A former facebook executive went viral for saying “the short term dopamine driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works.” Now the idea that phones and social media are bad is about the most pseudo-woke take out there. I think it’s worth considering anyway. It is not an issue limited to social media. Really any virtual consumption applies. I am certainly no exception. The first thing I do in the morning and last thing I do before bed is check twitter or reddit for whatever hot takes I can find in the world of sports, politics, or anything else. I’d like to think that I’m just modern god of random information thanks to the internet, but more than likely I’m just addicted to pretty colors. In fact turning your phone to grayscale is the easiest way to break addiction. I might be reading and absorbing information, but as far as why I’m doing it I’m not much different than the literal 2 year old playing a game on their heavily armored ipad.
So we have a world where our caveman or even primate DNA is being exploited to addict us to technology for an ever increasing portion of our day literally from the time we’re in diapers. At the same time we can see real life long term milestones are becoming more and more uncertain for young people.
Generation Z in particular is set to be more impoverished, more stressed, more isolated, and shockingly more anxious, depressed, and even suicidal. To blame all this on smartphones would be an irresponsibly lazy take. Generation Z is understandably anxious to live in a world where tuition is at record levels, automation is supposed to take their job anyway, and the world has 12 years to prevent irreversible climate catastrophe. Oh and by the way no matter how hard you work, the kid with rich parents is getting your spot at Yale. If long term prospects appear… less than ideal short term satisfaction will obviously be favored to the point that a more accurate term would be escapism. In the interest of at least a little optimism I would like to point out virtual consumption is likely still a step up from physical consumption which is addictive in its own right, more destructive to the planet, and exclusionary to a majority of the world’s population. To be fair the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
I guess my point is virtual consumption is not just a cause of misery. It is also a symptom. So what is the solution? I do not see a silver bullet, but there are ways to balance the scales a bit. Using grayscale and limiting screen use can take the edge off, but improving long term personal outlook would probably help more. (This would be achieved by substantive improvements not positive vibes.) In the meantime we should find ways to encourage kids from a young age to pursue more intrinsically motivated long term goals as well. Individual interests will vary, but some pretty universal ideas could be learning new languages or to play an instrument, both of which have long term positive feedback loops and require minimal resource investments to pursue. As futurists we should recognize that these issues are nuanced and complex and be prepared to offer systemic solutions. –Collin Sledge
