by
MrCharlie
Published:
Monday, January 1, 2024 11:01:26 AM
Many people have noticed the trend toward the negative online and since it is abnormal behavior for normal people to flock to negativity, some have decided to no longer participate in the feeding frenzy.It has been studied and proven that most of the negative and influential information produced by the Bots and Trolls that rule Social Media [https://cits.ucsb.edu/fake-news/spread] is produced in an effort to benefit media publishers (this includes applications like games and other 'for profit" or "for influence" publications).
People who suffer from social media addiction often display similar symptoms as a result of the negative "influence" being exerted upon them online [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9707397/]. Examples of symptoms are that they may: constantly check their devices because they feel the need to stay connected to the stream of "likes" and gossip or sometimes worse information being fed to them. Addicts may also become more irritable than usual when they are offline and not connected to the stream, this is similar to being "off it" for drug addicts. Addicts may begin to sleep less to stay online more. This often leads to neglected appearance and hygiene which again matched other types of addiction consequences. Addicts may eat more junk food than usual because it requires less effort and can be eaten while engaging in Social Media. They may begin to lie online more frequently. They may begin to smoke or drink excessively. They may begin to cheat on their spouses or partners. They may begin to abuse hard drugs like cocaine and fentanyl. They may begin to bully others online in an effort to make themselves feel better about their own lack of motivation to change for the better. They may begin to speak negatively of other people they don't know and should have no concerns about like celebrities and politicians. They may begin doing things to appear more affluent or become more popular online like cheat and steal. They may begin to lose interest in work, school or the people around them. They may begin to show signs of paranoia. They may begin to experience delusions and become involved with other irrational thinkers online. They may begin to hear voices in extreme cases. They may begin to think that they are being followed by the government and start espousing unfounded and illogical conspiracy theories. Eventually they may become psychotic once Social Media has stripped them of their wits and driven them crazy. All of these are now extremely common and have lead to record dysfunction in places like the United States. On top of that, the "addiction/sickness" has spread worldwide. Now, if this doesn't sound like a negative outcome for those who become addicted then nothing does.
What however is causing people to become addicted to something that causes such consequences? The answer has been studied and weaponized by the technologist behind the largest Social Networks and that answer is dopamine [https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/] which is a chemical that occurs naturally in the human body. Dopamine is a chemical that can be produced in larger amounts when humans are psychologically stimulated and its effect cycle can become addictive. Using this knowledge and the science behind it has become standard practice by media publishers.
All however, is not lost. Below is information collected and reduced to an easy to digest graphic, which shows that a majority of people (based on a 2019 study result), seem to be disconnecting from the negative influence on Social Media. The chart suggest people are trying to break the Dopamine addiction cycle. The chart suggest the beginnings of "The Dopamine Revolt". The revolt is against the abnormal and psychotic nature of consuming negative information and the up and down cycle being exploited by profiteers against those who in most cases do not understand why or how it is already being used against them.
Data Source: Ipsos MORI 2019.