Main purpose of social networks like facebook or twitter is luring people and keeping them online as long as possible. You can't really avoid it. Nowadays most of mobile and web applications allow logging with your social networks account instead of registering a new one.
Form my experience it is crucial to control time spended on the social networks. I never had trouble with wasting too much time on social medias, but I wanted to reduce it anyway. I started from deleting facebook appliaction on my mobile. There is no such thing on the facebook which can't wait until I will have some free time to chceck it on a laptop. I sometimes catch myself looking for the facebook appliaction on the phone. I immediately put back the phone back to a pocket after realizing that the application is not installed. It is an easy start if you want to reduce time wasted on facebook or any other social media.
I’m not surprised. Every day I see all the people with their smartphones at the bus. What’s more, I’m one of them. I realized that I’m addicted one year ago. Now, I try to avoid digital world but it’s impossible. Most of my needs, especially work or school issues I can find online in 5 minutes. Our possibilities makes us narrow-minded and that’s why we spent most of free time staring at phones. Besides many advantages, there are a lot of dangerous issues. In my opinion one of them and the most important is health. Our eyes suffer mostly! We must remember about it, because we can’t give up on health and we must try to live healthier! It’s really serious problem. I enjoy article about the era of anxiety, especially paragraph when author quote Hoffmann recommendation: „Start by examining the core of why they go online, and identifying which types of browsing they find so addictive, in order to combat future impulses. It can be difficult”. I did this exactly one year ago and I realized what I can do offline and when I must use my digital helpers. I freaky about music, so my smartphone is the best way to do this, irreplaceable audio player. Besides if I must do something on computer, firstly I ask myself If it’s really necessary and I try to avoid internet.
I’m not surprised as well. Why do smartphones, social media addictive us so much? We complain about lack of time. 10 years ago when Mark Zuckerberg was writing next lines of his code and people were complaining about lack of time too. In that time when someone said us that we would spend so many time on the virtual entertainment we would not believe it for sure. Living the life on social media is normal for everybody – people share photos, comments, feelings with their friends. They still want to use Facebook. They don’t want to be cured therefore the attempt of pulling away from social media can create anxiety mentioned Stefan Hofmann, professor of psychology at Boston University. According to the search, people with low self-esteem use Facebook more often but we don’t know if this low self-esteem is the reason or if so often of using the Facebook bring down self-esteem. My daughter uses smartphone very often. Mainly she communicates with her friends via communicators like Messenger that keeps her in time with every news. In my opinion that kind of an activity is not so destructive but it should be control with reasonableness.
Almost everyone use the internet everyday. Personally I do not like to waste time on the web. So I've installed addon to google chrome - Stay Focusd (link below). I've got a list of pages that where I'm losing time. I set the maximum daily time and boom. After 10 minutes I can not waste time. That's annoying, but works. What better addon syncs with my second computer. I really recommend to use such applications.
I just read something strange. "Facebook reported that users spend 50 minutes on its platform each day" What? Most of us works 8 hours per day. 2 hours spent in the car, 8 in bed. Left us six hours for eating, hygiene, child care etc. Almost 1/5 of our free time we spend on Facebook? It is weird. I think it's time to go to detox :/
I completely agree with Karol. I also deleted Facebook application from my phone. I think that people when have a free time (in example: short break between two tasks) open facebook or other social appliaction. Developers use psychological methods for keep us at page. It is horrible. They make many money, because they can create our psychological profile (facebook monitor monitor our movements on the website) and show specific advertisements.
I am trying not use many social media apps, because when I have free time I read book and political or business articles.
It's a sad sign of nowadays. Almost everyone of us are using social media - there is so much different types of them, that you must find something which will fit to you - Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Snapchat or even something focused on specific topic or area. It's hard to stop using them, because it's our habit... We mostly used to browse our favourite sites before sleeping etc. I'm also using some of them, mostly to be up to date with news which are interesting for me.
But in some way, all these digital things, devices or websites, just replaced sources which we were used in past. For example, instead of reading few newspapers we just need to scroll the Twitter wall. Instead of watching four different news programs in four different TV channels we can just watch some videos on YouTube.
So in many cases, we've just changed the source of our "time-waster". And from many different things, we've gone to one, with many different usage-ways - these mystic 'digital'.
I never had a problem with addition to the social media. When I spend a lot of time on Facebook and I have a feeling it’s counterproductive, I close the application. I also extensively use other social portals such as Instagram. Looking through the pictures is a diversion for me on my way to work. Facebook added a new function, which enables broadcasting live. A well-known traveller and vlogger, Krzysztof Gonciarz, broadcasted live the end of the year celebrations from Tokyo. This was the first time I truly appreciated Facebook and acknowledged it can be useful. A video that is made spontaneously, without prior preparation, is received differently. The option to comment on the video in real time makes it possible for us to strike a conversation with the cameraman, who can answer our questions. It all makes us feel as if we were in the same place as our cameraman. I also use Meetup. It’s an application that is used to create groups of people with similar interests, which later help organizing real meetings. Thanks to Meetup I know what is happening in the area. I find the meetings organized very useful because they help me gain new knowledge in the IT sector. New contacts with IT companies and people can bring measurable benefits to my career. I use social media deriving considerable benefits thereof.
People spend a lot of time online. That’s a fact. Very often we see our friends, relatives or partners wasting the time online. I’m pretty sure we tend to think ‘it’s so bad, good I don’t do this’. But in fact we all do. It can have different forms: from browsing the Facebook, reading blogs, searching for cars we will never buy on auction portals to going to the YouTube and viewing one related video after another one. Without knowing you, I can say we ALL do this. And I think I know way. I’d like to point to potential root causes.
First is – we like everything which is effortless. Browsing the web doesn’t cost us anything but time, which we usually underestimate. Let’s take the Facebook as an example. We go there, we leave ‘like’ here and there and what is the effect? Our wall is filled with content. How convenient is that? Each of our interests is now represented by posts, photos, articles which fill our needs. All we had to do is to click ‘like’. Now we can just scroll Facebook and find there a lot of stuff we potentially might like. So it’s perfectly natural that we will start wasting (?) a lot of time on reviewing all of it. We might miss something important! Isn’t that so?
Second thing which promotes wasting time online is… having no plans. Remind yourself a cool evening you had recently. Let it be a beer with good friends, some successful gym workout or even simply going to the cinema. Were you feeling lack of internet there? Did you have on the back of your head thought that you’re missing something which is happening online? I don’t think so. Because you had plans. You knew how to fill your time with something you like. But it’s not the case every day. We go to school, job, spend time there, go back home and… Here it comes. Sometimes we have to fill the evening with something. Working on master thesis? Well, it’s a good idea. Going to gym? Seems nice as well. Cooking? Indeed, might be fun. So why don’t we do this? Because it requires EFFORT. We’re generally lazy. So what do we chose? Something easy. Internet. Oh. Is it midnight already? I’d better go sleep…
Thank you for this article. Every day I see people with their smartphones at the bus, in taxi and even during traffic jam in their cars! It's a sad sign of nowadays. Almost everyone uses social media - faceobook, twitter or videos. In my case I am trying not to use many social media apps, because it is really addictive.
I use social media services moderately. I feel a bit anxious when I’m not able to check what’s happening upon my group on my college, but that’s all. I got my first smartphone about three years ago, and I can’t say it has absolutely no influence on my behavior, sure it has, but it’s not a mayor one.
Usually I use it to communicate with my friends, or for online shopping of which I’m a huge fan. I aslo use the Internet as a source of everyday news, and to expand my knowledge, which is easier than finding appropriate book in a local library or bookstore. Certainly that’s something I can live without. I try to see my friends offline whenever it’s possible, and as for shopping, well - what are malls for?
Could I resign being online for good? That would be nearly impossible. Nowadays being absolutely offline makes person a bit weird, but when I’m out of town I don’t use my device in another way than a regular phone
Thank You for this article, its’s very important topic nowadays. It’s sad that sometimes we met with friends or family and we’re checking our smartphones instead of having a nice conversation. Very often we’re wasting the time online. Most of the people use social media, actually it’s hard not to use them, but sometimes i think we should take a break of „being online” and go for a walk. I’m trying to this.
That is a big problem of modern world. Social media are very addictive, but we are spend more and more time on them. We should ask ourselves, why we do that? Maybe, because we believe that, digital world is better than real life? On Facebook or Instagram profiles, we get likes and comments. We feel more appreciated.
On the other hand, social media create model icon like bloggers. Bloggers are impressing young people, their fame, clothes and money. Due to they spending more time online. However day, forgot of true friendships- in whereby they feel lonely.
More over we prefer shopping and connecting with friends on internet, because is cheaper than shopping in typical market. Usually clothes, are cheaper on internet by about 30%.
Next case are services- we like using uber because is cheaper than typical taxi.
Could we spend less time online? I don't think so. Now internet is not only search engine, but a marketing tool. What causes, that we would not spent less time in the network.
Most young people (and not only) depend on smartphones and virtual world that is the Internet ... including me. I can not imagine life without access to the Internet. I want to be constantly online with my friends, have access to information. Today, privacy is the new luxury, since addiction to social networking encourages us to publish private photos and check out what we are doing now and where we are. I would like to have a detox from the virtual life but it is difficult, especially since I work in the IT world and I feel that it would be impossible. Anyway, I'm glad that I was born in the early 90's, because my childhood was free from the Internet. I spent my free time outdoor with my friends and we played board games.
think that is a significant problem. Fortunately it does not apply to me. I know that I am in high risk group because of my work, but after work I try to put away my notebook and smartphone. Many application can be addicting for the people and manipulate them, make them alone in the big world. We see this things on every step. Ads, articles, the things that you have browsed on the internet and on the wall of Facebook you just only need to click on it. It is a disease of civilization, people are forgetting about simple meetings face to face, talking to other people. They are closing themselves into small smatphones. I hope that this will have end.
It is true that people feel anxious when they lose conection with internet. This is our world. Thanks to social media contact with other people has never been so easy. Becaouse of them we can know about what is happening around us. I sometimes use the telephone without thinking and I read the same a couple of times. But it happens when I wait for something. In every day situations I try not to use Facebook very often but it is not easy. This is true what they say "If you don't have Facebook you don't exist"
I think that social media, especially the Internet is very big addiction for most of us. I have some friends who forget about everything what is more inportant than beeing online. Also I have a job and I have to stay and searching for news and surfing net. I'm not glad, but it is an obligatory rule for me. To cut-off that addiction is almost imposible, becouse most of us build theirs own "new" or even "perfect" personality by beeing online. It is impossible to stop growing up of this addiction. (author Monika D)
The era of mobile devices is one of the topics that I really enjoy to rant about. To put it simply - our generation is engaged in a mobile slavery. What once was supposed to be helpful and useful for us and our daily challenges quickly became an annoyance to those who are aware of the mentioned problem - digital anxiety. As much as I love my shiny phone and the newest apps that seem extremaly interesting once you start scrolling though them - I still can't help but cringe every time I see another person on the street "lost" in the screen of one of the devices that they're carrying. The fact that you need to answer someone immediately either on Snapchat or on Facebook, instead of paying attention to your surroundings speaks for itself - I don't remember how many times I either bumped into someone because they stopped to check something on their phone or how many times I had to walk slowly behind them because they were too busy typing a message. What's worse - not only we're afraid of not knowing what "important" things are going on in the social media, but we're also passing that behaviour to younger people as well. Busy with laptops and phones, parents don't have time for children - or worse - they encourage them to use such devices too, so their little loved ones are preoccupied with various apps or games and parents finally have time for themselves. One of my friends works with the children who have social issues. There was an example of a child who didn't engage in a conversation unless they had a phone in their hands. It's scary to think that an item can control people so well - and even though if I strongly agree that people need technology, it's easy to cross the line and lose the grip of what we really need it for.
Digital Anxiety is new addiction. You can have issues with too much alcohol, drugs but also too much social media and digital content. As always in case of addiction, issue is not coming from digital world, it comes from people. There was stated many words, written many book how to deal with addiction, what to do, how to cure it. The only new things is a way, completely new, related to our new digital environment.
It's very interesting article. To be honest, there are a lot of true referring to my person. Some time ago I noticed that I lost a lot of time on one learned habit namely scrolling screen down on Facebook. After some time I deleted te Facebook app and by the way all social appliaction.Because of the work I had to leave only the Facebook messenger. To my suprise, in my spare time I often take my phone ot of my pocker, then I went into the menu and in this moment I realized I had nothing to check. I came to the conclusion that I was wasting hours of hours on the scale of the month. Summaing up this article is a summary of my experience and it is comforting that I am not the only one who has noticed the thread of using social media.
Long time ago my friend, who had one of the first SDI connections from TPSA told me, that my computer was dull and useless, because it wasn't connected to Internet all the time. It was 17 years ago, and I think that was the time when it all started in Poland. There were IRC, Usenet, forums etc. We have been using those communication channels, especially IRC, to simply talk about something interesting (or not), just like in face-to-face conversation. In these days we were limited by the bill that our parents had to pay for this activities. Nowadays Internet is everywhere in civilised places. It's cheap, fast and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And it became something that is always near us. We're becoming more and more addicted to it. I'm not talking about Facebook, Twitter etc., I'm talking about Internet as a whole. When I say "map" - what's your first association? Real, printed map or Google/Bing/Apple maps? When I have to go to some unknown place, I use some kind of Internet connected navigation (Google Maps, Waze etc.). Of course, I don't believe them 100% but near. My digital anxiety arises when I have to use printed map. So I think, that it's not just social media addiction that cause us to suffer from digital anxiety. For us Internet is like electricity - it's hard to live without it.
Main purpose of social networks like facebook or twitter is luring people and keeping them online as long as possible. You can't really avoid it. Nowadays most of mobile and web applications allow logging with your social networks account instead of registering a new one.
ReplyDeleteForm my experience it is crucial to control time spended on the social networks. I never had trouble with wasting too much time on social medias, but I wanted to reduce it anyway. I started from deleting facebook appliaction on my mobile. There is no such thing on the facebook which can't wait until I will have some free time to chceck it on a laptop. I sometimes catch myself looking for the facebook appliaction on the phone. I immediately put back the phone back to a pocket after realizing that the application is not installed. It is an easy start if you want to reduce time wasted on facebook or any other social media.
I’m not surprised. Every day I see all the people with their smartphones at the bus. What’s more, I’m one of them. I realized that I’m addicted one year ago. Now, I try to avoid digital world but it’s impossible. Most of my needs, especially work or school issues I can find online in 5 minutes. Our possibilities makes us narrow-minded and that’s why we spent most of free time staring at phones. Besides many advantages, there are a lot of dangerous issues. In my opinion one of them and the most important is health. Our eyes suffer mostly! We must remember about it, because we can’t give up on health and we must try to live healthier! It’s really serious problem. I enjoy article about the era of anxiety, especially paragraph when author quote Hoffmann recommendation: „Start by examining the core of why they go online, and identifying which types of browsing they find so addictive, in order to combat future impulses. It can be difficult”. I did this exactly one year ago and I realized what I can do offline and when I must use my digital helpers. I freaky about music, so my smartphone is the best way to do this, irreplaceable audio player. Besides if I must do something on computer, firstly I ask myself If it’s really necessary and I try to avoid internet.
ReplyDeleteI’m not surprised as well. Why do smartphones, social media addictive us so much?
ReplyDeleteWe complain about lack of time. 10 years ago when Mark Zuckerberg was writing next lines of his code and people were complaining about lack of time too. In that time when someone said us that we would spend so many time on the virtual entertainment we would not believe it for sure.
Living the life on social media is normal for everybody – people share photos, comments, feelings with their friends. They still want to use Facebook. They don’t want to be cured therefore the attempt of pulling away from social media can create anxiety mentioned Stefan Hofmann, professor of psychology at Boston University.
According to the search, people with low self-esteem use Facebook more often but we don’t know if this low self-esteem is the reason or if so often of using the Facebook bring down self-esteem.
My daughter uses smartphone very often. Mainly she communicates with her friends via communicators like Messenger that keeps her in time with every news. In my opinion that kind of an activity is not so destructive but it should be control with reasonableness.
Almost everyone use the internet everyday. Personally I do not like to waste time on the web. So I've installed addon to google chrome - Stay Focusd (link below). I've got a list of pages that where I'm losing time. I set the maximum daily time and boom. After 10 minutes I can not waste time. That's annoying, but works. What better addon syncs with my second computer. I really recommend to use such applications.
ReplyDeleteI just read something strange.
"Facebook reported that users spend 50 minutes on its platform each day"
What?
Most of us works 8 hours per day. 2 hours spent in the car, 8 in bed. Left us six hours for eating, hygiene, child care etc. Almost 1/5 of our free time we spend on Facebook? It is weird. I think it's time to go to detox :/
I completely agree with Karol. I also deleted Facebook application from my phone.
ReplyDeleteI think that people when have a free time (in example: short break between two tasks) open facebook or other social appliaction. Developers use psychological methods for keep us at page. It is horrible. They make many money, because they can create our psychological profile (facebook monitor monitor our movements on the website) and show specific advertisements.
I am trying not use many social media apps, because when I have free time I read book and political or business articles.
It's a sad sign of nowadays. Almost everyone of us are using social media - there is so much different types of them, that you must find something which will fit to you - Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Snapchat or even something focused on specific topic or area.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to stop using them, because it's our habit... We mostly used to browse our favourite sites before sleeping etc.
I'm also using some of them, mostly to be up to date with news which are interesting for me.
But in some way, all these digital things, devices or websites, just replaced sources which we were used in past. For example, instead of reading few newspapers we just need to scroll the Twitter wall. Instead of watching four different news programs in four different TV channels we can just watch some videos on YouTube.
So in many cases, we've just changed the source of our "time-waster". And from many different things, we've gone to one, with many different usage-ways - these mystic 'digital'.
Only that it absorbs us more and more...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI never had a problem with addition to the social media. When I spend a lot of time on Facebook and I have a feeling it’s counterproductive, I close the application.
ReplyDeleteI also extensively use other social portals such as Instagram. Looking through the pictures is a diversion for me on my way to work.
Facebook added a new function, which enables broadcasting live. A well-known traveller and vlogger, Krzysztof Gonciarz, broadcasted live the end of the year celebrations from Tokyo. This was the first time I truly appreciated Facebook and acknowledged it can be useful. A video that is made spontaneously, without prior preparation, is received differently. The option to comment on the video in real time makes it possible for us to strike a conversation with the cameraman, who can answer our questions. It all makes us feel as if we were in the same place as our cameraman. I also use Meetup. It’s an application that is used to create groups of people with similar interests, which later help organizing real meetings. Thanks to Meetup I know what is happening in the area. I find the meetings organized very useful because they help me gain new knowledge in the IT sector. New contacts with IT companies and people can bring measurable benefits to my career. I use social media deriving considerable benefits thereof.
People spend a lot of time online. That’s a fact. Very often we see our friends, relatives or partners wasting the time online. I’m pretty sure we tend to think ‘it’s so bad, good I don’t do this’. But in fact we all do. It can have different forms: from browsing the Facebook, reading blogs, searching for cars we will never buy on auction portals to going to the YouTube and viewing one related video after another one. Without knowing you, I can say we ALL do this. And I think I know way. I’d like to point to potential root causes.
ReplyDeleteFirst is – we like everything which is effortless. Browsing the web doesn’t cost us anything but time, which we usually underestimate. Let’s take the Facebook as an example. We go there, we leave ‘like’ here and there and what is the effect? Our wall is filled with content. How convenient is that? Each of our interests is now represented by posts, photos, articles which fill our needs. All we had to do is to click ‘like’. Now we can just scroll Facebook and find there a lot of stuff we potentially might like. So it’s perfectly natural that we will start wasting (?) a lot of time on reviewing all of it. We might miss something important! Isn’t that so?
Second thing which promotes wasting time online is… having no plans. Remind yourself a cool evening you had recently. Let it be a beer with good friends, some successful gym workout or even simply going to the cinema. Were you feeling lack of internet there? Did you have on the back of your head thought that you’re missing something which is happening online? I don’t think so. Because you had plans. You knew how to fill your time with something you like. But it’s not the case every day. We go to school, job, spend time there, go back home and… Here it comes. Sometimes we have to fill the evening with something. Working on master thesis? Well, it’s a good idea. Going to gym? Seems nice as well. Cooking? Indeed, might be fun. So why don’t we do this? Because it requires EFFORT. We’re generally lazy. So what do we chose? Something easy. Internet. Oh. Is it midnight already? I’d better go sleep…
Thank you for this article. Every day I see people with their smartphones at the bus, in taxi and even during traffic jam in their cars! It's a sad sign of nowadays. Almost everyone uses social media - faceobook, twitter or videos. In my case I am trying not to use many social media apps, because it is really addictive.
ReplyDeleteI use social media services moderately. I feel a bit anxious when I’m not able to check what’s happening upon my group on my college, but that’s all. I got my first smartphone about three years ago, and I can’t say it has absolutely no influence on my behavior, sure it has, but it’s not a mayor one.
ReplyDeleteUsually I use it to communicate with my friends, or for online shopping of which I’m a huge fan. I aslo use the Internet as a source of everyday news, and to expand my knowledge, which is easier than finding appropriate book in a local library or bookstore.
Certainly that’s something I can live without. I try to see my friends offline whenever it’s possible, and as for shopping, well - what are malls for?
Could I resign being online for good? That would be nearly impossible. Nowadays being absolutely offline makes person a bit weird, but when I’m out of town I don’t use my device in another way than a regular phone
Thank You for this article, its’s very important topic nowadays. It’s sad that sometimes we met with friends or family and we’re checking our smartphones instead of having a nice conversation. Very often we’re wasting the time online. Most of the people use social media, actually it’s hard not to use them, but sometimes i think we should take a break of „being online” and go for a walk. I’m trying to this.
ReplyDeleteThat is a big problem of modern world. Social media are very addictive, but we are spend more and more time on them. We should ask ourselves, why we do that? Maybe, because we believe that, digital world is better than real life? On Facebook or Instagram profiles, we get likes and comments. We feel more appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, social media create model icon like bloggers. Bloggers are impressing young people, their fame, clothes and money. Due to they spending more time online. However day, forgot of true friendships- in whereby they feel lonely.
More over we prefer shopping and connecting with friends on internet, because is cheaper than shopping in typical market. Usually clothes, are cheaper on internet by about 30%.
Next case are services- we like using uber because is cheaper than typical taxi.
Could we spend less time online? I don't think so. Now internet is not only search engine, but a marketing tool. What causes, that we would not spent less time in the network.
Most young people (and not only) depend on smartphones and virtual world that is the Internet ... including me. I can not imagine life without access to the Internet. I want to be constantly online with my friends, have access to information. Today, privacy is the new luxury, since addiction to social networking encourages us to publish private photos and check out what we are doing now and where we are. I would like to have a detox from the virtual life but it is difficult, especially since I work in the IT world and I feel that it would be impossible.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad that I was born in the early 90's, because my childhood was free from the Internet. I spent my free time outdoor with my friends and we played board games.
think that is a significant problem. Fortunately it does not apply to me. I know that I am in high risk group because of my work, but after work I try to put away my notebook and smartphone. Many application can be addicting for the people and manipulate them, make them alone in the big world. We see this things on every step. Ads, articles, the things that you have browsed on the internet and on the wall of Facebook you just only need to click on it. It is a disease of civilization, people are forgetting about simple meetings face to face, talking to other people. They are closing themselves into small smatphones. I hope that this will have end.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that people feel anxious when they lose conection with internet. This is our world. Thanks to social media contact with other people has never been so easy. Becaouse of them we can know about what is happening around us. I sometimes use the telephone without thinking and I read the same a couple of times. But it happens when I wait for something. In every day situations I try not to use Facebook very often but it is not easy. This is true what they say "If you don't have Facebook you don't exist"
ReplyDeleteI think that social media, especially the Internet is very big addiction for most of us. I have some friends who forget about everything what is more inportant than beeing online. Also I have a job and I have to stay and searching for news and surfing net. I'm not glad, but it is an obligatory rule for me. To cut-off that addiction is almost imposible, becouse most of us build theirs own "new" or even "perfect" personality by beeing online. It is impossible to stop growing up of this addiction. (author Monika D)
ReplyDeleteThe era of mobile devices is one of the topics that I really enjoy to rant about. To put it simply - our generation is engaged in a mobile slavery. What once was supposed to be helpful and useful for us and our daily challenges quickly became an annoyance to those who are aware of the mentioned problem - digital anxiety.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love my shiny phone and the newest apps that seem extremaly interesting once you start scrolling though them - I still can't help but cringe every time I see another person on the street "lost" in the screen of one of the devices that they're carrying. The fact that you need to answer someone immediately either on Snapchat or on Facebook, instead of paying attention to your surroundings speaks for itself - I don't remember how many times I either bumped into someone because they stopped to check something on their phone or how many times I had to walk slowly behind them because they were too busy typing a message.
What's worse - not only we're afraid of not knowing what "important" things are going on in the social media, but we're also passing that behaviour to younger people as well. Busy with laptops and phones, parents don't have time for children - or worse - they encourage them to use such devices too, so their little loved ones are preoccupied with various apps or games and parents finally have time for themselves.
One of my friends works with the children who have social issues. There was an example of a child who didn't engage in a conversation unless they had a phone in their hands. It's scary to think that an item can control people so well - and even though if I strongly agree that people need technology, it's easy to cross the line and lose the grip of what we really need it for.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDigital Anxiety is new addiction. You can have issues with too much alcohol, drugs but also too much social media and digital content.
ReplyDeleteAs always in case of addiction, issue is not coming from digital world, it comes from people. There was stated many words, written many book how to deal with addiction, what to do, how to cure it.
The only new things is a way, completely new, related to our new digital environment.
It's very interesting article. To be honest, there are a lot of true referring to my person. Some time ago I noticed that I lost a lot of time on one learned habit namely scrolling screen down on Facebook. After some time I deleted te Facebook app and by the way all social appliaction.Because of the work I had to leave only the Facebook messenger. To my suprise, in my spare time I often take my phone ot of my pocker, then I went into the menu and in this moment I realized I had nothing to check. I came to the conclusion that I was wasting hours of hours on the scale of the month. Summaing up this article is a summary of my experience and it is comforting that I am not the only one who has noticed the thread of using social media.
ReplyDeleteLong time ago my friend, who had one of the first SDI connections from TPSA told me, that my computer was dull and useless, because it wasn't connected to Internet all the time. It was 17 years ago, and I think that was the time when it all started in Poland. There were IRC, Usenet, forums etc. We have been using those communication channels, especially IRC, to simply talk about something interesting (or not), just like in face-to-face conversation. In these days we were limited by the bill that our parents had to pay for this activities. Nowadays Internet is everywhere in civilised places. It's cheap, fast and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And it became something that is always near us. We're becoming more and more addicted to it. I'm not talking about Facebook, Twitter etc., I'm talking about Internet as a whole. When I say "map" - what's your first association? Real, printed map or Google/Bing/Apple maps? When I have to go to some unknown place, I use some kind of Internet connected navigation (Google Maps, Waze etc.). Of course, I don't believe them 100% but near. My digital anxiety arises when I have to use printed map. So I think, that it's not just social media addiction that cause us to suffer from digital anxiety. For us Internet is like electricity - it's hard to live without it.
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