In the modern world where texts, calls, and “DM”s have largely replaced face-to-face conversations, it has become easier than ever to stay in touch with one another. However, despite the wider push to stay connected through social media and other platforms online, it has become much harder to truly connect. Despite the rise in media communication, which is designed to bring people together, loneliness and anxiety have reached unprecedented levels in recent years. This leaves us to wonder: are social media platforms making us more vulnerable to isolation and loneliness?
Technology was first created with the purpose to unite—to unite separated communities, to unite groups of people with similar interests, and to unite everyone into a tied network of closely-connected individuals. Since then, its growth has accelerated faster than ever before, and gradually technology has been more and more integrated into our lives as part of a sense of normalcy. Of course, all of this is factual and undeniable: technology’s growth is quite impressive. On the other hand, however, a question still lingers on whether this growth has been totally beneficial or detrimental.
Steve Jobs, founder, creator, and former CEO of trillion-dollar company Apple, is renowned for his contributions to making the iPhone, iPad, and a series of technological innovations that revolutionized the tech industry. Nevertheless, he frequently warned against the overuse of technology, even limiting his own children to iPads as he cited them to be “too dangerous for them.” Jobs also emphasized the need for us to limit the capacity of technology in our lives. He famously once said, “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”
If Jobs had seen just how much technology has consumed our lives today, I would guess that his faith in people—in humanity—would be much lower. And what’s worse, the “wonderful things” that we have been able to produce with technology have led to many unnecessary yet severe consequences. With increased digitalization, multiple studies point to adolescents experiencing an increased plethora of mental health issues. Depression, self-harm, and suicide have been widely prevalent in our young society, and they haven’t ceased growing since their initial rise.
And what is the main culprit to this? For me, it all originates from the toxic principles and ‘rules’ that we have seem to have made within technological platforms. Two of them stand out to me as primary culprits: comparison and competition. All over social media and the Internet, the algorithms feed us with content made to evoke strong emotions out of us. Whether it’s envy towards another person, hatred towards a group of people, or outrage over a recent scandal, the bombardment of idealized lives and polarized opinions often leave us feeling inadequate. It can leave us feel worthless, wondering, What am I doing while everyone else is doing this?
Social media has also redefined what it means to be “connected” to someone. We have become so accustomed to having hundreds, even thousands of “followers,” that we have lost value in the people with whom we can find a genuine connection. Out of the hundreds of followers we have, how many of these ‘connections’ are genuine? How many of these friends can we call in times of need? We are often inclined to believe that these superficial connections can substitute deeper connections. However, this just blinds us from meaningful interactions, leaving many to feel lonelier than ever despite being surrounded all over online.
Ultimately, the question doesn’t lie in whether technology is good or bad for us. Rather, it’s about how we, as individuals and as one society, choose to utilize it. Like Steve Jobs reminded us, all the tools are in our hands; it’s up to us to pick up the right tools and wield them wisely. Of course, this “loneliness epidemic” can be stopped with the right steps. As we rethink about what it means to be truly connected, we can ensure that the media is not a barrier but, instead, a bridge for us.
