Digital Disorientation
It seems like a new social media platform is being introduced every month. Right now we have Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, BeReal, X, BlueSky, Mastodon, Reddit and more. Then there are the more entertainment focused platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc. All these platforms enable us to consume and interact with content at an unparalleled rate. There’s only one problem, we’re not built to consume said content at that rate.
Decades past, the main source of information was the newspaper. You grab a copy, read the news, do the crossword, and then go on with your day. Other than that, there was television which had a good amount of stuff on it, but your television was at home and usually multiple people would be able to watch at a time. It was a somewhat social event.
This time was not perfect. It had it’s on problems. You had endless amount of TV you could watch, but TV was limited. There were only a certain amount of channels available and TVs weren’t easily portable. This was a time of distraction. You had all these different ways of entertaining yourself: books, newspaper, TV etc. but they were clear distractions with an end. A TV program would end and books and newspapers would also end.
Now Imagine that instead of one newspaper per day. You had access to two. Not too bad. What about 4 newspapers and 2 magazines for 5 dollars. Seems like a good deal, but now you’re probably starting to think about how much time you have to actually spend reading all these papers. Now let’s say you can get all the issues of a newspaper and every other newspaper for free. That amount of newspapers could potentially fill an entire barn, floor to ceiling. Would you take it?
No, right? There’s obviously no chance you’d be able to go and read through all of them (plus no space to store them). Essentially, though, every time you open instagram or some other social media platform, you’re saying yes. They hold an almost limitless amount of information much in the same way as the barn full of newspapers. They also share other commonalities; they’re full of advertising and trivial information that has no usefulness to your life. There are some good articles in there, In the same way, social media has some really great content on it. That’s not the issue.
The problem when looking at a barn full of newspapers is not whether there’s good stuff in the newspaper. It’s whether it’s worth it to go through the newspapers. Whether to spend hours going through all the ads and nonsensical content in order to find the good articles. For most, that would be no. Yet when presented with a signup screen for a new media platform, social or not, we’re quick to input in our details. Every time you sign up for a media platform like the above mentioned, you’re exposing yourself to a level of content magnitudes greater than a barn full to the brim with newspapers. If each newspaper in the barn was a barn full of newspapers, then maybe.
The worst part is, you don’t even get to pick the newspaper/article to read anymore. With reels, shorts, explore page etc. You’re force fed whatever content an algorithm thinks you’d like.
After a couple social media signups plus twitch, YouTube and some other platforms. You’re no longer distracted by information, you’re disoriented.
It’s simply impossible to consume and think about everything you consume, so we’re presented with the path of least resistance: mindless consumption.
We scroll and scroll, not keeping mind of the time or life. Not really engaging with the content except for the mindless double taps after getting the slightest emotional reaction from a piece of content. After we gain the control to close one application, we open another and we’re greeting with another tornado full of content. That combined with the endless number of emails and advertisements we are constantly seeing and receiving lead us to a state of delirium. It never ends.
Most just go along on the ride, allowing them to get consumed by the tornado. Others have tried methods such as digital minimalismor even abstinence from these media platforms all together. I personally opt for digital minimalism. Instead of complete abstinence, I find ways to reap the benefits of social media whilst minimizing the costs of it. For example, I use instagram through the browser and disable the reels and explore page via extensions. That allows me to enjoy the social aspect of social media with less of the media.
With all this being said, when a new app or platform is suddenly pushed. I am more repulsed than attracted to it. It just means another bin of infinite content and infinite distraction. I urge you too, to think twice before pressing “sign up.”
I was inspired to write this after listening to the Modern Wisdom podcast with Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism.
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