Engineering Attention Economy: From Real to Reel

Breaking the Social Fabric

There is a huge Fake Reality that exists in society resulting in the need for Social Approval and Social Comparison. The technology like internet, mobile phones, which were primarily designed as a message board for dissemination of information has been taken over by Social Media whose very design is to show what other peoples’ HIGHLIGHTED REEL LIFE looks like. The result being: we have become more engrossed in Comparison. Comparison to other people’s posts, tweets, stories, have resulted in depression, lower self-esteem, and envy.

Youths have become more inclined towards social media in their difficult times because society has failed in teaching them the Coping Mechanism over Stress.

Dopamine

Dopamine is the very chemical that is released when we are smoking, drinking, or gambling. However, this chemical also seems to be released when we are over social media. Now, this is a major concern; the reason being: we have a legal age for drinking and that prevents many from being engulfed from falling into the addiction sphere, however, for social media no such restricts are imposed in the community (except for parents or guardians, who at times stand to the cause).

Attention Economy

Las Vegas is known for its lavish Casinos. The gambling machines present there to make it even more impossible to resist using them to find the Jackpot. Imagine carrying around a portable Jackpot machine (mobile phones) with you and the amount of Dopamine it results in for the user.

The MAGIC OF MAYBE – the USP of any social media technology, we are rewarded to showcase our best lives over social media, and thus 99% of the actual truth is hidden. This Fake Comparison has led to envy in many and depression over the rest.

Adverse effects on an individual

It is difficult to identify a depressed youth with his/her glamorous feeds buzzing all over. Due to this, an increase in suicides, increase in medication (sleep tables, anxiety tables, etc.) has damaged our natural physical structure.

Concentration span has become even more difficult for people to have and thus people are becoming more Reactive than being Reasonable.

Conclusion

The question you should ask yourself is that – why should you let technology interfere in your life, What purpose does social media fulfill to achieve your life goals, and Most Importantly, Why does SOCIAL APPROVAL MATTER? Is it even reasonable that we put ourselves in a stressed or depressed state by comparing ourselves with the state of others? There once exists a Competitive Spirit which has now become Fake Comparison. We are living in the perceived sense of perfection and we often conflict that with Value and Truth and the truth is Fake Brutal Popularity and imagine that by the 2 million compounded population using social media. We are already in a fragmented and broken state; more vulnerable and isolated than ever.