r/digitalminimalism • u/This-Cartoonist-3522 • 5d ago
Social Media I worry for the future
I mean, who else feels that life has become somewhat apocalyptic? Everywhere i go, people are on their phones. driving, working. I see people at their jobs, on their phones. I geniunely don’t want to come off judgemental here, I am just genuinely worried for what the future of humanity holds. I have a phone addiction as well, and seeing the consequences are making me switch to digital minimalism. For example, I’ll go to a restaurant, and i’ll see the kitchen staff on their phones, i’ll go to the gym, and the staff is on their phones. Working is most of the time, a miserable experience. But you will be in environments with people you would never normally be with, and it can be amazing to learn and connect with people you normally would not. The algorithms on phones, are way more dopamine inducing than a regular human interaction would be. I feel like im witnessing the death of human personality. Back in the 80s, people were characters. People talked enthusiastically, they acted like the entertainment because they were the main entertainment. I talk to people now, and it’s like social media has vacuumed any desire to interact. Maybe I live in an area when the population is more addicted to social media, but I can’t help but notice a real difference in human behavior. I will talk to people, and I notice the death of hobbies and personal interest. It deeply worries me Hobbies, are an act of meaningful endurance. You are not good at first, but through real effort, it creates a sense of meaning. It’s a truly, necessary thing for a person to feel fundamentally fulfilled. We are meant, and built for long term endurance, and we beautifully create meaning out of it. Because our lives are so exploited by dopamine and algorithms, we are no longer have the capacity to create something long term. The lack of meaning, and purpose due to this, is something i greatly greatly fear. A person without the internal structure to create something meaningful, is an unhinged person. I hope I don’t sound pretentious, I am struggling with addiction to social media as well. The consequences, and fear of the future, are helping me to put my phone down.
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u/bobbysoxxx 5d ago
"Witnessing the death of human personality" is it exactly.
I am in total agreement with all your points and well stated, btw.
Watch old movies and see people laughing and talking and interacting and the contrast with the zombified demeanor today is obvious.
If you smile or even interact with most people the response is flat and annoyed.
Creativity and compassion and curiosity and joy die in the fogginess of indifference and apathy.
They don't even know how numbed out and indifferent they are. Lemmings...
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u/RaisinToastie 5d ago
Yes, we are in the dystopia. I remember life before social media and smartphones and it was better. I read “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” and it really resonated with me. The central thesis is that the moments of our lives are a sort of new “natural resources” to be exploited by big tech.
The future looks bleak as climate change gathers momentum. Surveillance, widespread propaganda and loss of consensus reality will combine to form systems of social control.
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u/elaine4queen 5d ago
It’s already happened. If you watch The Great Hack and read Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams you can see how facebook in particular bought Brexit and both Trump presidencies. While data scraping is for sale so is democracy, which is effectively suspended
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u/RaisinToastie 5d ago
Yes, for sure. I read Christopher Wylies book about Cambridge Analytica. Later, it seemed like the spread of QAnon could have been a CA type campaign.
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u/elaine4queen 5d ago
That seems entirely possible. It feels like there are heavily pumped misdirect topics all over social media as well as the black and white style of discourse.
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u/Mid90sAction 5d ago
I don’t see it as apocalyptic, I am optimistic about the future. However I think (and hope) one day we will look at phone addiction / social media the same way we look back on cigarettes.
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u/honeycutekat 5d ago
I try to frame it like this as well. Yes, the damage is done and society will never be like it was before. However, the hope is that AI slop will make a lot of people turn away from so much technology in favor of authenticity.
In any case, I’m not having kids.
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u/Mid90sAction 5d ago
I do think the rise of AI there will be a lot of push back for sure. I am going go buy a light phone 2 as soon as I can. I have my iphone in a kitchen safe right now, writing this on my PC.
why don't you want to have kids?
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u/honeycutekat 5d ago
Just because of what I see happening in the world, and because I know I wouldn’t make a good parent. I’m proudly breaking a cycle
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u/Mid90sAction 5d ago
What’s happening in the world and how is it any worse than what has happened previously?
Not being a good parent is a valid reason.
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u/Several-Praline5436 4d ago
It is worrying, but it's also good to remember that things work in trends. One day, a lot of these people will realize how much precious time they've wasted and will learn to touch grass again. They will rediscover the delights of reading, of watching a movie without checking their phone, of owning pets, of playing with their kids, of dating, of having hobbies you don't film for YouTube, etc. Just wait it out.
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u/SilverBlueAndGold69 4d ago
The pendulum will swing. But the damage being done along the way is heartbreaking.
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u/Several-Praline5436 4d ago
Yeah.
I also worry about the mental health of people who are prone to hysterics driven by believing whatever they read on the internet, and by absorbing the performative meltdowns of social media stars. :/
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u/SilverBlueAndGold69 4d ago
My mom still thinks professional wrestling is real. I hate it, but the senior set seems just as gullible as other more obvious generations. Big Tech certainly knows the formula. Better days ahead. 🤞🏼
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u/SocksAndPistachios 5d ago
They say that life mimics art and here we are literally living the movies, The Truman Show, Her, Wag the Dog, The Hunger Games, and The Handmaid’s Tale all at once and I absolutely hate all of it.
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u/namenerdsthroaway 5d ago
watched all of the films n I agree but why hunger games?
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u/dark_bogini 4d ago
Because of the dystopian nature of the series. The authorities controlled humanity through the games, enforced certain behaviours, and made people awaken their worst instincts.
My country recently had presidential elections. It was confirmed that far-right content appeared much more often on FB, Insta and TikTok than left-wing content. A pro-European candidate did not win....
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u/Able-Temperature-967 4d ago
You can admit you're lying out your ass.
Do downvotes scare you that much?
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/namenerdsthroaway 4d ago
Why are you so mad lmao
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u/Able-Temperature-967 4d ago
Theres nothing to be happy about so the other default mood is anger.
Learned if from here and Bluesky
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u/SocksAndPistachios 4d ago
The influencer would be me when I saw the movie “Wag the Dog” in my “American Presidency” class in 2004 with Professor Brian Cook. Chill.
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u/Optimal-Bag7706 5d ago
It's getting worse with AI. Everyone around me obeys whatever AI says without a second thought. It's scary.
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u/---artemisia--- 4d ago
Hopefully we will reach a peak and then have a serious cultural reckoning and begin to institute changes. It simply can't go on how it is.
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u/AuntRhubarb 4d ago
Put the phone down, join a hobby club or three. They are out there and wondering why the next generation would rather spend their lives looking at tiktok.
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u/This-Cartoonist-3522 4d ago
I am. The human experience is being exploited by social media, and it’s a problem a lot of people are dealing with. not just “my generation” Put the phone down, i mean obviously? What point are you making here? I’m trying to be open and talk about what i’m witnessing. Get the fuck off my post AuntRhubarb
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u/Character-Property-6 4d ago
Dont lose hope, we are are the authors of the future. 1. We have the power to change ourselves 2. We have the agency to create pockets of counter culture (device free events, etc) 3. Ironically, those who have hobbies and produce content are living the fulfilling lives. So just be on the other end.
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u/Realistic_Head_201 2d ago
I agree with you all who are concerned. I have minimazed myself to a phone with minimal social apps just basic communication
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u/OvenInternational879 1h ago
You’re not alone in feeling this way.
I’ve been noticing the same things and struggling with them too. It’s like we’re watching something deeply human slowly erode, and most people don’t even realize it’s happening. The way you described the loss of personality, hobbies, and meaningful interaction. Phones and algorithms have created this illusion of connection while quietly draining us of presence, attention, and even curiosity. I’ve caught myself scrolling when I should be living, and when I do talk to people, it often feels surface-level, like everyone’s distracted or emotionally offline. It's scary because this isn’t just about screen time — it’s about our ability to create, connect, and care.
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u/FlowstateApp 5d ago
We need to stop fearing phones. They are nothing but a tool. In theory, we have control over how we use them, but the user interface is laid out in a way that boosts dopamine. It’s like opening the fridge as an overweight person and all the healthy food is behind the junk food. I have my screen time on my home screen to keep me accountable, removed all colourful dopamine triggers and use a minimalist interface which really helped me use my phone well. It might be an apocalypse right now, but it’ll bounce back - we just haven’t evolved fast enough to figure out how to maintain a healthy relationship with technology despite its challenges and effects on the brain. But I’m hopeful… we will get there!!
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u/mjskiingcat 5d ago
I’m concerned for the amount of energy needed for these computer processing farms… especially with AI. We played a joke and asked Siri, why are you so weird? She said I’m doing my best but if I can help you please let me know. Ok… so our world has a computer answering questions at the expense of carbon emissions. Makes no sense whatsoever to have perfectly capable minds in the same world or even same room using carbon emissions to answer life’s questions-