Teenagers spend a lot of time on social media every day. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
social mediaIn order to attract attention, the various pictures, texts and videos in it are always full of clips that challenge the limits or are different from ordinary people’s logic. There may be a bathtub full of instant noodles, the strange behavior of drinking 10 cans of Yakult drinks and then vomiting at one time, etc. Young people want to be interesting. , followed suit one after another. Among them, “Tik Tok“(TikTok) challenge activities caused many deaths or hospitalizations and attracted international attention:
An 11-year-old boy in the UK suffered cardiac arrest due to inhalation of toxic volatile gases while following the “chroming” challenge on TikTok, and died after ineffective resuscitation.
A 13-year-old girl in Australia also died eight days after suffering cardiac arrest while participating in the “snorting spray” challenge.
A 12-year-old girl in Argentina died unexpectedly after live-streaming TikTok’s latest challenge at home. Afterwards, her family said the girl was bullied by her classmates and forced to perform dangerous challenges.
A 14-year-old boy in the United States died in a hospital after participating in TikTok’s “One Chip Challenge.” The latest autopsy report shows that the cause of his death was due to ingesting a large amount of chili extract.
A 15-year-old boy in Germany feared that the boy would tell his parents after he and another 6-year-old boy challenged the TikTok death game “Blackout Challenge”, and the boy cruelly killed the boy.
In 2023, many TikTok “Boatjumping” challengers appeared in Alabama, USA. The challengers jumped from high-speed boats into the sea. Within half a year, four people broke their necks and died on the spot. One of the deceased was a father. His wife and children were also filming at the scene and finally witnessed the moment of death.
Filter accepted information
There is a proverb in English: “You are what you eat.” It means “You are what you eat.” What we eat, the nutrients or calories the food provides will be reflected in our body and appearance. In fact, what content we read is also shaping our personal temperament and thoughts. Even if the change in appearance is not obvious at first, the conversation will reveal what a person usually thinks and learns. Short videos that do not seem to cause immediate harm are having unexpected negative effects on our brains. We should carefully choose the food we eat, and also filter the videos or pictures we watch.
The impact of short videos and social media on the brain
Distracted attention
According to a Pew Research Center survey, 64% of American adults believe social media has a negative impact on their lives. The fast pace and ever-changing content of short videos cause our attention to become increasingly divided. one itemResearchIt has been shown that people who frequently use short videos are more likely to suffer from inattention.
dopamine addiction
Every time we watch an interesting video, our brains release dopamine. Dr. Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, pointed out that this “reward” mechanism is similar to gambling addiction, which makes us constantly want to get more. How exciting.
memory loss
Rapidly switching content is not conducive to the brain’s ability to form deep memories.Researchfound that frequent social media viewing was linked to memory loss, and another group of teenagersResearchViewing social media has been shown to have a negative impact on short-term memory.
Optimize viewing content and filter the social software used. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Ways to improve excessive use of social media
Set usage time limit
Use your mobile phone to limit screen usage time and set a daily short video usage time limit, which is recommended to be no more than 1 hour. You can spread the time, such as 30 minutes in the morning and evening, to avoid long-term use at one time.
Cultivate new interests and increase social interaction
Try to schedule at least three “offline” activities per week, such as reading, drawing, or exercising. Join relevant clubs or courses, and arrange face-to-face social activities at least once a week to increase motivation to persist.
Mindfulness practice increases concentration
To train to increase concentration, try the “Pomodoro Technique”, perform deep breathing exercises for 2 to 3 minutes during work breaks or arrange mindfulness meditation, starting with 5 minutes a day.
create“No mobile phone”time
Buy a physical alarm clock, avoid using your phone as a tool to wake up, and set a fixed “no phone” period, such as during meals or 1 to 2 hours before going to bed. During the “no phone” time, put your phone out of sight. place.
Optimize content filtering using software
You can take the initiative to follow education and knowledge accounts to improve the quality of information, regularly clean up your watch list, delete meaningless or negative content, make good use of the platform’s “not interested” function, and adjust the recommendation algorithm. The most important thing is to choose the social software you use carefully. Different software has different preferences and recommended content. Software used by children needs to help block inappropriate content, or use the recently emerging Clean World audio, video, text and text social platform to start from the source. Just do a good job of checking.
Social software and short videos are not without their benefits. The key is to maintain a balance and consciously control usage habits. If you feel that you can’t change the habit of always scrolling on your phone to look at social software, you can try turning off message reminders or uninstalling related software to let yourself feel the peace and quiet of not using social software.
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