Blog #11 Final Blog

 Technology: the good, the bad, and the ugly

It's 2020 and I couldn't even tell you which iPhone we are on right now. Maybe the iPhone 13+scs 1000? The speed at which Apple puts out a new phone is hard to keep up with, but I think it well encompasses how quickly technology has evolved and consumed our society. 

One of the scariest features of the new iPhone is the "screen time usage" in the phone's settings. Even scarier is looking and finding out how much time your little device consumes the precious hours of your days. However, new features on the iPhone like accessibility tools for those who are enabled differently have transformed and helped so many people. With the internet and access to world knowledge available at the touch of our fingertips, phones have a myriad of advantages for our society. The ability to communicate has transformed through the usage of texting and calling, but now through the plethora of social media apps that are slowly taking over. 

As a Gen Z, I find that my generation, and especially the generations below me, have been greatly impacted by said social media apps. I vividly remember the day I created my Instagram at the ripe age of 11 years old. At the time, I did not even have a phone yet, however, my iPod touch at the time supplied me with the ability to still connect with the world. My generation started experiencing media very uncensored before the inevitable consequences of cyber-bullying, stalking, revenge porn, and more started occurring. The issues of this were that my generation experienced the negatives of media before everyone else, learning how to navigate that turmoil during the most impressionable times of our young adolescent lives. 

 

Although that may sound a bit dramatic, my interests in critical media studies have exposed me to a lot of negative consequences that have occurred because of media technology. Specifically, with my interests in psychology, I have taken courses that dived into the negative impacts of social media and the representation of women that has lead to serious psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and disordered eating. 

Personally, I have noticed some of the impacts of social media first hand through myself and others. Specifically, I know that my friends spend a significant amount of time on their phones often due to social media. Again, social media is a fantastic tool to communicate and share with others, however, it can also be the perfect platform to compare yourself to those around you. 

Here is an image that illustrates the specific apps that have impacted many people on social media, depicted by positive or negative net ratings. As you can see, some forms of social media, such as Youtube, are really positive for youth mental health. I believe this is because Youtube helps entertain audiences and allows other YouTubers to bond with their audiences through relatability. On the opposite side of the spectrum, you can see that Instagram is a pretty negative form of social media. Unfortunately, it is of my favorites, probably because I started having it since I was 11 years old. I believe Instagram is a pretty toxic app at times because it involves others posting photos and videos of themselves that are often ego-centric and photoshopped. It shows the "best" and sometimes "fake" versions of people that ultimately make it virtually impossible to not compare yourself to others.

Because of this, I found that although Instagram is one of my favorite apps, I needed to find a way to eliminate the amount of time I was spending on it. Some people take "social media cleanses" where they delete all their social media for a week or however much time they think is necessary. Knowing myself, I knew that if I deleted the social media, it would make me want to be on it more, making me think about it and probably failing to have it stay deleted. Therefore, with the advice given to me by my friend, I decided to turn off all of my notifications on my social media apps, that way instead of being constantly overwhelmed and notified to go on these apps, I will be able to do so in my own time. 

The results were honestly more impactful than I thought they would be. After doing this for a little over a month now, my phone time usage has gone down by 2-3 hours a day, which is honestly crazy. Remember, I did not delete the apps, but rather stopped getting notifications which inevitably made me not feel like I had to go on it all the time. Days, where I happen to be on social media more than usual, are very obvious to me because I start to compare myself to others and get into an overall more negative mood. Now, I feel like I am on the path of being a more healthy social media user, being able to benefit from the positive impacts of social media without suffering deeply from the negative consequences. I encourage all of my friends to do this or at least try it out because it has honestly impacted my mental health significantly more than I even imagined. 

As this is my final blog, I would love to end it with a wonderful Ted Talk, presented by a young adult like myself. This Ted Talk revolves around the topics of social media and mental health to help you paint a better picture of the impacts of technology, but also the ways that you can become a more intentional and responsible user in the future.