When I’m on the street, at restaurants and on public transport, I often observe people. Based on my observations, most people look down at their mobile phones anytime. They never look up and watch out for someone who almost collides with them. They never stay alert to traffic. They start walking across the street when someone next to them steps forward, no matter whether it is a green light or red. Together with their masks, they look soulless. They seem to consume whatever social platforms push. Why are their little screens so attractive that they would sacrifice everything, including safety?
Remember the days when Xanga, Blogger and WordPress were established? Many people wrote articles on these blogging platforms. Since those days, we’ve been pressing the refresh button to see if our friends wrote something. Several years later, social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were established. Initially, we wrote a lot on these social platforms. Then we looked forward to seeing someone poking you or liking your posts. In recent years, social platforms changed their strategies by pushing feeds they thought you were interested in. They seem to know what you want to watch through big data technology. People’s information consumption gradually changed from pulling themselves to being pushed by social platforms. Our behaviour is now controlled by social platforms.
As a Facebook user, I often see advertisements in my message feed. A few years ago, there was one advertisement after 3 to 4 posts from my friend. Last month, I found there were consecutive advertisements in my feed. Then I kept flipping through over 45 advertisements, suggested posts and pages liked by my friends, and I finally read another post from my friend. Despite Facebook’s transformation into “Adbook”, people are so addicted to it that they can’t stop scrolling. This phenomenon also occurs on other social platforms.
Social platforms and digital devices have become tools that consume more time than connect people. However, we can’t neglect the benefits brought by them. How can we regain control of our lifestyle without sacrificing the benefits of social platforms? First, I never install social platform apps on my mobile phone. Instead, I use them when I’m using my computer through the web browser. This can drastically reduce daily social platform consumption. You will soon find that you don’t need social platforms so often, except when your daily work is directly related to them. In fact, I use my social platform mainly to share my latest blog post. Another way is to install the app when you need it, and then delete it after you’ve finished the job. I always apply this approach on Facebook Messenger, insurance and travel booking apps. My mobile phone contains the essential apps and a couple of games. I don’t have to scroll a lot to find the app needed.
Turning off the notification reduces the likelihood of checking your phone. Instead of being pushed by the apps, check the phone regularly, e.g., once per 2 hours. Remember, most breaking news aren’t important or urgent to you. Instant messaging means that messages can be sent and received instantly, but they aren’t necessarily meant to be read instantly.
Broke my phone in 2014 due to a bicycle accident
Although I don’t use social platforms on my mobile phone, I read the posts from my friends when I have free time next to my computer. However, I seldom comment or react to their posts. Social platforms nowadays don’t value long comments, but rather simple and often meaningless ones. Instead, I use private messages or face-to-face interaction. This makes the interaction more personal rather than just superficial chat.
Social platforms aren’t inherently evil. If you can use it in a controlled manner, you can still enjoy it and sometimes may reconnect to some friends that you haven’t reached for a very long time.