I think that one of the most positive things that human beings can do is to make connections with each other and interact with one another. Yet it is no secret that social media is actually separating people and making it harder for people to build real connections. I know that I have felt the effects of this, often it is easier to simply go on social media and interact with others in this manner than to actually go out and seek out meaningful conversations and connections with people.
The design issue I feel is worth mentioning is the way that social media is actually designed to discourage people from making connections. Social media is designed to keep people on the apps and keep using, this means that when people spend lots of time on apps, their entire image and entire life feels like it is on the app. They do not consider the outside world and the connections that they could be making. Social media is flawed because although it claims to connect people from across the world at lightning speeds, it is really an illusion. Yes, you can talk to somebody from the other side of the planet, but you are not making a real connection with them.
I have come up with a solution quite simply called “Face 2 Face” or F2F for short. I personally believe that this solution could even be implemented into apps like Instagram or Facebook very easily. Essentially what the idea of the app or software would be is that it connects people with similar interests in a similar geographical area, but it connects them in person as well. Initially F2F would read your interests and groups that you are in and it would build a profile with your help. Then it would connect you with other F2F users. After being connected with those users, it would encourage all of you to attend an event, meeting, seminar, of some kind in your area. F2F would find those events for you and push you to attend those events, possibly incentivizing some kind of reward for attending those events (badges, awards, etc.).
Articles Used: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology#physical-health-effects
https://www.businessinsider.com/technology-negative-bad-effects-society-2019-8#young-people-are-losing-the-ability-to-interact-face-to-face-8
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