For all its benefits, social media is both a blessing and a bane for mankind. It allows us to connect and to explore the world from home, but humans are naturally lazy. We are great at finding the quickest way to do things. Consequently, social media makes it very easy to to stay home without having to work for our interactions. While this is not inherently a bad thing, too much of it leads to social isolation and little to no face-to-face interaction.
One of the my close friends has a sister whose digital addiction used to be Pinterest. She would scroll through it for hours, while by herself or sitting with the family. She loved viewing DIYs, art, Harry Potter memes, etc. Eventually, her Dad grew fed up an blocked her access to the platform, which improved things for a little bit. Now, however, she all but refuses to play family games, opting to scroll through YouTube, Instagram, and the like, only exiting her room for food and to go to work and school. Cruel as it may sound, my friend has started joking that she doesn’t have a sister, but a non-existent roommate. The worst part? Her family can’t get through to her when she’s having problems.
It would be hard to design social media the encourages users to get off after a certain amount of time. An app can give a notification saying “take a break,” but that is easily swiped away or disabled in settings. Apps could set physical time limits, but I’m not sure how well a robotic parent will go over for most people.
The best option to combat social isolation might be to design an app that gives small praises and awards for going out and doing things. Cooking a meal, going out (or staying in) with friends and family, taking a hike, doing chores, going shopping – in person, not online. Anything productive. You could create a log of your activities and feel good about what you have done and/or accomplished. Instead of receiving dopamine hits for likes on a photo, receive them for being productive.
You must be logged in to post a comment.