While the following is true and part of the story of how, many Facebook feeds, posts and groups function — “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works. No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth.” (1) — the good news is that it is possible to overcome depending on how you use Facebook and who you consciously choose to interact with.
The following is a “must-watch” video to be aware about the severity of the situation when it comes to Facebook and similar social media:
I don’t hide that I am not a fan of Facebook and use it as sparingly as possible for the work I do, but even to this small degree, I annually re-examine my approach and presence there, and make modifications as I feel most called to.
What is also important to add here is how much Facebook plays a role in why people today are riddled with stress, anxiety and depression due to the comparison and/or expectation and/or social pressure and/or conformity effects that Facebook brings out, and how much it sabotages the time we all claim we don’t have enough of.
Of course how much time people devote to and spend on Facebook is also a disturbing area for consideration and something that has sabotaged people’s physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing. I will be bold to say that if you don’t have time to eat properly, sleep enough, stay physically active, be creative or have meaningful in-person relationships, then you need to reconsider how much time you spend on Facebook.
Finally, it is no surprise that Facebook’s algorithms leave much to be desired, and make it valid to question how effective the information we share or come across even is.
In the end, yes, it all comes down to how we use a tool that will make it most positive or negative, and yes, some people have lots of positive, supportive and great experiences on Facebook, BUT overall as a society it is becoming clearer and clearer that Facebook is not helping to make people more intelligent, happy or kinder and nicer. And we cannot hide from the fact that the intention of this tool is not world peace or human betterment and wellbeing, but rather exploitation of human vulnerability for its own benefit.
These are the real challenges of social media that we face as we move forward, and staying awake and aware is going to go a long way in how we navigate through it all.
Related Reading & Watching
Article — Former Facebook executive: social media is ripping society apart by Julia Carrie Wong
Article — Ex-Facebook president Sean Parker: site made to exploit human ‘vulnerability’ by Olivia Solon
Video — Social Media, Internet Addiction and Millennials in the Workplace with Simon Sinek