Has social media made you retarded?

Just deleted Snapchat, id always spends way too much time on it idk. honestly have gone to check it a bunch of times.

Yeah probably half the reason I’ve failed algebra

newschoolers is like a drug that gets less fun the longer your on it, but you wont leave

You're not wrong at all. Social media has also sabotaged my relationships, ruined my focus, and made it harder to get over guys after breakups. It also made me less happy/depressed in general comparing myself to all these professional athletes doing fun stuff all the time while I'm stuck at work. It's toxic as fuck. I have drastically reduced my usage slowly over the past year. This is how I managed to do it:

I deleted the Facebook app. I also downloaded "News Feed Eradicator" chrome extension on my laptop. It shows you inspirational quotes instead of your news feed.

I also got really mad after realizing that the sole purpose of these apps is to show you ads and sell your personal info, all in the name of profit. They're incredibly creepy. They know all your interests, and know exactly what you want to buy. It's really manipulative. Once you're aware of it, you can't get it out of your head.

Instagram was a hard one for me. But what I did, was go through all of my followers / following list, and delete every single person that I wasn't close with or didn't really care about. I pretty much only follow real people that I know on there now and have met face to face. Dropping my followers/following count from over 500 to under 150 made a HUGE difference. There's barely anything on my news feed now. I unfollowed meme pages, skiing pages, pro athletes, etc. If I want to watch ski edits/look at memes, I can just look them up manually instead of having them flood my news feed.

I basically just changed how I view these apps and tried to see them for what they really are. They're intrusive, manipulative and bad for my mental health. But yea good luck I hope you find something that works for you. I also noticed my eye sight is getting worse and I'm only 23.... Scary

twinkle_toesYou're not wrong at all. Social media has also sabotaged my relationships, ruined my focus, and made it harder to get over guys after breakups. It also made me less happy/depressed in general comparing myself to all these professional athletes doing fun stuff all the time while I'm stuck at work. It's toxic as fuck.

Honestly it sounds like you're toxic as fuck and social media is just mirroring your shitty personality.

skiermanHonestly it sounds like you're toxic as fuck and social media is just mirroring your shitty personality.

1/10 for creativity on that one. nice try tho

Nah I was retarded to begin with thankfully

Piss_Boynewschoolers is like a drug that gets less fun the longer your on it, but you wont leave

I disagree when i was first falling in love with skiing I thought NS sucked and when I came around to it after high school it was aight. I love it now though and feel like I've met amazing people and learned so many things from it. NS feels like a community more than any other social media and a big plus is the company/people who run it are part of what makes it so special because they are here, ultimately, for the same reason all of the users are - we all love skiing. Vs for example what other people have been saying about companies like Facebook (who also owns Insta) and Twitter who want to sell user data and show ads.. NS gives back to its community and the users make it what is it, even if that is a reduced version of what it used to be.

Got rid of the remaining bits I had at the end of last week

Had a great weekend

Not sure if they are related but yeah

Bold of you to assume I wasn't a dumbass beforehand.

Yes, but social media has made most others even dumber, so it’s a gain for me. A huge L for civilization tho, RIP Earth

SendyMcSendyfaceBold of you to assume I wasn't a dumbass beforehand.

Lol

Yes

A little over a year ago I began trying to use social media less. It was hard. As a 19 year old, social media is basically all I have known in my life. It was something that I have used for as long as I can remember because that’s just how my peers and I grew up. A little over a year ago I began trying to use it less. I began with app limits but that wasn’t nearly enough. I would just override the app limits and still use social media constantly. I then tried deleting the apps from my phone but I would just log in on my computer or redownload the apps. Finally I completely deleted my accounts (accept Newschoolers of course). I now have been off social media for like 6+ months. I have seen serious improvements to my mental health. I was able to overcome the urge to fill my free time with constant scrolling. I no longer get FOMO. It was not easy and it still isn’t. Almost everyday I get told by my friends to get back on social media to see their posts and our old group chats. But ultimately, I don’t need it anymore. I am perfectly content with not being constantly plugged in to socials and I have been in a much better mental state ever since I made the switch. I have really noticed the difference in the things that I am interested in. You never realize how much you don’t care about the things you see in your feed until it’s gone. Basically everything I was seeing on social media was useless information that I was being tricked into thinking mattered. My perspective on so many issues in the world has changed because I now have space to think for myself and look into things on my own rather than them being shoved down my throat.

Less social media, more skiing.

Maybe not completely retarded but a little fr sure.
It made an addict for sure

Anything with a recommendation algorithm that feeds you content from ppl you are not subscribed to is highly addictive by design. The goal of these algorithms is to maximize watch time (your hours spent) and engagement in order to generate as much ad revenue as possible from each user. This is why short content (1-minute or less videos) are being prioritized on almost every platform, since they are the most addictive forms of content. Tik-Tok essentially discovered the most addictive formula, and now other platforms want in. However, I also think that content without algorithms can be just as addictive.

I think that computers and the internet have a huge potential for allowing people to connect, learn new information, and interact with each other, but all major social media platforms are traps designed to keep you on their site as long as possible, wasting time and viewing ads. There are other minor social platforms like Mastodon which don't have ads, and are run by independent groups not looking to make a profit but instead trying to create a community. However, few people use them and you can still just mindlessly scroll through them all day anyway.

I haven't really felt addicted to the social aspect of social media, bu I feel addicted to to compulsively checking social media (or other sites) in the hopes of finding something interesting as soon as I feel bored. I really don't know how to improve or fix this, but I am trying to find ways to limit the time I spend doing this and find other activities to replace it with, and try to challenge myself to occasionally do things that require a longer extended focus.

I have been trying to be more intentional with how I spend my time online. This means, instead of just going online because I am bored and seeing what comes my way, I try to go online with a specific goal in mind, and try to avoid things that distract me from achieving that goal. The goal could be looking for a specific video, or trying to find some information that I want, or just checking if there are any interesting NS threads that I want to reply to. I deleted my FB, Snap and Insta over a year ago, however I don't recommend that for everybody. Most of the people I had on those apps were people I hadn't talked to in years anyway, and pretty much anyone I wanted to get in touch with I could contact by other means. Compulsively seeking new information out of boredom is something that I still struggle with and I do believe it has decreased my ability to focus on things.

**This post was edited on Aug 7th 2022 at 1:25:15pm

Social media and ADD/ADHD + addiction probably have some correlation for sure. Overstimulation seems like the new norm and honestly a longer format forum like newschoolers is less troublesome than tik tok for sure..
i have fb for family/old friends but want to delete the app so i dont have to look at it, but rentals and marketplace are like the only way to find cheap shit and a place to live.

instagram is satan and definitely the one i am most tied to, i cut my presence down on it and just use it as a messenger app primarily now. Still scroll it constantly and can feel the effect/time wasted.

my friend got me to make a twitter and that shit is SCARY. Dude just like everyones most unhinged thoughts posted in one place. And posting on it like a diary is mad addictive even if nobody responds.

all in all it will be our downfall i think. Makes vanity a common disease and makes everyone way too fried.

g_lectrolyteSocial media and ADD/ADHD + addiction probably have

TL:DR

Is social media the great filter?

HiHowAreYouIs social media the great filter?

Nah most wise people avoid it and will make their kids do the same. My guess is it’s either AI related problems or we’re already past it.

Could be skynet, but the filter is still ahead of us as long as we do not have a self sustaining colony on another planet.

asparagusNah most wise people avoid it and will make their kids do the same. My guess is it’s either AI related problems or we’re already past it.

I present to you the jetwish

Social media definitely has a huge impact on our lives.
Many people made fortune thanks to it

at least have a thoughtful response if you're going to bump a dead thread

esmawhiteSocial media definitely has a huge impact on our lives.
Many people made fortune thanks to it