People crave their phones, and most can’t go a day without them, but why is this? Are phones crucial tools that we can’t live without? Why do we need them?
Most people need them for communication and our lives would be substantially harder without access to them. But what makes us choose to buy a smartphone? Smartphones give you access to so much more, from social media to the ability to take incredible photos.
On a base level they aren’t an absolute necessity, but they are extremely helpful as they can figure out everything from the most complex of calculations to any piece of information known publicly to the human race.
The longer we own a smartphone the more dependent we become. We start to drift away from only using them for emergency contact and we start to primarily use them for our own personal entertainment. The ability to use social media creates so many possibilities, but also creates just as many problems.
Along with all their new tools and resources come addictive behaviors. Social media feeds you exactly what you want to see using something called an algorithm. Algorithms are advanced software systems meant to analyze and predict how you interact with the site and keep you trapped using it for as long as possible. That’s part of the reason why it’s so hard to put down your phone even when driving your vehicles. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2020 alone, distracted driving killed 3,142 people and injured hundreds of thousands of others.
The more someone uses social media the more likely they are to experience the negative side effects of them. Multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media use and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and actions. Social media may promote negative experiences, such as feeling inadequate about your life or appearance.
The ability to see highlights from other people’s lives often comes with the feeling of not being good enough. It becomes easier and easier to view these highlights of others lives and start to think others are living “perfect” lives and that their highlights reflect their day-to-day lives. When people post these things they give them the spotlight which can easily become viewed as an absolute.
So what’s the solution? Well, you can’t necessarily change how people view others’ lives. I personally believe the easiest and most efficient solution comes from limiting social media usage. Limiting social media usage can substantially benefit your mental health and can help you improve your social life as you stop fearing others’ judgment and stop pushing harsh judgment onto yourself.
The more you pull away from this reinforcing feedback loop, the less susceptible you become. By focusing on bettering your life you gain the ability to reduce some of your symptoms of depression and anxiety. With this, and more open communication of your struggles, comes the realization that other people’s social media presences don’t reflect their day-to-day lives. It’s important to remember that people keep the struggles in their lives to themselves.
These highlights may represent the smallest pieces, the little picture perfect moments in their lives. Everyone with a smartphone struggles to some extent with social media usage. The first step is coming to terms with your own usage, be kind to yourself. Put your phone away and take a walk. Once you become aware you gain the ability to start drifting away from it.
Evan Josephs is a recent graduate of Four Rivers Charter Public School in Greenfield. This piece was originally written as part of a civics class that covered media literacy in the digital age and how social media is impacting society. It is the first of three pieces written by Four Rivers students that will be published this week.