You have likely heard it many times before, avoid social media because it is highly addictive can cause negative self-esteem, and lend itself to bullying easily. Yet, after a certain amount of time, these comments tend to be ignored. I mean, it’s not like social media is leaving anytime soon, right?
While tuning out negative feedback about social platforms tends to lead naturally to ignorance from teenagers, it does not fix any of the issues with using these platforms.
With COVID quarantines in 2020, there was a massive boom in social networking apps because of people’s desire to socialize. Naturally, humans have evolved to be social creatures, thriving in groups, so it makes sense that in the heat of self-isolation, many have turned to the internet to fuel biological needs.
There were tons of positive responses to the solution. People use platforms like WhatsApp to stay connected with friends and family, Zoom as an alternative to school or work meetings, YouTube to learn new hobbies, and Instagram to find new recipes.
However, despite all the positives, there were an equal amount of negatives. Using social media led to increased COVID-related panic, increased depressive thoughts, increased anxiety, and sometimes led people to feel even more isolated than they were already.
Overall, Generation Z has been the first group to grow up in the digital age. Many older generations have used this to stereotype ‘Zoomers’ as lazy, unmotivated, easily distracted, and unintelligent.
While lots of these qualities have always been said of whoever the younger generation is (IE, Boomers towards Millennials), many of them are true and have been magnified. With the new popularity of shorter-form content such as TikTok or Instagram Reels, many Gen Z-ers have found themselves bored and losing focus in everyday activities.
This issue has been linked to the reward center of the brain, the same portion that creates drug addiction problems. With how fast people can access and continually receive stimulation from social media, the brain becomes hooked on these feelings of joy or gratification. Every like, comment, or notification causes the brain to produce a short burst of euphoria, enforcing an addiction as the brain seeks more positive stimuli.
Most alarmingly, the popularity of fast fashion and ‘microtrends’ has seemingly skyrocketed. While overall, Gen-Z seems to place a larger priority on sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, this seems to be ignored when it comes to what is trendy.TikTok as a platform seems to be the fuel to the fire. With the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hosting over 6.2 million posts.
‘TikTok made me buy it’ and trends relating to it have encouraged younger people to impulse buy in a way that has not happened in past generations. TikTok has also fueled many dropshipping practices that rely on cheap, unethical, and sometimes child labor to function. Dropshipping is a business model where an individual takes orders and fulfills them with a third party, typically a cheaper site, such as AliExpress or Temu.
Dropshippers lie about business practices, calling themselves locally-owned or small businesses to garner shoppers who prefer buying locally or sustainably. People use these labels to help justify unnecessary purchases.
It is important to note that overconsumption isn’t just purchasing something dropshipped, it is also buying into short-term trendy items, even if they are from a large brand.
Recently, the popularity of the Stanley Cup has exhibited this practice, with people buying way more water bottles than they could use. These ‘trendy’ items will inevitably go unused and eventually fill landfills, contributing to climate change.
Consumer trends are far from the largest issue when it comes to social media use, however. Gen-Z has seemingly been desensitized to graphic or damaging content. Gen-Z has also grown to romanticize mental illness. Calling themselves ‘manic’ as a joke or the use of the term ‘female hysteria’ as a response to everyday stressors and issues.
So how can you even help?
Shop Using Mindfulness: By shopping mindfully, you can save money and the environment! Remember to ‘de-influence’ yourself, think about your online shopping habits. Consider what you will do with this item in the long term and who you are profiting in the process.
Be sure to avoid untrue mental health terms. Calling yourself manic, hysterical, or suicidal as a joke is harmful. De-stigmatizing mental health is awesome, just make sure you aren’t romanticizing mental illness in the process.
Limit Social Media Use: Set goals for yourself to cut down on usage of social media. It will not happen overnight, but plan to use each platform less and less over a while. Be sure to encourage friends and family, too! Breaking this habit does not have to be done alone.
