Humanity as a whole has been unfortunately cursed with addiction. Never would I openly admit to succumbing to being addicted to the nature of dopamine, but here I am finding myself in the same boat as nearly the rest of the world. Not everyone has the same addiction and some addictions aren’t as severe as others but this is still very overwhelming and makes us super vulnerable to others. Dopamine communicates with brain cells and encourages them to act in a pleasurable, excitable, euphoric kind of way. What makes this so special is that happiness, is sacred. This feeling is so special to us because we don’t feel it all the time, or maybe we rarely feel it. Though, when we do, it’s a feeling like no other. So, when we question why people become addicted to things that make them happy, it’s actually not that hard to understand.
One design issue that I would like to discuss is “likes.” Likes on instagram, likes on twitter, the list goes on and on. By placing numbers on a person, you are nearly rating them without even realizing it. Of course to the users, we think we are just enjoying this persons feed, and that doesn’t seem bad at all. Though, to the person who posted, it is likely that they are comparing the amount of likes they got with their friends, and all of a sudden it becomes a social completion that leads into an addiction of wanting more followers and wanting more likes. People start finding those with more likes and thinking, “That’s is what I need to look like,” or “That’s what I need to wear.” Likes on social media create all these social constructs that negatively effect so many lives. Being that one takes the numbers seriously, it leaves us vulnerable and easy to manipulate. For example, convincing people to purchase likes and purchase followers.
A minor change in the right direction would be to take away “likes.” Take away numbers so that people can begin to focus more on what they liked about their post, rather than wanting everyone else to like it. The wanting and needing of social approval serves no room for self exploration. When you are too busy trying to be somebody else, you lose sight of yourself and all you have to offer. Individuality becomes blurred out, because everyone merging into the same lane. By taking away numbers from social media, we can believe that people will become less addicted to the wants and needs of others approval and more entertained with finding their own individuality.
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