One of the things from “Negative Effects of Technology” from Medical News Today was how, in a 2017 study, 19-32 years old people who are active on social media are three times more likely to feel isolated. I think that this is interesting because the whole “point” of social media was to interact with friends and make new friends in the process. However, only being able to chat with people through screens and being unable to see each other physically can cause that sense of loneliness or isolation from peers. I noticed this through a friend in high school- she ended up getting really addicted to her phone and being on social media. We used to be really good friends and used to talk a lot but once she started being on her phone more, she isolated herself from me and the rest of her friends. I do not really understand her reasoning but I know that there was a clear connection between the time she spent on her phone and the time she spent with friends. It got to the point that she would be on her phone when we were going out for lunch. This played in part with “9 Subtle Ways Technology is Making Humanity Worse” by Insider. This article talked a lot about addiction and how someone could get hooked onto social media. Once someone feels that dopamine, they want to continue getting it more and more. Maybe they feel like they couldnt get that rush from being with friends. So, it hurt me personally because I wanted to spend time with her but all she wanted to do was be on her phone and talk to online friends. Because this happened, we hardly talk anymore and it really shows how social media has an effect on friendships.
While I do not believe there is a way to force people to get off their phones and interact with others that would also be ethical, there could be ways where people could spend less time on social media and more with friends. One way that this could be accomplished is to use social media as a way to find friends living near you. Usually, ‘online friends’ are from different parts of the country and the planet and finding people (outside of dating apps) who are near you could be difficult. I know that Bumble, a popular dating app, has an option to look for friends instead of partners and I have made some friends through that. I think that if there was a way to find new friends with similar interests near a person, that person would feel more inclined to spend time with those people- especially if they are the type of people they would talk to online. And maybe there would be a time cut off or some way the app shuts down once you have made those connections. That could be a potential way to resolve the issues of isolation and addiction.
Making friendships is something that is needed if someone wants to be happy- I do not see a way where someone could be content without establishing relationships with others. Some people may believe they are making those connections with online friends and those friends can be amazing but they could never really have the effect that present, real friends have. Being able to go out with people and disconnect from phones is something that is really important to me because I enjoy doing things like that. I would much rather be out with friends than staying in my dorm alone on my phone. It is a hard topic to try and ‘fix’ but I think if we gave people an option to find friends and disconnect from social media, they would have a better experience away from their phones while also meeting and interacting with new people.
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