Your Brain is Numb
How do you know if you’re enough? That validation that you seek from the number of likes you get from Instagram? The retweets from Twitter? No. It comes from within. With the construct of social media, quantifying the amount of how much a person “likes” or “retweets” one of your posts changing the way our brains work, it is easy to see why so many people get depressed, sad, or even anxious nowadays. Maybe it’s not a good observation to see how much the older generation lacked the empathy to understand depression or anxiety during their time. But it’s a valid one.
Studies have shown that people on social media get a shot of dopamine when one of their posts gets liked or retweeted. That shot of dopamine that people before social media had to do something to get. The brain chemistry that is being altered is messing with our minds these days. Even I have to admit that I can mindlessly scroll through TikTok for at least an hour before I realize that an hour has passed. It’s these phases of lost time and energy that contribute to the feelings of anxiety and depression.
Have you heard the stories about contributors to social media and how they regret their creations? For example, have you been on YouTube and seen the recommended videos page? Yes, the creator of that page says he regrets making it. He realized that it contributed to the amount of time that a person would spend on YouTube. Which was a lot of thanks to him. His advice was to “don’t click on any videos that YouTube recommends to you. ” Why would he say that after contributing to making it? My guess is that he realized how time- and soul-consuming it is.
My advice, I mean, I’m a nobody, but I have come to the self-actualization that I am a smartphone addict, is to use less of your phone. There is advice that I should be taking, but I am currently not as well. Go get that dopamine rush from other things, things that make a difference in your life. Get a hobby, maybe. I remember when I self-taught myself to play the guitar. That motivated me so much that I even made my own music band. But that’s my point. Do things that you love, learn a new hobby, feel the sun on your face. Do anything other than using a phone. It’ll help you in the long run, I’m sure. Now I’m not saying you should throw your smartphone away; I’m just saying maybe take an hour or two out of your day to do something else that can make you a better person.
I should take this advice as well, but I’m a chronic procrastinator. So, I’ll probably do it tomorrow. But be better than me, and do it as soon as possible. I hate my phone, but I love it at the same time. You could say it’s a love/hate relationship.