This blog post will explore the often overlooked negative effects of social media manipulation on users, particularly focusing on how social media companies (a.k.a. 'the Digital Puppet Masters') exploit psychological tactics to influence their user's behavior and opinions. Issues like addiction, the spread of misinformation (like wildfire 🔥), and privacy erosion emphasize the importance of awareness while using these platforms.
Inspired after watching the documentary "The Social Dilemma," one thing stood out to me: this quote"there are only two industries that call their customers 'users': illegal drugs and software" by Edward Tufte led me toward a downward spiral, making me realize that the technology that connected us also controlled us.
First off, there are these psychological tactics employed by tech giants that keep us, the users, engaged while compromising our mental health. For instance, intermittent reinforcement is a core tactic utilized by social media companies, where users receive unpredictable rewards (e.g. comments, shares, likes) at random intervals. This unpredictability hooks us in, like a slot machine, leading us to compulsively check our
devices and in turn, becoming addicted.
Secondly, the spread of misinformation on social media is like a wildfire that quickly consumes everything in its path. A shocking study found that false news spreads six times faster than true stories on Twitter (and "tweets containing falsehoods were 70% more likely to be retweeted than truthful tweets") primarily because people were more likely to share sensational content that grabbed attention!
Lastly, privacy erosion on social media is a huge deal, and most of us don’t even realize how much of our personal info we're giving away. Tech companies love to collect data about everything we do online from what we like, who we follow, and even how much time we spend looking at someone's uploads to create targeted ads and keep us (doom) scrolling. This constant tracking not only invades our privacy but also feeds into their addictive algorithms, making it harder for us to break free from the endless cycle of notifications and engagement.
So, how do we, especially as young adults who have grown up with social media, raise awareness and hold tech companies accountable who design their platforms behind the scenes in such a way that they keep their consumers coming back for more like a drug? Firstly, do yourself and everyone else a favor by putting all of your devices out of the bedroom at a fixed time every night to promote better sleep. Secondly, for sure turn off those pesky notifications to minimize distractions, research things that seem off in order to avoid misinformation, and resist clicking on recommended content that could lead you down a rabbit hole. Lastly, regularly review your privacy settings and advocate for transparency by supporting platforms that prioritize user privacy and ethical design.
Catch you on the flip side.
Sources
Комментарии