Your cognitive functions are being hijacked and your emotional intelligence and will power are being suppressed by social media algorithms

To understand what I am about to say, you first need to understand that social media companies are making money from your eyeballs.<br><br>The more you watch, the more money they make.<br><br>The same algorithms that are used to maximise watch time are also hijacking your cognitive functions.<br><br>Your brain is being hacked by these algorithms to make you a “good” consumer and to make you more predictable so that you can be sold to advertisers.<br><br>The reason you find it difficult to get off social media is because these algorithms are designed to make social media as addictive as possible.<br><br>These algorithms are designed to activate your brain’s reward system by giving you endless validation in the form of likes, comments, etc.<br><br>Every time you get a new like or comment on one of your posts, you receive a hit of dopamine.<br><br>This endless dopamine makes you feel good, and it also reinforces your beliefs about yourself, making you feel important, like what you have to say matters.<br><br>These algorithms are also designed to activate your brain’s threat response by triggering negative emotions like fear, anger, uncertainty, and anxiety, and they do this by showing you the same type of content you engage with the most.<br><br>If you engage with negative content the most, then that’s all you will ever see, and this will make you feel hopeless, angry, and fearful.<br><br>These algorithms are designed to keep you in an endless loop of negativity, and this negativity will eventually seep into your real life.<br><br>Eventually, you will be unable to distinguish between what’s real and what you have been told is real.<br><br>Your perception of reality will be distorted, and you will start to see the world in a skewed way.<br><br>You will start to see people and events through the lens of social media, and this will make you paranoid and isolated.<br><br>You will lose trust in people, institutions, and even yourself.<br><br>You will also lose touch with your own thoughts, emotions, and feelings.<br><br>You will start to feel numb and empty inside, like a part of you is missing, and this numbness will make you feel disconnected from the world.<br><br>You will also lose motivation and a sense of direction, and you will feel like you are sleepwalking through life.<br><br>The good news is that you have the power to break free from these algorithms and to take back control of your brain, emotions, and life.<br><br>Here are some tips to help you do this:<br><br>1. Limit your time spent on social media to just 30 minutes a day, and use website blockers like Freedom or StayFocusd to enforce this limit.<br>2. Delete social media apps from your phone, and access them only from your desktop computer.<br>3. Use ad blockers to remove advertisements from your feed, and remove any accounts that you don’t recognise or that make you feel bad about yourself.<br>4. Remove any accounts that trigger negative emotions in you, like fear, anger, or anxiety.<br>5. Follow accounts that inspire and uplift you, and that make you feel good about yourself.<br>6. Take regular breaks from social media, like a week or two every few months, and focus on real life connections and activities that bring you joy and fulfillment.<br>7. Practice mindfulness and meditation to increase your self-awareness and to develop emotional regulation skills.<br>8. Learn to recognise and challenge negative thoughts and emotions, and to reframe them in a positive and realistic way. <br><br>If you feel like social media is affecting your mental health, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional for help and support.<br><br>Do you have any other tips for maintaining a healthy relationship with social media?