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Written by: Healthysport

Category: Tech Blog

Created: 28 January 2025

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What else can I say? I’ve seen a lot of Monday catch-ups among my friends on Facebook—posts about their weekend activities, from outings to hobbies. It’s nice to see them enjoying life, and I sometimes wish I could be like them. But I prefer to stay in my spot, talking about anything under the sun. It might make me a “boring” person, but what can I do? I’m a chatterbox. That said, I make sure not to force my ideas on anyone. That’s why I share my blogs as links, giving my small circle of Facebook friends the option to ignore them. Surprisingly, a few of them actually check the links. Whether they read them or not, I don’t know. Some might just glance at the featured graphics or browse through the first sentence before clicking away. And that’s perfectly fine.

We all have different preferences in life, and that’s how it should be. Some love traveling, some enjoy parties, others prefer staying home, gardening, or running miles and miles. There are those who binge-watch their favorite series, post everything on Facebook while counting likes and views, babysit their grandkids, or exercise religiously. Everyone has their own joy, and we must respect that. It’s destructive to expect others to enjoy what we do if it’s not their thing.

The only issue I have nowadays is with social media. Let’s face it: we live in an era influenced by visionaries like Steve Jobs, who once said (paraphrased), “You may not need what I offer, but I’ll create the need.” His actual words were, “Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do.” He believed in anticipating customer needs and exceeding expectations—a mindset that has shaped our world.

As a result, we’ve become reliant on things we didn’t think we needed before. We used to memorize phone numbers; now we wouldn’t know what number to call without our smartphones. We used to rely on newspapers and libraries for information; now we can’t live without Google. Maps have been replaced by Google Earth, and there are countless other examples of how technology has transformed our lives. It makes you wonder—how did we survive before all these gadgets and instant access to information?

I call this phenomenon the “Potato Chip Syndrome.” If you’ve ever bought a bag of potato chips, you’ll notice you tend to eat the whole bag, often without realizing it. Homemade potato chips, on the other hand, are consumed in smaller portions because they’re not designed to be addictive. Market-bought chips are engineered by food scientists to ensure you keep eating—and buying—more. The same principle applies to social media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are designed to keep us engaged, even addicted. What started as a simple networking tool to reconnect with old friends has evolved into a “need” for many, covering every aspect of our lives—from emotional support to business, research, and education.

The rise of AI has only amplified this trend. Social media companies now use artificial intelligence to increase user engagement, target ads, and predict individual desires. If you’re into potato chips, expect to see endless ads for them. If fashion or watches are your thing, the algorithms know. This level of personalization can be useful, but it’s also alarming, especially for kids whose developing brains are more susceptible to these tactics.

I’m not saying we should avoid social media—it’s undeniably useful in many ways. But we must be mindful of its potential to become addictive. Take a week without the internet, and you’ll see just how dependent we’ve become.

Personally, I try to focus on creating rather than consuming. I use platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook Pages to share reels and shorts I’ve designed. My video editing tools include InShot, CapCut, and Canva. InShot is the priciest subscription, so I’m working hard to justify the cost through practice. I’ve also noticed that Google Cloud storage is more expensive than AWS, so I’ve paused that for now.

These projects keep me busy during retirement. I also spend time learning about the latest developments in AI through books. I maintain three websites: one for general content (linked here), another for fiction (managed under a pen name for more personal and fantastical work), and a third for web development projects, which I’ve been neglecting but hope to revive soon.

You might wonder if all this costs me a lot, but it doesn’t. Thanks to my IT background, I can create websites affordably using Digital Ocean droplets. Each droplet costs just a few dollars, and I can host multiple sites using Apache virtual hosting. The main expense is domain registration, which runs about $35 a year per site.

In my retirement, I often remind myself of the importance of being "functional." There are two groups particularly susceptible to social media addiction: young children and retired individuals. This vulnerability arises because they tend to have an abundance of free time. It is both fascinating and concerning to realize that, out of the 8 billion people in the world, between 1–2 billion actively engage with social media. However, it is somewhat comforting to know that there are still 6–7 billion who remain free from its grasp—and I can understand why.

During my working days, the last thing I wanted was to be distracted by my phone, though I occasionally sneaked a peek at the screen. There was simply too much to do and think about while at work, and when the workday ended, there were always tasks waiting at home. By the time those responsibilities were handled, I felt so exhausted that all I wanted was to rest and sleep. This remains true for many young adults, including my former co-workers. Between taking care of children, working hard to make ends meet, and attending to daily household chores, the last thing they wanted was to waste time scrolling on their phones—unless it was for something urgent, like an emergency, quick information, or managing an online business.

In other words, despite the allure of social media, the majority of adults I know prioritize their daily routines to maintain balance in their lives. I call these individuals "functional."

On the other hand, a person becomes dysfunctional when a hobby or activity consumes so much of their time that they lose focus on their responsibilities and the normalcy of life. Children and retirees are especially vulnerable to this. Children who spend excessive time on social media often lose the ability to develop long-term focus and concentration, which are critical for deep thinking. By deep thinking, I mean activities like reading a book cover to cover or solving 30 calculus problems—tasks that require a deep zone of learning. If a child relies on AI to write an essay or solve math problems, only to spend the rest of their free time surfing social media or watching an endless stream of reels, that is a sign of dysfunction.

Similarly, retirees like me can fall into the same trap. Spending an entire day sitting and scrolling through Google or social media can quickly become a dysfunctional habit. It is tempting—I face this challenge daily. In retirement, it is easy to rely on social platforms to fill the gaps in life. Loneliness is no longer an issue when you can chat with others, join online dating platforms, or check in on friends on Facebook. However, this can lead to being immobilized in a chair for hours, forgetting that such inactivity can contribute to serious health problems.

For me, exercise and activity are paramount, especially in the later years of life. Becoming too absorbed in social media isn’t just harmful to physical health—it can also impact mental well-being.

Again, I’m speaking about a minority of young children and retirees. From conversations with my American co-workers, I know that many parents closely monitor their children’s social media use. They ensure their kids focus on school, complete homework, and prepare for tests—because success in these areas takes precedence over excessive phone use. The same holds true for many seniors. In my community, I see retirees who prioritize spending time walking in parks, playing games, or socializing with their spouses rather than scrolling on their phones.

However, this challenge is particularly acute for single people like me who live alone yet still need to engage with the world. We are at a higher risk of substituting our phones for companionship, as if they were a spouse or partner. To combat this, I rely on several strategies: I contemplate, blog, write, read, exercise, study topics that pique my curiosity, and create. I also occasionally work for a few hours, but for the most part, I plan and line up activities to fill my day. Of course, I sometimes over-plan. When I do spend time on social media, I try to make it a learning experience instead of falling into the trap of endlessly scrolling through reels to kill time.

To avoid the pitfalls of dysfunction, I make it a point to leave the house every day. I walk, jog, or garden. I borrow books on topics that interest me—my current fascination being AI. These routines help me stay functional and engaged with the world around me.