The Future of Social Media

Same for me. I understand that it can be better for ByteDance (the company behind TikTok), as users get more easily addicted to the “short video” content format. But as for the users, any practical content / content with actual value that may appear there will be most likely oversimplified, so there are mostly just absolutely random topics that you don’t have to think about and just mindlessly consume.

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@john_dumpling I can see some value in Twitter, Linkedin and even FB & Instagram, but TikTok is just, like you said, for mindless consumption.

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Thank you, Mudita team, for making a cellphone that cannot access social media!

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@kirkmahoneyphd Thanks for sharing this. The article uses the term “Digital Social Contagion” and I find that term very appropriate. There is a book that just came out last week which covers this topic.

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Had an interesting discussion with the teenagers in my family, basically revolving around what is a reasonable amount of time spent in front of screens. The outcome was quite fascinating to me. A few comments:
“This is how the world works now, dad. EVERYONE uses their phones for EVERYHTING. I dont know ANYONE that doesnt.”
“I dont see the problem, if I want to go out, I´ll just do it! When I´m tired I´ll go to sleep! When I´m hungry I´ll cook me a meal, I would never stop care about those things becuase of a stupid phone!”
“It´s communication, just because its through a device doesnt make it less meaningful.”
" A phone is a carrier of information, just like a book."
Well, what do you say to that? :sweat_smile:

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@John_Andersson YIKES. I will preface my answer with the fact that I was raised in the 80s & 90s.
So certain things just seem natural to me because I grew up doing things the ANALOG way. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE technology, but I also think some innovation has gotten out of control & is really unnecessary. Technology should improve out lives, not CONTROL our lives.

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I saw this report yesterday on the news & it made me realize that some people are starting to say the quiet part out loud: Social Media has a potential to be a dangerous to minors. However, although it could be argued that social media use should be age-restricted due to concerns about minors being exposed to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and internet addiction, implementation and enforcement of age restrictions are difficult- not to mention a bit “over-reaching” IMHO
A combination of education and parental monitoring is likely the best approach to deal with the negative effects of excessive social media use by minors.
What do you guys think?

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Agreed, and I would add “a simpler phone” to that combination.

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I came across this story on the news yesterday:

To those community members with young kids, what’s your approach to social media?

@justyna_latoszek We talked about TikTok yesterday. What do you think about this?

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Social Media is a great internet source to explain your ideas, thoughts, business to increase, Memories, and more. It is not enough if I say it about a lot of things but use it carefully and limited time is a must for it. Many people habitual it in their daily routine even starting the morning with social media short videos, jokes, etc. Most teenagers are addicted to it badly they are active on it the whole day. They don’t focus on their study, outdoor games, research, and information. It’s used only as time pass. We have to need real use, and time taken to be active on social media, its side effects are more harmful in coming years. Thanks to you to share this topic for all to know about its importance.

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I was in Brisbane City (Australia) over the weekend at a 2 day market event - I was a stallholder and had ample opportunity for people watching. I saw some things which disturbed me.

  1. An infant in a stroller using a smartphone which was physically bigger than her little forearm.
  2. A teenage girl with very thick glasses who had ‘computer posture’ - bent over shoulders, head sticking forward on her strained neck. Feet turned out and hips rolled backward with her low spine curving the wrong way.
  3. When there were lulls in foot traffic other stallholders tended to immediately get out their smartphones and start scrolling.
  4. I also saw lots of wild fashion choices which were disturbing and looked like icons printed on fabric - ‘overwhelming’ only just begins to describe these for me!

I was so happy to be there with my Pure - which I had turned off most of the time so I wouldn’t have any distractions from the reason I was there - to be a stallholder and engage with people.

I was also disturbed by people who were uncomfortable with my intensity of presence - asking ‘how are you’ and actually meaning it, engaging with them and waiting for their answer with interest made some people noticeably uncomfortable - others were shocked.

Are some people so disconnected from their environments and themselves that they are now uncomfortable with authentic connections? Has social media played a part in this for them? Perhaps for people like this social media feels like a safe way to engage with others?

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@galtions Thank you for sharing your observations. I see this all the time.
We have to call it what it is- addition.
I see this behavior all the time & I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.
Just this past weekend, I met up with a High School friend. We haven’t seen each other in 15 YEARS, so you know we had a LOT of catching up to do.
We went out to dinner & she was picking up her phone every 30 seconds and just glancing at it. I’m not exaggerating,
Finally, I had to say, “Girl, put that phone in your purse.”
She admitted that she does have a problem & uses her phone entirely too much, but she has no idea how to stop.

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So many different shiny things on the internet to become addicted to, thoughtfully designed to suck people in and keep them interested and disengaged from their real lives. This is very clever design and marketing, but not very kind to the people it’s aimed at. I’d like to see more products thoughtfully designed like the Mudita ones, and have the marketing reflect their ethos. Kindness, mindfulness, connectedness.

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@galtions One thing that attracted me to Mudita was the fact that their products are quite easy to incorporate into real life- even little by little. And pretty soon, they are just there.
It’s estimated that Americans touch their smartphone, on average, 2,617 times each day. And many of them couldn’t go 1 hour without checking it.
With Mudita Pure, it started out as my “walking the dog emergency phone” because when I walk my dog, I do a lot of walking meditation, so I prefer to be present in the moment & not have something buzzing in my pocket.
I walk Misiek at least 3-4 times per day, anywhere from 40min- 1hr. So, it was easy to not have my smartphone around during those times.
It’s the same with the alarm clocks. I used to use a smartphone as an alarm clock, but then I just replaced almost 2 years ago & never looked back.
People don’t realize how seamlessly you can change your life for the better.

When it’s forced, then it can be brutal. Your conscious mind isn’t thinking about your smartphone, but that process — the process of requiring yourself to not think about something — uses up some of your limited cognitive resources. It’s a brain drain. With Mudita, it’s so much easier.

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Here’s an interesting survey from Phone Arena

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YES! Animals and nature keep cropping up in these conversations as ways for people to become present and mindful. Connect to nature, connect to our own inner nature, connect back to self - this really works for many of us.
Urszula I love that you walk your puppy so many times a day and make a conscious choice with walking meditation. Nature around you and your dog appreciate it too I’m certain, as they tend to be sensitive to these EMF / radio frequency emitting devices also.

Also my experience with Mudita Pure has been seamless - I switched it over one day intending it to be a trial period and ‘I’ll still have my old phone if I need it’ but honestly, I haven’t needed it, nor have I switched back. :grinning:

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BTW in terms of future of social media – have you heard of BeReal?
It’s a social media app that prompts users to take a single, unedited photo once a day at a random time. Once the notification arrives, users have two minutes to take a picture with the front and back camera at the same time.
There are no filters or edits allowed, retakes leave a stamp, emphasizing authenticity over perfection.
This video from SNL is actually a fun summary:

On one hand, BeReal is a refreshing take on social media, promoting authenticity and spontaneity over curated content.
But on the other hand… it feels very Orwellian.

I use it sometimes but I only have a group of very close friends there, and we all are very chill about it. Like - it’s ok to share that I’m going through a lazy morning and my face looks weird etc.
But it’s kinda terrifying to think how it may affect those with less distance towards their image and social media in general.

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I totally get what you mean about the pros and cons. On one hand, it’s refreshing to embrace authenticity and spontaneity. But, yeah, the Orwellian vibes can be a bit unnerving.

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Social media addiction is a hot topic, and it’s interesting to see how platforms evolve over time.

Regarding Facebook and Meta, it does seem like there’s a shift happening. Whether it’s people reevaluating their online habits or the platform evolving, only time will tell. :smile:

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Meta became an official state affiliate by governments worldwide, and the events of the past three years, including the “Facebook dilemma,” serve as prime examples. They have now positioned themselves akin to Pontius Pilate to justify the censorship they imposed (and still do) on scientists, papers that didn’t align with certain narratives, experts, and other individual who dare to question anything.

I’m not a fan of Musk, but X currently offers a platform for all voices. That aligns with the science I’m familiar with. Naturally, there are extremists in every corner, but it’s our responsibility to question, conduct our own research, and make informed decisions.

I use Meta’s social media solely for work. It’s a necessary evil for the time being, at least until I find some professional stability in my life.

From my perspective, Facebook is increasingly becoming a platform for family communication. It doesn’t seem as business-oriented as it was a few years ago. Thus, their insistence on political correctness might lead to their own downfall.

I don’t know about you, but I miss MSN Messenger and the earlier innocence of MySpace.

msn

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