How Tech Companies Socially Engineered Your Addiction

Attached to technology, disconnected from reality, and wasting our precious time.

Bored? Pick up the iPhone. Stressed? Pick up the iPhone. Awkward situation? Pick up the iPhone.

Every time we log onto our devices, we detach ourselves from our problems, and miss opportunities to grow in the real world...you know the one that isn’t hidden behind a screen.

But, it’s an addiction that we can’t break

That’s because technology has created an echo-chamber for every single user and at the center of that echo-chamber is YOU. They call it social media and it’s technology’s remedy for a culture of detachment.

When you click the Like or Retweet button, you are telling social media algorithms exactly what you want to see more of. Their job isn’t to send you content that you “might” enjoy. No, they want you to engage with familiar content because that means they can sell more advertising space.

What was once created with the mission to connect the people of the world, has turned into “connect brands with the people of the world”.

Social media is like a friend that knows you very well, but really has ulterior motives to being your friend. That’s why it is so hard to step away from it.

And it’s not just Millennials that are hooked

We are all responsible for setting a bad example for the younger generation.

Adults 35 to 49 were found to spend an average of 6 hours 58 minutes a week on social media networks.

Millennials: an average of 6 hours 19 minutes.

Adults 50 and over: an average of 4 hours 9 minutes a week.

Now, I’m not trying to protest all technology

But, I want you to realize the facade which social media stands for. It is no longer a place where you connect with old friends, find new hobbies, or interact with like-minded individuals.

Social media is technology’s rationalization for taking you out of reality.

The echo-chamber is self-serving; designed to sell you more stuff.

But, the real world is about serving others.

So, just demolish the echo-chamber

You can disconnect from social media and still be very social...if not more social. Reach out to those you want to reconnect with and grab a coffee, instead of Tweeting at them.

My aunt was fed up with all of the political arguments taking place on her timeline between lifelong friends, so she just signed out of social media for the month and is recuperating some of her old hobbies.

Personally, I realized the truth behind this echo-chamber last year and gave up Facebook for 2016’s entirety.

And it was great!

It allowed me to filter out all the noise I didn’t want to hear any more. Spent the extra hour per day on reading productive media and began learning the ropes of written content.

Then, I started a blog, garnered over a million article reads in four months, and have found a new passion.

Stop wasting your time shouting into the echo-chamber of social media and do something productive.

Personally, I love discussing how to adapt to the technology of the future, so creating a weekly newsletter like Quick Theories was just a matter of setting aside more time to write.

Some of my recent articles are: The Car Industry Is Making The Same Mistakes Cell Phones Made In The Early 2000s and The Future Of Online Shopping Is Simply Clicking An Amazon Dash Button.

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