 Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and

YouTube provide free access to users, but make profits on their attention.
 The more time a user spends on the platform, the more appealing it becomes
to advertisers, resulting in more revenue for the platform.
 The designers and engineers behind these platforms have put restrictions on
their and their family's smartphone usage.
 Former Facebook vice-president for user growth, Chamath Palihapitiya, does
not use Facebook and does not allow his children to use it either, and
criticized the platform for "destroying how society works" and spreading
misinformation.
 Instagram's founding engineer, Greg Hochmuth, deactivated his Facebook
account and does not have any social media app installed on his phone.
 Facebook's former president, Sean Parker, admitted that they were
consciously aware of making an addictive product that exploited a
vulnerability in human psychology, but did it anyway.
 The creators of social media platforms are designing features that come at the
expense of users' well-being in a conscious bid to acquire maximum user
attention.
 Social media technologies are not just individual websites, but a larger socio-
economic, cultural, and psychological nexus that connects our existence to
others in specific ways.
 To fully understand the impact of social media, we need to examine them
within a broader metaphysical context.
 The lack of self-discipline and self-control in social media usage is
representative of the general absence of self-discipline in over-consumption
of goods and services.
 Social media technologies lack a definite end or objective, allowing for any
number of short-term goals to emerge.
 The design of social media technologies, unguided by an underlying
philosophy of meaning, renders them vulnerable to manipulation for profit at
the cost of users' psycho-spiritual, emotional, and physical health.
 Many studies have highlighted the negative consequences of social media
addiction, including increased feelings of loneliness and isolation,
cyberbullying, and the spread of misinformation and fake news.
 The author argues that social media technologies should be guided by a fixed
set of values and objectives that prioritize the psycho-spiritual, emotional, and
physical health of their users.
 Social media platforms are designed to be addictive
 Variable reward systems, such as the pull-to-refresh mechanism and the 'like'
button, create uncertainty and anticipation for users
 Examples of addictive design in popular social media platforms include
Instagram and Twitter
 Instagram and Twitter provide positive feedback through notifications and
metrics that track engagement
 Pull-to-refresh feature, present in many social media apps, creates a sense of
anticipation and uncertainty for users
 Social media platforms reinforce certain behaviors, such as scrolling through
news feeds and frequently checking for new content
 Social media platforms still use bottomless feeds and endless streaming to
keep users immersed and engaged for as long as possible.
 YouTube's auto-play feature continues to keep users watching videos without
any human intervention.
 Algorithms that predict and offer users the content they want to see exploit
human psychology and offer instant gratification in the form of likes, shares,
and comments.
 The consequences of these addictive features are becoming increasingly
apparent, including reduced productivity, increased anxiety and depression,
and a lack of face-to-face social interactions.
 Social media has been linked to the spread of misinformation, polarization,
and radicalization.
 It is important to recognize the addictive features of social media and take
steps to reduce their impact, such as setting limits on social media use,
seeking alternative forms of entertainment and social interaction, and
advocating for responsible design practices by social media companies.
 We must be aware of the potential consequences of our social media use and
take responsibility for managing our online habits.