People stopped using social media for a month to explore the effects. People explored the effects of not using social media by taking a break from it for a month.

Recently, I was asked two questions: "How are businesses taking up the issue of mental health on social media?" and "What do Gen Z think about that?" It's an important topic that we should all be aware of, so let's take a look.

When brands sell a dream about using their product, it can create FOMO that leads to anxiety and depression for those who don't use it. Furthermore, spending hours scrolling through posts can lead to an unhealthy comparison of our own insides to the polished outsides of others, resulting in feelings of unworthiness that amplify anxiety and depression. This is why I stopped spending so much time scrolling and minimized my "unsocial media viewing" and "doom scrolling".

It's not just about brands considering mental health, though. Social media platforms also have a corporate responsibility to protect young pliable minds. They use proven neuroscience to amplify addiction, similar to slot machines in Vegas, and their algorithms are designed to create device and platform addiction. Sadly, these platforms are more focused on their corporate greed, as rage, disinformation, and drama sells clicks and generates billions in advertising revenue.

I wrote a post recently on the downstream effects of our devices and the social media platforms embedded in our smartphones: "Is Technology Stealing Our Happiness?". It discussed the ways in which social media alienates us from each other, separates us from nature, enables bullying, prioritizes the individual over the community, alienates us from our community, and reduces or fully automates our creativity.

So what do Gen Z think about the downsides of social media? I don't think many of them are aware of it, and even if they are, they may be lost in their device and platform addictions. It's important to remember that Mark Zuckerberg didn't design Facebook for the common good, but to make billions from our addiction.

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[Generative AI is experimental.]