Societies Liberation Has Come at a Cost
--
It is no secret that we are amongst some of the most stressed individuals to ever walk this planet. Despite our technology, unlimited choices and most of our basic needs met, we have seen a rise in anxiety.
No one would predict a downturn in the quality of our mental health one hundred years ago. With all the advancements of science and knowledge, you would hope people would experience higher levels of happiness.
It appears to me that our liberation has come at a cost. And if we do not do something about it fast, we may never be able to recover the cost of it all. Here are two ways our societies liberation has led to negative impacts on our mental health.
Social Media and Our Technology
Majority of the notifications we now receive on our devices have nothing to do with human connection. A ping from your phone used to mean someone messaged you, now it is everything but that.
We have endless streams of content specifically tailored to us through algorithms that show us what we want and like. Now when we use social media, it is less to do with connecting and more to do with disconnecting.
Whether it be 10 mins or an hour, we can spend our time indulging in content which requires hardly any connection with others. Social media has turned into something the original creators did not expect and our technology has increased its development speed.
Social media and technology have increased our ability to make better decisions and remain connected. Despite having the potential to operate much better, we have seen decreases in our productivity and increases in our stress levels.
The cost here, is not being paid in the development of our technologies. Instead, it is being paid with our health. The balance must be struck for individuals, but also at a societal level.
How much data do we need to share and how much content do we need to consume? It is clear, that after a certain point, our increased connectivity leads to unclarity and anxiety.
