Social Media Detox; Part 2

By Manzi Prince Mugisha.

In my previous article, I introduced the topic of dopamine and how it relates to our daily lives. I also brought up the concept of social media, most especially TikTok. Today, I will focus on the effects apps like TikTok and Instagram have on our productivity levels. Everyone always discusses how social media is destructive because you spend a lot of time on it. True, but do you know the actual value of your time in the first place? Because if you did, you would avoid falling into the same trap.

As previously mentioned, TikTok revolutionized social media by introducing fast-paced videos. These apps have created algorithms that adapt depending on the videos you like. If I opened your Instagram page and saw two to three posts on fashion, I would know that you are interested in fashion and have liked fashion posts in the past. Now that is good, right? No, it is not. Because if you are not scrolling through Instagram looking for fashion ideas for your business but mindlessly scrolling through because you believe you will one day start it up, that is where the real challenge lies. There is a difference.

Social media has killed youth's productivity and creativity. I am specifying youth because the future is in our hands. The other day, a professor divided us into groups while in class and asked us to think of as many definitions as possible to define thinking. My group came up with five (the genius that I am). At the end, the professor asked the highest number all groups had come up with. It was six (we had a limited time of two minutes). He told us that if he had given the same exercise to a group of ten-year-olds, the least number they would have come up with would be fifteen. I believed it. I did because he went on to tell us that as we grow, our sense of imagination/creativity reduces due to the worries and fears of life. In this case, however, social media makes it worse. I do not mean that there is no positive side to social media. I am talking about the self-help gurus and people who share their life stories to motivate the young generation, like Jordan Peterson, Iman Gadzhi, and Andrew Tate, to mention but a few. There is a concept of boredom I also talked about previously. It is believed that the grandest of ideas pop up when your brain is 'bored' and you are in touch with your thoughts. Albert Einstein came up with the law of relativity when he was seated under an apple tree, thinking. He was not on his phone scrolling through Instagram.

Social media also detaches us from the real world. Have you noticed that most recently, when you have gone out with your friends to have a good time, almost 70% of the time spent together is with everyone on their phones? This whole concept is that because social media feeds high levels of dopamine into your brain, you feel that it is more fulfilling to spend 3 hours of your time at home in your room scrolling on your phone than going out and talking to your family, asking your siblings how school went that day. One feeds into instant gratification, and the latter, delayed gratification. You feel good scrolling through your phone now at the expense of building a bond with your friends and family. Here is a piece of advice. Take time. Use the 8-8-8 principle if you may. We have 24 hours in a day, and if you divide them by three, you will have three segments. You will have eight hours dedicated to sleep, eight to work, and eight to leisure activities.

In conclusion, I won't tell you that you completely get rid of your phone. Just watch how you use it. Some smartphones even have helpful functions like regulating screen time. It all comes down to personal initiative. If you use it destructively, it will destroy you in the long run. If you use it wisely, it will be a resourceful material. Finally, in everything you do, think in the long term. If you feel good doing it right away, chances are that it will be disastrous in the long run. Make your present self suffer for your future self to enjoy.