All right everyone! Vida here!
First of all: Deep Breath, Calm. We are going to look at this in the most Logical Fashion as possible. We are not attacking any person, franchise, social media, or anything like that. We are just analyzing an interesting subject that may bring light into certain subjects.
Second of all, I am NOT a professional. This is all just a hypothesis accumulated from different sources all over the web. This is not a clear and cut fact.
Third of all, I apologize if any of you feel attacked by my words or hypothesis. I will try my best to use as little opinion and unbiased view in this thread.
With all that said: Let's see what my crazy mind cooked up shall we?
(Buckle up, this is a long one) There's a summary in the bottom though.
This thought came to me as I was playing a game. (Bear with me, we'll get to Social Media soon). This game is pretty simple with different common mechanics. There's collectibles, achievements, secrets, and some Easter Eggs. As I played this game, it also gives me a completion bar on my save file. Just finishing it, only gives about 50%. Collect everything and you will get 100%.
Everything
And I did, I played this game for hours straight, looking for secrets, browsing through walk-through, and sitting through a lot of Youtube videos. All just to get those sweet numbers up all the way to 100%. All just to find all the hidden secret Easter Eggs, to find all the collectibles, to get all those Achievement.
When I did, I was feeling very satisfied for about 20 seconds before that little voice of reason suddenly said. (What exactly have you accomplished?)
I just sat there, not knowing how to answer that question. I thought about it, why the hell do I spend four hours on a game just to accomplish virtual accomplishment? Why do I get all the feeling of satisfaction whenever I see those numbers going up? Why do I kept playing a game even though I've already seen everything the game has to offer?
Well, I googled it up.
Then I found some very good links on the matter. But the one that stood up to me the most is this: The Psychology of Being a Completionist
Basically, from what I've gathered, there's the:
Reward motivation: You play a game, and suddenly. 'Ping' Achievement Unlocked!!! It might not always be, but it's designed to make you feel accomplished. It is designed to make you feel like you've done something awesome. It makes you feel special if the achievement is a hard one.
Hoard mentality: This not only explains the mentality of Video Game completionist. This also explains all the collector hobbies and hoardings. In a nutshell, Getting Something is usually associated with a Good Thing. You GET something from DOING something. You get a cookie for Being a good human child. You get a review for Posting in SYW Forum. You get Money for Doing your job. You get that rare Infinity+1 Blade of Cosmos for completing the game in Nightmare Difficulty with no Death. That's why people love to collect stuff, it's your inner neurons that associates Getting something as a Positive thing. Even in something as simple as Video Games.
Irrational Fears: You completed a game, but it's still 99.99%. You are still missing something important. You haven't gotten them all. You haven't completed the game. You lay down there at night awake thinking where the Game Devs could have put that 0.01%. That's an irrational Fear, and that's what keeps me awake at night after a long gaming marathon. I need more, I need to see what happens when I get this time. It's irrational!
Competitive Nature: You completed the game, but oh look! That guy has even rarer stuff than you. So you jump in and kept playing and playing and playing until suddenly. It's morning. All just to be the best in something that doesn't really have anything to do with real life. (Unless you've thinking of having a career in E-Sports). All this happens because of your competitive Nature.
Now, to the main topic. (Told you it's a long one)
Fast Forward a couple years later, rumors and news about people getting their life ruined from stupid Social Media Post. From Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and lots more. I'm not one to use a social media, but I have some friends who use it. Most of the time they would "Hey! [REDACTED] do you have an [INSERT GENERIC SOCIAL MEDIA NAME HERE]? If so, follow/like my post/share my post/add me as friend okay?" They kept telling me to like, share, and follow them.
I downloaded it and my gamer sense tingled whenever I see my like/rep/follower count up. They're collectibles you need more! Hoard Mentality.
Then there's the fact that you get even more famous at something and get achievements, it's so rewarding!! Reward Motivation.
But what if your followers would leave you if you don't post enough or think your post is boring. Irrational Fear.
So, you made up story. You shared some viral trends nice and not nice. You do everything that you can do to get those numbers up.
But it gets even more extreme... Unlike Most Games, Social Media doesn't have limit. You can't get a maximum numbers of followers. It will only grow bigger and bigger and it will only show you people with even more number of followers.
Suddenly, it started to get into your Competitive Nature. Soon enough, your reason to open your social media is no longer to socialize, but to get those sweet, sweet numbers up. It's addicting and it's dangerous.
Why is it dangerous? Well, just think about it!
Now you post anything that can get you all the views and followers. Anything, be it lies, flames, and insults. Your pride is being played at this point. You no longer think about people's feeling when you post something, but only if those posts will put up enough impact to be viral.
Even worse: It actually works.
In the unfiltered social media, the algorithm works this way: More Shares and More Likes = People Watching it More. Doesn't matter what that post is all about.
That means, even posts that creates a lot of dislike and fights among mankind will be counted by the algorithm as: (People Share about it, Let's Make it Viral) they're not gonna check if that post is good or bad. Just that people share it so that other people can fight about it. (CGP Grey made a very good video talking about this matter)
TL;DR
Social Media is designed to make you spend more time on that media. It uses many psychological human nature such as the Hoard Mentality, Irrational Fears, Reward Motivation, and Competitive Nature. Each one of them makes people post not to socialize but to get likes and followers. That's why most people sometimes doesn't think before they press enter or submit. They just want the fame. That's why trolls never die and immune to dislikes. Those things are exactly what they're looking for.
So, What Can We Do?
1. Don't fall prey to this system. Before you say anything, before you post anything on ANY social media.
THINK (It's an acronym)
Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?
Don't spread hoax or nasty rumors (True).
Don't post something that will trick people (Helpful).
Don't discourage people (Inspiring).
Don't post if you're doing it just for the sake of posting (Necessary).
Don't post anything with the intention to offend or disrespect people (Kind).
2. In the event you see something that offends you and make you see red. Step Away from the Screen. Sharing it or even responding to it will only fuel the fire and makes it worse. Patience, or if you can't hold it in anymore. Report. Let those with the authority judge this matter or let someone else more levelheaded judge this matter. Don't post when you're angry, it will only fuel the fire.
3. Use your social media to Socialize. Treat it like the real world. You don't go cursing and insulting people in the middle of a crowded street do you? (IMO: You shouldn't). Respect your fellow netizen. Don't get triggered over trivial things, it might just add fuel into the fire. You might regret that decision.
4. Learn from other's mistake. When you see someone get their lives ruined by stupid social media post. Don't fuel the fire. Just sit back, keep an eye on it, and learn from it. Instead of: 'Oh, you stupid idiot, how can you...' try 'Okay, that's very stupid and I have to remember NOT to do that' A quick trip through the Arkham Asylum should help you learn more about other's mistake.
With that said, I hope I can bring some light to this matter. All those news about people's life ruined by a social media. We should learn from their mistakes, not just nag about how they're bad and how they're being an idiot. Don't make matters worse for everyone.
Deep Breath, Calm.
And As Always, Thanks For Reading!!!
Further Readings:
The Psychology of Being a Completionist
Psychology Behind Item Collecting and Achievement Hoarding
The Psychology of Competition
25 Acts of Social Media Cruelty
5 Dangers of Social Media for Teens
First of all: Deep Breath, Calm. We are going to look at this in the most Logical Fashion as possible. We are not attacking any person, franchise, social media, or anything like that. We are just analyzing an interesting subject that may bring light into certain subjects.
Second of all, I am NOT a professional. This is all just a hypothesis accumulated from different sources all over the web. This is not a clear and cut fact.
Third of all, I apologize if any of you feel attacked by my words or hypothesis. I will try my best to use as little opinion and unbiased view in this thread.
With all that said: Let's see what my crazy mind cooked up shall we?
(Buckle up, this is a long one) There's a summary in the bottom though.
This thought came to me as I was playing a game. (Bear with me, we'll get to Social Media soon). This game is pretty simple with different common mechanics. There's collectibles, achievements, secrets, and some Easter Eggs. As I played this game, it also gives me a completion bar on my save file. Just finishing it, only gives about 50%. Collect everything and you will get 100%.
Everything
And I did, I played this game for hours straight, looking for secrets, browsing through walk-through, and sitting through a lot of Youtube videos. All just to get those sweet numbers up all the way to 100%. All just to find all the hidden secret Easter Eggs, to find all the collectibles, to get all those Achievement.
When I did, I was feeling very satisfied for about 20 seconds before that little voice of reason suddenly said. (What exactly have you accomplished?)
I just sat there, not knowing how to answer that question. I thought about it, why the hell do I spend four hours on a game just to accomplish virtual accomplishment? Why do I get all the feeling of satisfaction whenever I see those numbers going up? Why do I kept playing a game even though I've already seen everything the game has to offer?
Well, I googled it up.
Then I found some very good links on the matter. But the one that stood up to me the most is this: The Psychology of Being a Completionist
Basically, from what I've gathered, there's the:
Reward motivation: You play a game, and suddenly. 'Ping' Achievement Unlocked!!! It might not always be, but it's designed to make you feel accomplished. It is designed to make you feel like you've done something awesome. It makes you feel special if the achievement is a hard one.
Hoard mentality: This not only explains the mentality of Video Game completionist. This also explains all the collector hobbies and hoardings. In a nutshell, Getting Something is usually associated with a Good Thing. You GET something from DOING something. You get a cookie for Being a good human child. You get a review for Posting in SYW Forum. You get Money for Doing your job. You get that rare Infinity+1 Blade of Cosmos for completing the game in Nightmare Difficulty with no Death. That's why people love to collect stuff, it's your inner neurons that associates Getting something as a Positive thing. Even in something as simple as Video Games.
Irrational Fears: You completed a game, but it's still 99.99%. You are still missing something important. You haven't gotten them all. You haven't completed the game. You lay down there at night awake thinking where the Game Devs could have put that 0.01%. That's an irrational Fear, and that's what keeps me awake at night after a long gaming marathon. I need more, I need to see what happens when I get this time. It's irrational!
Competitive Nature: You completed the game, but oh look! That guy has even rarer stuff than you. So you jump in and kept playing and playing and playing until suddenly. It's morning. All just to be the best in something that doesn't really have anything to do with real life. (Unless you've thinking of having a career in E-Sports). All this happens because of your competitive Nature.
Now, to the main topic. (Told you it's a long one)
Fast Forward a couple years later, rumors and news about people getting their life ruined from stupid Social Media Post. From Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and lots more. I'm not one to use a social media, but I have some friends who use it. Most of the time they would "Hey! [REDACTED] do you have an [INSERT GENERIC SOCIAL MEDIA NAME HERE]? If so, follow/like my post/share my post/add me as friend okay?" They kept telling me to like, share, and follow them.
I downloaded it and my gamer sense tingled whenever I see my like/rep/follower count up. They're collectibles you need more! Hoard Mentality.
Then there's the fact that you get even more famous at something and get achievements, it's so rewarding!! Reward Motivation.
But what if your followers would leave you if you don't post enough or think your post is boring. Irrational Fear.
So, you made up story. You shared some viral trends nice and not nice. You do everything that you can do to get those numbers up.
But it gets even more extreme... Unlike Most Games, Social Media doesn't have limit. You can't get a maximum numbers of followers. It will only grow bigger and bigger and it will only show you people with even more number of followers.
Suddenly, it started to get into your Competitive Nature. Soon enough, your reason to open your social media is no longer to socialize, but to get those sweet, sweet numbers up. It's addicting and it's dangerous.
Why is it dangerous? Well, just think about it!
Now you post anything that can get you all the views and followers. Anything, be it lies, flames, and insults. Your pride is being played at this point. You no longer think about people's feeling when you post something, but only if those posts will put up enough impact to be viral.
Even worse: It actually works.
In the unfiltered social media, the algorithm works this way: More Shares and More Likes = People Watching it More. Doesn't matter what that post is all about.
That means, even posts that creates a lot of dislike and fights among mankind will be counted by the algorithm as: (People Share about it, Let's Make it Viral) they're not gonna check if that post is good or bad. Just that people share it so that other people can fight about it. (CGP Grey made a very good video talking about this matter)
TL;DR
Social Media is designed to make you spend more time on that media. It uses many psychological human nature such as the Hoard Mentality, Irrational Fears, Reward Motivation, and Competitive Nature. Each one of them makes people post not to socialize but to get likes and followers. That's why most people sometimes doesn't think before they press enter or submit. They just want the fame. That's why trolls never die and immune to dislikes. Those things are exactly what they're looking for.
So, What Can We Do?
1. Don't fall prey to this system. Before you say anything, before you post anything on ANY social media.
THINK (It's an acronym)
Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?
Don't spread hoax or nasty rumors (True).
Don't post something that will trick people (Helpful).
Don't discourage people (Inspiring).
Don't post if you're doing it just for the sake of posting (Necessary).
Don't post anything with the intention to offend or disrespect people (Kind).
2. In the event you see something that offends you and make you see red. Step Away from the Screen. Sharing it or even responding to it will only fuel the fire and makes it worse. Patience, or if you can't hold it in anymore. Report. Let those with the authority judge this matter or let someone else more levelheaded judge this matter. Don't post when you're angry, it will only fuel the fire.
3. Use your social media to Socialize. Treat it like the real world. You don't go cursing and insulting people in the middle of a crowded street do you? (IMO: You shouldn't). Respect your fellow netizen. Don't get triggered over trivial things, it might just add fuel into the fire. You might regret that decision.
4. Learn from other's mistake. When you see someone get their lives ruined by stupid social media post. Don't fuel the fire. Just sit back, keep an eye on it, and learn from it. Instead of: 'Oh, you stupid idiot, how can you...' try 'Okay, that's very stupid and I have to remember NOT to do that' A quick trip through the Arkham Asylum should help you learn more about other's mistake.
With that said, I hope I can bring some light to this matter. All those news about people's life ruined by a social media. We should learn from their mistakes, not just nag about how they're bad and how they're being an idiot. Don't make matters worse for everyone.
Deep Breath, Calm.
And As Always, Thanks For Reading!!!
Further Readings:
The Psychology of Being a Completionist
Psychology Behind Item Collecting and Achievement Hoarding
The Psychology of Competition
25 Acts of Social Media Cruelty
5 Dangers of Social Media for Teens
Last edited: