I want to take that idea a step further, create chunks of limits that react to the user’s schedule. For example, during class time, working out or meetings, there should be a limiting of unnecessary apps. Repetition builds habit, and I think an app motivates its user to repeat healthy actions, would help create positive change.
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