Social exclusion: Smartphones and Social Media

 When you look back and see how the smartphone came to be, you realize how much technology has affected our lives.

People used to be more social

When messaging apps were first introduced, their first aim was to bring people closer. It has only had the opposite effect. Texting has replaced talking, which I find weird. I might be the only person in my generation that prefers talking over texting.

One smartphone means less stuff

This is more common in countries that are technologically advanced. Your phone is now your wallet, keys, MP3 player, navigation device and e-reader.

This means that you only need a phone with you to perform basic tasks, and nothing else.

Physical health?

Sedentary lifestyle is nothing good. When you look at the world now, almost all the people (especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha) have bad physical health. Aside from weight, spine health is also bad: every computer user slouches after 15 minutes, which means spine problems.

Mental health

Social media has completely changed people, and that includes their mental health. Pretty much all of Gen Z complain about not having friends, while doing nothing to make new friends.

The new way to get attention is either applying trends to your daily life every waking day and asking people at various platforms for feedback. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does more harm than good. There are all kinds of quotes on how you don't need anyone's approval, but with TikTok and Instagram, those seem to be forgotten.

Especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha suffer from this sensation that I like to call: "the validation disease", the need for attention/validation. They will go great lengths to obtain validation, ranging from liking something they hate to illegal activities I won't get into.

What to do?

The solution requires working with social media apps while avoiding them at the same time. First, assess which social media accounts you already have. Then, see which accounts you aren't active, and delete them. If you want to, you can publish a goodbye post.

When you minimize social media to only the essentials, you can feel that you're more connected to the real world, in which you're happier.