A device to line pockets
We’re enriching social-media giants so let’s beat our addiction
Mark Zuckerberg is the most dangerous man on Earth’ — Professor Scott Galloway.
Recently, international companies have been pausing their Facebook spends for a number of reasons. Those are the big guys. What about us? How can we, the little guys, fight back?
If you are disgusted by what social media is doing to New Zealand — pitting us against each other with rage-inducing data mining algorithms of greed — then what can you do as a person?
Well, you could try not looking at your phone the next time you feel like looking at it. Try not doing it once and it might lead to a habit.
Have you found yourself staring at your phone while your children are trying to talk to you? I have. It’s not good. But it’s easy to fix. When you catch yourself, just stop. Any moment is a good moment to reset and zone back in with the people you love.
A recent Vodafone study found 32 per cent of New Zealand respondents admitted to using their phone behind the wheel. Clearly, this is a bad idea.
As my dad used to say, “keep your bloody eyes on the road, you idiot”. But it points to a depressing truth. Our devices and the social media on them are so addictive, we will risk everything to stare into their void. We are addicts.
Neuroscientist Dr Judson Brewer, author of The Craving Mind, wrote:
“Addiction can be defined as continued use, despite adverse consequences. We lose sleep when we check our phones in the middle of the night. We endanger ourselves by driving while texting. We even obsess over social media, ignoring our family members, friends or coworkers.”
Social media makes us jealous, angry and unhappy, and that’s not even the worst of it. The big socialmedia companies aren’t just ruining our lives. They are tearing us apart as a people. These are evil companies, playing us against each other and selling the information from the horror to advertisers.