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 The first video I watched "The true toxicity of social media revealed" discussed how depression (especially teen depression) is deeply correlated with social media usage. In fact, there is a 70% increase in depression in the last 25 years according to the source. Even though social media is claimed to be increasing inclusivity and connectivity, many results indicate the opposite. Social media sites' general algorithm is designed to isolate us from the things we do not like or understand and pushes us to the things we like and are familiar with. Therefore we can never be actually interconnected. In a Tedx by Jacquelyn Quinones, there was an interesting quote by a psychologist: "If there was a legal drug that creates the same effects as social media, it would be banned." And I believe it is true, social media is a mass psychosis. Just like tobacco addiction, by using social media you are deliberately exposing yourself to potential harm. Because of social media, o...

For my research, I began with finding connections between social media and empathy. The first related article by Berryman, Ferguson, and Negy (2017) argues that the overconsumption of social media does not necessarily affect one's empathic abilities, which was contrasting with my argument. However, as I continue reading it, the key aspect was how one uses social media. For instance, a person can spend over 5 hours a day on social media but the mere exposure time does not imply that it has a negative impact. Quality rather than quantity is superior in this case. Then I found another article about Facebook and its photo feature. This innocent-looking feature might actually be linked to narcissistic behavior since it creates pressure among individuals -especially among females- to create an alluring self-promoting profile with the urge to seek attention from other users (Alloway et al. 2014). Furthermore, a scholar named Konrath did research on students from the time 1979 to 2009, wh...

In today's world, the notion of empathy is very much lost and I believe the main reason for that is the overconsumption of social media applications since spending so much time on these platforms is lacking our skills to really interact and understand each other. We are so used to looking at our phones when we are bored (even if we are with somebody) that we get less chance to practice empathy. The second the conversation becomes awkward or dull, we immediately grab our phones to check what other people are doing on Instagram as if it is the most significant thing of that moment. It is not, or at least it should not be.  This issue has become my main focus nowadays. I want to investigate this loss of empathy from different aspects. What are the algorithms and design decisions that make these platforms so addictive? Which strategies are these people or companies using to have such a chilling impact on human activity and psychology? Are they intentionally making these decisions just ...

My mindset is primarily based on human beings and trying to understand them. In my belief, every human is a unique entity and capable of creating unique things if given the chance. Unfortunately, this digital age does not revolve around this idea because the notion of "empathy" is lost. I love technology and the opportunities it brings to this world. However, it has also led humanity into extreme numbness and consumerism. They are just devouring what is in front of them without asking any questions. There is infinite information on the internet, many apps you can spend your time with, and yet, the majority of the humans are either binge-watching a new show on Netflix or spending 8 hours on Tiktok a day without producing anything. To be frank, I was one of them around 2 years ago before Covid-19. I was this numb zombie that spends her time doing absolutely nothing and I did not even realize how horrifying that is since I was just "keeping up with the society".  Now...