Social Media and Its Daunting Influence on Society
Esteban Cantú
At first , social media was intended to be a simple tool for meeting and connecting with people across the world . Coming after the invention of online blogging in the early 2000 ’ s , these platforms have stretched far beyond their original boundaries in current times .
In a little more than a decade , social media went from being an entertaining means of communication to a set of technologies that is engrained in the daily lives of many .
It all started in 2004 , when a young Mark Zuckerberg programmed the first version of Facebook ; a website intended to allow fellow Harvard students to connect and meet with each other online . After quickly expanding to other university campuses and making the jump to the mainstream market , Facebook exploded in popularity across the world .
By 2007 , it amassed 58 million active users , becoming a revolutionary communications service and giving rise to an industry now valued at roughly 50 billion dollars .
As all this happened , however , it was difficult to identify any possible disadvantages that social networking would bring in the years to come . With fewer users and somewhat inexperienced employees , companies were seldom on the lookout for potential threats . Having a smaller user base also meant that it was easier for companies to disregard ethical concerns , although these have now become the topic of many features pertaining to large social platforms .
Nonetheless , even in the early days , there were cases in which employees of these now giant tech companies raised concerns about new implementations .
In 2005 , a team of employees at Google consulted CEO Larry Page with concerns about the addictiveness that they discovered while testing G-Mail features . Although Page was interested in intervening with the project , nothing was done about it in the end , and after G-Mail was rolled out , it was too late to turn back .
A more serious case of unconsciousness concerns the case of the Facebook engineer who devised the like button . After realizing that nothing would be done to address the ethical drawbacks that were identified regarding the like button , the engineer decided to quit , refusing to work for a company that would exploit its users for revenue .
Nowadays , it has become clear that the ignorance of these features has led to a rise in newfangled problems concerning social networks .
There has , for instance , been a notable rise in depression and suicide in teenagers due to the use of social media around the world , as well as greater conflicts concerning political elections and the spread of ideologies .
Although many may believe that these problems do not constitute the revamping of or quitting of social networks , dire consequences have been predicted by experts in the field .
Many high-profile individuals in the ethical tech world believe that these platforms , if left unregulated , may eventually lead to escalations involving civil war and global conflicts . Even though these predictions may seem bold , they have already been proven possible , with a recent example being the United States Capitol Riots of January 6 .
The Capitol Riots were triggered by the spread of conspiracy theories through social platforms , with groups such as QAnon , a large spreader of false conspiracies on the internet , pledging involvement .
Social media has also been used to manipulate the results of elections around the world , with the most notable example coming from British political consulting company Cambridge Analytica , which obtained the personal data of millions of Facebook users without their consent for political advertising and revenue .
Despite these threats , the outlook on social media has been changing in recent years .
Many people have realized that they often fall prey to the control of these massive platforms , which is why it has become more and more common for people to quit them altogether or regulate their usage by advocating for ethical technology organizations .
Although limiting social media use or quitting it altogether may sound complicated , it is simple when focus is given to the various activities that can replace the time that is spent browsing it .
If a person chooses to instead spend their time doing an activity that they are truly engaged with , there will be a more natural transition towards quitting the network . If this seems daunting , however , it may be easier to start with a 30 day social media detox , a period during which a person is prohibited from using any of the industry ’ s platforms .
After a 30 day detox , many people report feeling like they ’ ve realized how pointless social media is , and it has led to a lot of people to have no incentive of returning to the platforms in which they previously spent hours upon hours consuming content .
Cutting down on time spent on these websites has also had largely positive effects , with people reporting that they reached higher levels of happiness , satisfaction , and productivity in their daily lives .
Although social platforms also have their positives , such as allowing people to connect and interact with each other around the world with ease , it is difficult to draw a line between the interactions that are truly worth it and those that are not .
Because of this , many people advocate towards limiting their social media use to certain times of the day or week .
At the end of the day , these platforms have the sole purpose of receiving the largest portion of your time that they can ; a goal that is often hidden through the appeal that they bring through the services that they offer .
However , as your life comes to an end , will you really value and cherish the countless hours you spent scrolling , watching videos , and chatting , just for temporary dopamine releases ?
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