discussion Social Media

[samcloth]

Thoughts? Are we, as a world culture, slipping away from our humanity at an increasingly rapid pace because we are being "reprogrammed" toward an online addiction that continues to feed our need to e validated through strangers via digital media?

Probably yes. But luckily there are people who still don't spend much time there, the lucky few.

 

[HornyPete]

Its like everything else - in moderation it is okay but far too easy for people to take it too far

 

[Gorion]

My wife has a theory on cell phones being the most detrimental thing to relationships, Primarily because the tendency is to expect immediate responses and when the response time is past the individual's expectations it creates a sense of mistrust, regardless of the reasons.

I take it a step further. I believe social media has been the catalyst that has pushed society to the precipice and we are now staring into the abyss...interpersonal relationships have been discarded for 30 second sound bites and mini-dopamine rushes to stave off the anxiety of not having enough "likes" or whatever platform equivalency the social media platform someone is using substitutes for likes.

Thoughts? Are we, as a world culture, slipping away from our humanity at an increasingly rapid pace because we are being "reprogrammed" toward an online addiction that continues to feed our need to e validated through strangers via digital media?

While I agree social media does need to have a limited intake for mental health reasons, I feel like a lot of this is making it out to be a much larger issue than it really is. I've seen a lot of this exact narrative used for fearmongering. The idea that social media is stripping us of our humanity is no different than years when people were screaming that t.v would rot our brains or that the advent of photoshop would kill art and replace artists. I agree that there is a need to set some personal/familial boundaries to keep mental health in check. But it's definitely not a stripping us of our humanity. If anything, it's bringing humanity together more in some areas. Never before have we been able to band together so fast and efficiently over a cause. As a whole, our species is seeing the corruption in the world much more than ever, and banding together to better mankind. You can see that in many of the movements taking place nowdays, which grows and is spread in no small way by social media. So while I do agree there is a negative to it, and we should limit ourselves in how much we ingest it. I see more potential good than harm.

 

[JACKOAT]

While I agree social media does need to have a limited intake for mental health reasons, I feel like a lot of this is making it out to be a much larger issue than it really is. I've seen a lot of this exact narrative used for fearmongering. The idea that social media is stripping us of our humanity is no different than years when people were screaming that t.v would rot our brains or that the advent of photoshop would kill art and replace artists. I agree that there is a need to set some personal/familial boundaries to keep mental health in check. But it's definitely not a stripping us of our humanity. If anything, it's bringing humanity together more in some areas. Never before have we been able to band together so fast and efficiently over a cause. As a whole, our species is seeing the corruption in the world much more than ever, and banding together to better mankind. You can see that in many of the movements taking place nowdays, which grows and is spread in no small way by social media. So while I do agree there is a negative to it, and we should limit ourselves in how much we ingest it. I see more potential good than harm.

Good points. Considering the stance that there is a good side of social media, how do we, as adults, educate children on the proper use of the technology? Their brains, not being fully developed, are being systematically "rewired" (mountains of peer-reviewed research available), and parents are using Internet connected devices as babysitters. Since the primary rise (not inception) of social media in 2012, the cognitive function of children has been on the steady decline and their interest in foundational learning has subsequently declined - this is a worldwide phenomenon across all developed nations. This is indicative of addictive behavior and, like any addiction, the dopamine bumps children get from consistent use of social media requires more and more use to get the same effect with each passing day. While I agree the increase in speed of communication and response to events requiring group efforts is a plus, the massive increase in misinformation and youth targeting algorithms will (and may already) outweigh any positive considerations. Not to mention the very same "togetherness' for good in the world can, and is, being used for negative group actions as well.

 

[Gorion]

Good points. Considering the stance that there is a good side of social media, how do we, as adults, educate children on the proper use of the technology? Their brains, not being fully developed, are being systematically "rewired" (mountains of peer-reviewed research available), and parents are using Internet connected devices as babysitters. Since the primary rise (not inception) of social media in 2012, the cognitive function of children has been on the steady decline and their interest in foundational learning has subsequently declined - this is a worldwide phenomenon across all developed nations. This is indicative of addictive behavior and, like any addiction, the dopamine bumps children get from consistent use of social media requires more and more use to get the same effect with each passing day. While I agree the increase in speed of communication and response to events requiring group efforts is a plus, the massive increase in misinformation and youth targeting algorithms will (and may already) outweigh any positive considerations. Not to mention the very same "togetherness' for good in the world can, and is, being used for negative group actions as well.

Its not a one size fits all fix. The issues are systemic so we would need to counter it at different levels. Parents actually parenting for one, instead of letting technology do it for them. To promote that though, we would need to address the elephant in the room that no politician is going to touch. Helping society move away from corporate mindset to a more human and community mindset. Of course technology is being a babysitter when it takes both parents working 9-5 jobs just to feed the family and keep the lights on, both too tired to do anything but maybe make dinner. Many times that even comes to something microwaveable or quick to make. Many dont understand what it takes to actually live in some areas. Things like minimum wage, waitresses working for tips and not even making minimum wage, this backwards idea that "we should be grateful a business is willing to let us work for them." Theres a whole lot wrong with our society as a whole that needs to be worked on, and social media reliance is toward the bottom of the list. It's a non issue in comparison. Its all systemic and runs deeper into many areas of our lives than people realize, or want to think about. Some just flat refuse to acknowledge it even. At the end of the day, our heavy investment in social media is a symptom of a much larger problem, as with many other issues people point out like this one. But people want a scapegoat. Something they can point at and blame for the issues at hand, either because they cant or dont want to see the bigger picture, or because they just refuse to accept the reality of it or take responsibility for them in some cases.

 

[User_65726]

You have a wife and you're on here?

 

[JACKOAT]

You have a wife and you're on here?

Yes. And she plays VN's on occasion, although she prefers them more vanilla than me.

I WAY out-kicked my coverage with her.

 

[SusPelican]

Dopamine addiction... I'm already screwed up

 

[Zombiedaddy]

I only use Youtube and porn game forums. Which is fine, probably.

 

[Lucumo]

Thoughts? Are we, as a world culture, slipping away from our humanity at an increasingly rapid pace because we are being "reprogrammed" toward an online addiction that continues to feed our need to e validated through strangers via digital media?

Yes.

Personally, I don't use "social" media at all (unless you want to count a forum like this). Heck, I don't even use my phone outside of sending an SMS or calling my family every now and then. If they banned, Fecesbook, Twatter and the like, they would definitely make the world a much, much better place.

 

[sourpuss]

My wife has a theory on cell phones being the most detrimental thing to relationships, Primarily because the tendency is to expect immediate responses and when the response time is past the individual's expectations it creates a sense of mistrust, regardless of the reasons.

I take it a step further. I believe social media has been the catalyst that has pushed society to the precipice and we are now staring into the abyss...interpersonal relationships have been discarded for 30 second sound bites and mini-dopamine rushes to stave off the anxiety of not having enough "likes" or whatever platform equivalency the social media platform someone is using substitutes for likes.

Thoughts? Are we, as a world culture, slipping away from our humanity at an increasingly rapid pace because we are being "reprogrammed" toward an online addiction that continues to feed our need to e validated through strangers via digital media?

I think that online (by which I mean social media, streaming, podcasting etc) has allowed us to reify, concretise and quantise fame. Views, likes, comments, retweets, subscriptions etc are objective measures that mean fame is now more than an abstract quality. It's a measurable, real-world phenomenon.

A British artist called Momus modified Andy Warhol's prediction that 'in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes' to 'everyone will be famous to fifteen people' and I think he was right on the money.

I've heard that people who become famous stop maturing at that point. Because they never have to challenge themselves any more, because everyone around them is at pains to keep them happy at all times. Fame also messes with people's heads, affects their ability to empathise with others. Famous people develop scopophobia, agoraphobia etc. So I'd predict that we'll see a continuation of the extension of adolescence into adulthood and an increase in mental illnesses as a result of social media/online.

 

[JACKOAT]

I think that online (by which I mean social media, streaming, podcasting etc) has allowed us to reify, concretise and quantise fame. Views, likes, comments, retweets, subscriptions etc are objective measures that mean fame is now more than an abstract quality. It's a measurable, real-world phenomenon.

A British artist called Momus modified Andy Warhol's prediction that 'in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes' to 'everyone will be famous to fifteen people' and I think he was right on the money.

I've heard that people who become famous stop maturing at that point. Because they never have to challenge themselves any more, because everyone around them is at pains to keep them happy at all times. Fame also messes with people's heads, affects their ability to empathise with others. Famous people develop scopophobia, agoraphobia etc. So I'd predict that we'll see a continuation of the extension of adolescence into adulthood and an increase in mental illnesses as a result of social media/online.

The fixation on self-worth through an online following is a major part of self-aggrandizement and there is no slowing it down. I like the 'fifteen people' reference and think that is more to the point of what has happened to society. There is a term for this psychological phenomenon: Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and it is one the the biggest issues with Internet addiction. The idea that other people are doing things and you are missing them by not constantly being glued to your phone screen is a bigger and bigger problem and, has caused more anxiety in adolescents than nearly an other singular contributing factor.

 

[bigo245]

I think social media is both the best and worst thing to happen to people it helps with varies things but also is the cause of a lot of problems its hard to say what side I'm on but I feel like the best thing to do before getting into it is developing good self control, understanding your own value and to know that you don't know everything and that is perfectly fine despite what people say as long as you strive to learn. that is how I view it any way

 

[Goldy1]

I can already feel my brain getting rotted away. my attention spawn has been in the gutter. So hard to rewire my brain, but im aware and trying to rewire.

 

[Sinaster]

Facebook Messenger is all u need

 

[email1000]

I don't think that social media i inherently bad, or bad for you, I just think that the existing structures are incentivized to create an addicting environment that is bad for its consumers.

 

[lorkdubo]

I don't think that social media i inherently bad, or bad for you, I just think that the existing structures are incentivized to create an addicting environment that is bad for its consumers.

The thing is that it get exponentially bad.
Not going to talk about all the history of social media, but you can see that we went from My Space and Messenger to recently Tik Tok where the amount of interactions and the volume of content consumed is planets apart.

 

[bulliedhealer]

Personally I've felt since the myspace days that we're heading towards people living in pods and working in VR, never seeing real humans.

 

[email1000]

Personally I've felt since the myspace days that we're heading towards people living in pods and working in VR, never seeing real humans.

Honestly, that does not actually sound too bad to me.

 

[bulliedhealer]

Honestly, that does not actually sound too bad to me.

Sometimes I think I would be ok with that, just for work at least. Some people cause me physical pain just interacting with them.