presents is the following question:
Do you feel that society is distracted by social media and that this
distraction blinds people to what is important? And if so, why
are people so willing to be distracted from the most
important aspect of their lives?
I could say that this answer can have several facets. But yes,
social media often distracts us from the most
important aspects of our lives.
As Director of Knowledge Management at the Institute of Geology and
Paleontology, in charge of the IT and social media area of
my center, I can affirm that there are personal components, such as people's alienation
from the reality that surrounds them, disinterest in certain
problems that society faces, and social or
personal issues that people prefer to avoid confronting, seeking refuge in
social media.
But there are other, deeper elements that aim to keep people connected to social media most of the time. These include the design of digital platforms, with algorithms that almost always recommend things of interest to us and work on psychological mechanisms to capture our attention. This leads to many of the situations we see in our societies, such as:
People who are constantly connected to a device, fragmenting their personal attention span into just a few minutes and reducing their focus on personal problems.
A vast amount of information on social media that hinders the capacity for deep reflection.
A preference for interactions through devices over face-to-face interactions. I've seen people in the same room who, instead of asking or saying something to each other in person, do so by sending a message. It's not for nothing that social media brings you closer to people who are far away, but distances you from those who are near.
I don't know if it's true, but I read that in a restaurant in an Australian city, the owner gives a 10% discount to families whose members don't use a phone during dinner.
Regarding why we give in to these distractions, there are several interconnected reasons:
Immediate rewards: Interactions on social media activate brain reward systems similar to those of other addictive behaviors. It's no coincidence that people are starting to talk about digital detox.
Avoidance of discomfort: Faced with anxiety, loneliness, or the stress of modern life, the offerings on social media provide immediate relief.
It has become a digital trend: When an entire society prioritizes digital connection, it becomes difficult to maintain different habits.
Difficulty defining "what's important": This is very dangerous because we can often be given the opposite message of what is truly important, and we become vehicles for the trivial.
The sad thing about all this is that this constant distraction can prevent us from focusing our attention on what we want: the meaning of values, authentic relationships, personal growth, and time for what we truly value. Studies have shown that this is causing some personal breakups.
A final comment:
Many may think that the problem is social media or new technologies. However, as I always say, all problems have their root in the education we receive and the ways in which it reaches us.
We cannot escape social media or technology. We have to learn to use them to our advantage, not to become slaves to them.
What do you think?
Note: I used DeepL Translate.
The photos are my own and are part of my family album.