How Social Media is Destroying Society

When is the last time you’ve walked into a restaurant and saw an entire table of friends on their phone, each content to be in their own world - nearly unaware of the reality around them?

With the meteoric rise in popularity for documentaries like The Social Dilemma, it safe to say that questioning the effect that social media addiction has on our society a growing sentiment and realization within today’s culture. With many people decided to take a social media detox, or quit social media all together.

But what is the path forward in the new age of social media, and the side effects of the rapid evolution of the technology and the algorithms that control how we interact with the platform? Is it as simple as turning off big tech, or perhaps to quit social media? Or is there a way we can start to take control our use to find a healthy balance for social media and mental health?

#socialmedia #socialdilemma
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[jeffreyyoungblood]

We have become a society of addicts. I hate when I go out in public and everyone is on their phones. It's disturbing.

[tylergann]

I remember the world before social media. It was so much better than it is now!!

[alextaylor]

I deleted all social media years ago and will never go back. It’s absolute mindless, narcissistic garbage.

[Trisof]

I'm afraid it has destroyed our sense of empathy which is one of the best components about a human being

[ImpeRiaLismus]

It all changed around 2008. All in all I really prefer the 90s and the early 00s. But I doubt society will be able to go back to that incredible mindset we had! Internet was great too.

[wilthomas]

Man, I feel sorry for kids being raised on social media. Being in middle school, high school, and always comparing yourself to other people was tough back then. Today, there's no escape from it because of social media. It's constant.

And god, the freedom of being able to go to a show and not feel compelled to film it. Of not worrying about missed calls, texts, of just being able to disconnect. Those days are gone forever

[stCenturyFilmmaker]

The worst part about social media addiction is that you know that it is bad and that you need to stop, but you almost mentally can't stop.

[Lisa-zdsk]

I did 8 years without any form of social media, I re-joined in 2020 and for the past 2 years it has utterly controlled my life! I physically felt addicted and could spend hours scrolling and watching stupid videos. It’s given me self hatred about the way I look and feelings I’m not good enough. I became obsessed with taking photos of everything. I mean seriously even cups of coffee! What the heck! My sleep has suffered! I’ve felt low in mood… I’ve DELETED the lot of it again & I will not ever go back on it again. It’s dangerous and I’m done with it.

[Unraveled]

I really hate social media, I don't like taking time from the real world in order to use it nor I like seeing other people's mindless posts. I just use it to learn new things or watch content creators.

[AlexJones-rpld]

I’m 20 now and feel so out of touch with my generation cause I don’t use social media anymore (except YouTube) and don’t go with the trends but I am much happier without it and has def cured my depression. God bless all of you and stay safe

[fergusondemetrius]

Go for your goals. There really isn't much competition because everyone's worried about their digital identity instead of reality. That leaves people with awareness like me and you with an advantage.

[marysisak]

I start teaching college chemistry in 1990. It was a joy. We had small classes so that I could interact with the students, even joke around. When they came to my office for additional help, we would have conversations about their future plans, my cats (I am a cat lady) and a broad list of topics. As the years went on, I found that both of these were decreasing. Students were more and more detached from the goings on in the classroom and they contributed less and less during our office time. Near my retirement, I felt like I was interviewing students that came to my office rather than having two way conversations. It was truly sad and I longed for the "good old days."

[theatrum]

The problem with being present with the people around you is that, even if you try, those people will still be on their phones every 2 minutes. Then you become bored and/or uncomfortable and what do you do, go for your phone. I honestly have no idea how the world will start twisting this around.

[cdp]

I’m so thankful my entire childhood was without computers, Internet etc.. we had our friends and lots of outdoor activities.. exploring the world around us made me ready for adulthood.

[aicerg]

The horrible thing about this is that, as much as you want to do things differently, you'll find yourself isolated from others. For example, I've tried to reduce the use of my phone while at home with my family, esp during meals, but I'm the only idiot sitting there looking at nothing, because the people around me are glued to their phones and as soon as a meal is over, they go back to their rooms to keep being glued to the phone. I can get very boring, so I go back to the phone. It's horrible to be isolated while being surrounded by people.

[shariemami]

I couldn’t agree more. Social media lowers self esteem, causes depression, bullying and suicide. They should be held accountable. It’s like the owners of Instagram, Tik too etc don’t care about the well being of society. That’s just evil….

[RollieBeatz]

I feel so weird man, i go out for a walk, without my phone all i see is everybody on their phones like zombies

[bori]

I live in Puerto Rico and during hurricane Maria when the power went out for 2 months and there was no internet, society starting to feel a lot better. People who you haven't seen in years started to come around, we read books, played board games, TALKED, laughed together, listen to the radio, etc! Everything was feeling how it was before social media.

[drewintampa]

The very fact that I went searching for a video like this demonstrates that there are people who are overwhelmed and almost disgusted with what's happening to society because of social media. I was raised in the 80s and I will tell you that I was much happier and more fulfilled before technology and social media entered the platform. For all of the very reasons this video explains. It's extremely difficult when you know both sides of the equation. You know what it was like before social media and you know what it's like with social media and it actually causes depression for my generation because we see how sad and unrealistic life has become. I actually feel sorry for Millennials and people that are younger than I am because this is their reality and they have never known a time when it wasn't like this. I honestly think that social media and AI will be the end of society as we know it. We are human beings and we need other human beings or we would have not been created to be with them. Social media and Technology were created to bring the world together and to bring some sort of unity to the planet and it has done the very thing that it was created to do. We have never been more unhappy and divided as a country and as a planet. It is extremely sad

[sdelly]

I was born in the 90s and I'm so thankful that my entire life up until I was about 15/16 was social media free. I truly had a wonderful and fun childhood without any of this garbage. Once Instagram came out (I remember being through the middle of high school) it was a game changer. Everything started changing - heck even Facebook! It all sucks now. I can't have a conversation with basically anyone without them having to check their phone for something. It's so frustrating how our online presence is more important than our in person presence. That how we look online matters more than how we look in person. That everything someone does they have to share it to prove how amazing their life is. What happened to staying present? What happened to just enjoying life with the people you love and not caring to impress everyone you dislike? I made a pact with myself this year, as I turn 25, that I'm done sharing my life on social media. It's exhausting.