‘Any sufficient technology is indistinguishable from magic’ -Arthur C. Clarke
Technology and social media was meant to simplifying our lives. But now, the high tech companies like Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok etc. enslaved us to their innovation. We cannot live without these apps. Day by day our behavior is changing, we are getting depressed, aggressive, losing our minds. Why? Because we are addicted to these systems and why are we addicted? Lets talk about it.
Firstly, lets discuss what is the main goal of these companies.
The main purpose is to engage us on our screens. The more we engage, the more beneficial for these companies. How the engage us? they recommend us things that is interesting to us, to keep us scrolling. Then, they want us to invite more and more friends (more invitations, more screens). Then, the last goal is to show us advertisements. They show us things based on our interest by monitoring our phones. Through this, they build our models that can predict our actions and at that interesting point they show us advertisements. We are not the customers for these companies but advertising companies are. We are just a product. They want us to look at more ads. So that, these companies can make more more money. They are now earning profit at all cost. Its manipulation and this manipulation is causing great harm to society.
Every single child now have cellphones. They don’t know how they are wasting their precious time. They get angry when their parents try to give advice for their own betterment. They are losing their self identity and self confidence just because of filters. Getting depressed because of not getting enough likes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. The families are going apart because of these social media apps. We are not controlling ourselves, looks like these companies are controlling us. We are just puppets.
In social media, fake news spreads more than true news. Because, false news can give more money. They say truth is boring. Spreading fake or non-authentic news is common. People append their views in the news and mostly comic to get attention or likes. . We can see the current example of COVID-19 pandemic In news, we see day by day increasing death toll all over the world. We don’t know what the truth is. Everyday has a different rumor. This corona virus situation is the best example of what’s happening across our information ecosystem.
It’s not about technology being the existential threat. It’s about the technology’s ability towards society. What it can do to us if we use it in wrong ways. There are also many benefits of technology. Technology influences individuals and society in many ways, especially media technologies that is shaping the ways of interactions and perceptions of individuals. Technology is not bad in itself rather it’s the use that determine its effects, e.g. Nuclear technology helps to generate energy and at the same time it can be used for the destruction purpose or we can get connected to distant friends, relatives and acquaintance easily and quickly in many forms like chat, pictures, video calls, etc., Video conferencing software are helping to interact virtually in these times of covid pandemic, as a result making lives of individuals and society safe. But at the same time its negative usage that brings unbalance to individuals’ emotional, psychological and physical state. No exercise, limited body parts movement.
How can we prevent this addiction?
In the end, lets discuss about the prevention of this addiction. First of all, turn off your notifications, use less phone. Then give quality time to our family, learn about new things, read more books. Play outdoor games rather than games on mobile. Make yourself productive. Yes, it can be difficult for us in start but if we make it our habit, we can succeed in it. I hope you all agree with me. Thank you.
