My beef with social media
If there's a hill for me to die on, it's probably social media.
On one hand, it's wonderful to keep in touch with friends, and see what kind of adventures they have been up to. It has made staying connected easier than ever to do so. At the same time, it's probably led to more collectively wasted time than ever before.
I remember back in 2007 (I am starting to date myself now), Facebook was popular and everyone in school had an account. People posted pictures, we commented on them, we played mini games, and poked each other.
It's not that we didn't waste time in the past. People who spent time on the computer in North America probably all knew about MySpace, Bebo, and MSN.
In the past 20 years, social media has transformed into an attention grabbing demon that is slowly deteriorating everyone's well being. I recall many nights where I get stuck in some sort of video loop or some short video binge. Hours and days of my life I'll never get back.
I am not sure where I stand on this issue yet. I have tried to go cold turkey, but at the same time... the FOMO does eventually get to me. I miss catching up with people I don't regularly talk to, and I miss seeing what they are up to. Currently, I am on semi-mostly cool turkey, where I try to add friction to access social media. It doesn't always work, because I also know how to remove the limitations I set for myself...
I miss the old web, where things were crude and they didn't turn us into monkeys poking on a screen. I still love watching music videos, and enjoy learning about new things. I still love browsing the web, and exploring Reddit from time to time to uncover things I've never heard of. I just wish big tech never figured perfect formula to keep us addicted.
It's easier said than done to unsubscribe, put down our phones, and delete our social apps. But who is there left to talk to, when everyone else is still stuck on social media and short video loops?