Sucked in

The black hole that is social media

I laugh at those who think they can damage me. They do not know who I am, they do not know what I think, they cannot even touch the things which are really mine and with which I live.

Epictetus

Let me preface; I’m speaking from a very narrow point of view about the world since I’ve only lived in the United States. From my understanding of most of my generation, we’re obsessed with what everyone thinks about us. The fashion industry is performing better than ever, with an expected 13.7% increase year over year. From 2015 depression amongst young adults in the US rose from 10.3% (a staggering number if compared to the decade prior) to 17.2% by 2020. During this period, social media users doubled from two to four billion worldwide. You can see the correlation. Earlier, I said that my generation is mainly obsessed with what everyone thinks about them, but fortunately, it’s not entirely their fault. Social media companies have designed the algorithms on these platforms to be more addictive not only from the release of dopamine you get from your likes and follows but when you’re consuming engaging viral content. I’m not here to tell you what to do or give you more techniques and conditioning. Now you know the truth, and you can figure out what suits you or your children. I’m capable of using social media (without notifications). Still, I’m constantly deleting the application because I’ll catch myself opening my phone to text someone and clicking the social app for some reason. It’s like my mind is pulling me to it subconsciously. I’ve manipulated the algorithm a little bit by mostly following and liking stoicism pages, so I get some quality reading in if I do get sucked in.