When I think about technology in general, I correspond it with the useful apps on my phone such as weather, maps, calendar, camera, video, social media, and the ability to call, facetime or text at any given moment. With layers of easy usability and usefulness embedded in our phones, there are additional layers ingrained under the surface that serve to take advantage of users. Some of these downfalls correspond to the dark side of social media apps including the way that the younger generation can easily become victims to cyberbullying, revenge porn, and body negativity. As people post videos and pictures, ugly and nasty comments can pop up at the click of a button. Even if the person who posted isn’t familiar with the person behind the account, those comments dig at a sensitive wound. Or maybe it’s not specifically about the user of an account being attacked but the viewers who see harmful content. Perhaps a certain body image is being portrayed by influencers and both young women and young men start to compare theres to this ‘ideal’ image. Subconsciously or consciously that person will begin to view themselves differently either emotionally or physically and cause self-esteem issues that will ultimately affect that person’s mental health. With teenagers still developing at their age and going through puberty, they are at one of the most vulnerable places in life mentally, emotionally, and physically. They are just starting to shift from children to adults and are continually growing their perception of themselves and others.
As for myself, I know that mentally, I am continuously at risk of these self-esteem issues every time I open up a social media app especially instagram where followers and likes as well as the shape of your body are all important in today’s generation. I also have an unsettling feeling knowing that anyone can look up my account and judge a glimpse of my life even if it is private. The small glimpses I do put on social media consists of only the general things I’m comfortable with people knowing about me. Overall, social media is based around a disguise that you put up for the public. Everyone wants to be portrayed a certain way even if that’s not necessarily their true self.
On average, Americans spend a little less than 17 hours a week scrolling through social media according to this article. Users are susceptible to a wide range of content that can be both negative and positive. This puts users in a vulnerable position because at the end of the day, these social media companies are backed by people who always have a narrative they want to push. Social media is truly set up to push a user into a spiral of content. Without even realizing it, the algorithm can set up your stream with only republican or democratic backed content. I definitely noticed this pattern during the 2020 election when my entire feed consisted of only Biden supporters at rallies. Although I don’t identify with one political party more than the other, I felt manipulated and misled as I wasn’t receiving any diverse content that juxtaposed the content I was getting. Though as much as there can be content with only one dialogue, I’ve found other accounts that have opened my mind up with explanations and reasonings that have made me think twice about my prior beliefs. For good or for evil, social media can fall into both realms.
I think that the truly unhealthy part of technology is that the average person forms an addiction just like any other substance abuse issues. As stated by this article, “Americans spend an average screen time of 5.4 hours on their mobile phones daily” which is a little less than 38 hours a week. When we truly think about it, not even family or work can match the amount of time spent on our phones. Picking up your phone is truly comparable to taking a drug as every text, email, or social media notification you get, releases a chemical known as Dopamine. This releases a neurotransmitter into our bloodstream whenever something makes us feel good such as sex, food, shopping, or anything else that people enjoy. As reported by this article, every time your brain releases this chemical, it starts to notice a pattern where your, “brain [begins] to associate ‘cell phone’ with ‘dopamine.’ And since your brain naturally craves easy hits of dopamine, it [starts] to crave your phone”. Another scary aspect regarding a person's dependency on a phone has to do with the phobia of being without your phone known as Nomophobia. According to this article, “94% of participants reported feeling troubled when they didn’t have their phone with them, 80% felt jealous when someone else held their phone, and 70% expected to feel depressed, panicked, and helpless if their phone was lost or stolen”. People will literally feel mental and physical effects as their mind and body are not able to comprehend not having constant and easy access to technology. I remember getting my phone taken away by my parents in high school and would have the worst anxiety without it. I would use my parents' phones just to use any type of technology. Without even realizing it, phones have been implemented in every way of life to the point that you can’t even remember going through your daily routine without it. With anything that’s good in life, moderation is the key. It is absolutely necessary for people to not only limit their usage on phones but to implement hobbies that don’t rely on technology for your mind to take a break.
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