Modern Social Media Fked Us Up

hey psych goers we asked our followers what do you believe is the primary factor contributing to unhappiness in our world today and many of you answered social media we want to take a good look at why this is and maybe figure out what to do about it we all seem to have a bit of a LoveHate relationship with social media because while it feels like it's draining us of our time and robbing us of our self-esteem we just can't seem to stop using it so buckle up because today we're taking a deep dive into how social media has messed us up and what we can do to take our power back self-esteem social media can attack your self-esteem on every front sometimes it'll use your passion against you you like art well this person is more creative than you and this person posts a new artwork every single day social media can make you feel insignificant the sheer volume of things to see is overwhelming it might make you feel like you're constantly having to reassess your life the way social media affects our self-esteem has more to do with us and how we use social media than social media on its own there are multiple studies inspecting this exact phenomenon we typically tend to make upward comparisons which is what makes us feel worse about ourselves how many times have you found out a celebrity is younger than you and felt that little sting that makes you worry your completely off track how many times have you seen a terrible home renovation video seething knowing you will never own a home that's an example of an upward comparison if you already have low self-esteem or are susceptible to things affecting your mood and self-esteem social media is likely to make you feel worse again the way you use Social Media Matters comparison is the thief of Joy social media can make you feel like you aren't a good artist for example or it can introduce you to incredible resources for improving and helpful communities of artists the same goes for Fitness career Pursuits family goals or anything you might be passionate about you can use social media as a tool for personal growth if you only use Instagram to send memes to your friends it probably doesn't have a huge effect on your self-esteem or your emotions social media is really just a mirror prodding at the darker aspects of your yourself if you are a self-conscious or jealous person social media can use that against you we are in a position where we see all the best moments in the lives of our friends and peers your reaction to this has everything to do with your relationship with your friends and rather little to do with social media social media can become linked to our emotions which explains why when we're extremely upset we might want to delete our social media we want to be unnoticed ible we want to disappear digitally it means more to us than just deleting an app it's choosing to no longer participate in society but we always come back addiction you may have heard that social media is addictive that statement isn't just Boomer propaganda social media really does have addictive properties this is entirely intentional the notifications The Sounds the layouts of social media apps are specifically designed to keep you on the app have you noticed that when you try to leave Tik Tok it shows you one more video before you can actually leave they need your eyes on their platform an article by psychologist and researcher Dr Christian monag revealed that the exact features designed to keep you on an app are the same features that make the app addictive unfortunately for us their methods for keeping your attention are a little too effective we don't even realize how much time we spend on our phones yet the hour seem to vanish without us feeling it according to a study published in Behavioral Sciences participants in the study were unable to accurately estimate the amount of time they spent on their phones social media has been gamified there are points in the form of likes and progress in the form of that number of followers or views going up shopping apps have also been gamified in their use of login rewards and coupon rewards for spending certain amounts we want that dopamine Rush of our likes comments and followers blowing up and for our notifications to make our phones buzz and Jubilation for a successful Instagram post if you suspect social media is eating your hours try setting boundaries for yourself assign certain hours for social media or try to keep your phone in another room when you need to be productive consumerism these addictive tactics serve a greater purpose than keeping us on the platform the way these platforms truly benefit is by showing us ads social media is quickly becoming a funnel for consumerism we're being adverti to in ways we don't even realize covert ads and sponsored content flood our feeds nestled amongst the actual blatant ads the importance of Brands and advertising can't be understated sometimes simply seeing someone with a product is more effective than a full advertisement a study published by the Association for information systems found that Envy was the biggest driver behind product purchasing motivation on social media this is why products like Stanley Cubs and iPhones Trend but industrial revolutions aren't built on Advertising they're built on our participation if your algorithms suspect you may be a slightly materialistic person they will Foster that and make sure that almost everything you see has something you might want to buy our emotional connections to media and Brands make our Nostalgia for these things extremely exploitable we are susceptible to tactics like retrobit which can make us feel a range of negative emotions like anger or sadness over the supposed death of our childhoods these tactics throw us into a negative mindset wishing they would make things the way they used to algorithms can continuously feed you negative retrobit until you find yourself going down some very toxic rabbit holes it is a bizarre slippery slope that takes you from these new Star Wars movies aren't as good as the old ones to these new Star Wars movies are terrible because the world has drastically changed for the worse your Nostalgia was used against you to make you feel worse about the way things are this path was brought to you by algorithms which realize that anger and hate will keep you on for longer Echo Chambers an echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own computer science researchers Matteo chinelli and colleagues confirmed the existence of echo Chambers on social media sites like Twitter AKA X and Facebook which are created through the algorithm and designed on the type of content you interact with psychologists suggest that this is a dangerous situation for us to be in in an article conducted by researcher dag wake and colleagues they found that angry people are more likely to engage in online debates with people who have opposing views and people with similar views angry reactions tend to limit you in many ways such as seeking information and thinking with Clarity this is why anxious people are less likely to engage in debates but more likely to search for more information both actions inform and affect the algorithm and contribute to forming Echo Chambers Echo Chambers can apply to you no matter what you believe if you're interacting with things that make you want to defend what you believe criticize what you don't like or praise the things you do like the algorithms for all of your favorite social media sites will show you more of it psychologically this means social media has a direct hand in influencing and enforcing your bias it also keeps you in a state of anger and fear this is the Dark Side of one of the best things about social media Community there are so many great ways to reach people and communicate with people online that can make you feel a sense of belonging so once again we have to consider how we use social media are we using it to argue with one another or to reach people and participate in healthy friendly communities relationships the instant gratification provided by the internet extends to how we contact our friends family and loved ones being able to contact anyone at any time has done wonders for communication but damaged our sense of privacy knowing that your boss can text you and expect a reply after work hours is not good for us in Romance social media has become a part of the courting process we've all experienced or at least heard of the dreaded talking stage this is an example of social media becoming intertwined with the Romantic Pro for some of us our attachment Styles and the ways we were raised affect our ability to use these new methods to our advantage if we struggle to reach out or initiate conversations it can make the digital world incredibly quiet and lonely for us unfortunately DMS comments and other methods of reaching people have damaged the way we approach people women in particular are exposed to The Unwanted advances of anyone some might shoot their shot just because they saw her profile picture in a comment section men have a difficult time too men have to compete with every other man rather than just the ones in their Community if you don't have dating options in real life social media and dating apps seem like the only other option which can be daunting to say the least it sounds terrible but the truth is your options are more varied than you might realize dating apps can work participating in in communities and taking up Social Hobbies can be the push in the right direction that you need attention spans by now the New Frontier of social media has been eroded into something entirely different from what it was in the days of Myspace and Facebook social media is less about being social and connecting with people than it's ever been every social media site has made a huge pivot to video and with it comes the seamless endless scrolling that devours ours we are feeling the effect of this pivot as our attention spans are shrinking for example it isn't enough to have one video anymore you have to play a game while watching something or even have two videos playing it once like Family Guy Clips accompanied by Subway Surfers gameplay research suggest that using social media often isn't necessarily giving us more ADHD like symptoms but rather the way we use social media if you have an addiction to social media or are constantly wanting to go on online you're more likely to develop issues with your attention span that is ultimately what it all comes down to how are you using social media if you feel like your attention span is suffering because of your social media use you could try limiting yourself to one thing at a time or using less stimulating media like music while trying to be productive or relaxing so let's review social media has damaged our self-esteem it's addictive it's a sess poool of consumerism it makes us angry angry and more susceptible to harmful rhetoric it affects how we navigate relationships and our attention spans are at risk it all sounds pretty hopeless but the truth and the purpose of this video is that being aware of social media drawbacks can help us benefit more from its strengths whether it's Instagram Tik Tok our home here on YouTube or even Facebook there are a lot of benefits to these platforms the power of social media is in your hands for example there are so many helpful resources and so many wonderful welcoming communities that can improve your life but how you use social media is up to you its power is For Better or Worse in your hands have you recognized any of these huge drawbacks to social media and your time with it have you managed to avoid every Pitfall that social media has presented to you let us know what it's been like for you in the comments below leave a like if you found this video helpful and subscribe to Psycho for more videos like this good luck out there psych goers