Daily Times

Social media traps healthy minds in non-stimulant environment and trends.

Instagram has taken a bold step to hide “likes” in six countries. This has triggered a whole new conversation on digital wellness as a serious issue. Image-based social media has become a staple diet for the young; causing unimaginable harm to its users’ mental well-being.

This trend caught worldwide attention when in the recent past, facebook came under fire for fuelling social isolation of users via its strategy of heavily “liked” images. An interesting study conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that digital and social media use has huge effects on an adolescent’s brain as these youngsters are prompted to “like” a social media post if it already has many “likes;” suggesting that an adolescent feels pressured to express appreciation. Youngsters also feel ineptitude for facing social acceptance and measuring sad or happy moments associated with non-interactive validation.

In my practice, I faced a similar behaviour by a client who was a young lady and had unfortunately lost her husband very early in her marriage. She was unable to talk about her trauma in her clinical yoga therapy, but she posted regularly on Facebook about her grief, shock, anger and depression. Clearly, she was looking for support and had forgotten about human interaction skills. Her posts included statements directly addressing the dead person. It is the modern age “Satsang”, a Sanskirt word in Vedic philosophy for “associating with the true person.”

“Likes” are a validation of a virtual delusion. We all love dreaming as reality is synonymous with “suffering.” On one hand, we demand liberation, and on the other, we like being slaves to dreams and delusions. Hiding “likes” is starving the users of virtual relationships; the only “Satsang” left for many

It is a delusional Satsang forged to create new age bondage and addiction.

The social media traps healthy minds in non-stimulant environment and trends. Now, these companies want to show heroism by librating us from unnecessary suffering. These social media companies have studied the complexities of human behaviour. Just like smoking cigarettes, one just doesn’t know when it becomes a need. Advertisements work on master and slave mentality. The impressionable and vulnerable population become the slaves of validation.

“Likes” are a validation of a virtual delusion. We all love dreaming as reality is synonymous with “suffering.” On one hand, we demand liberation, and on the other, we like being slaves to dreams and delusions. Hiding “likes” is starving the users of virtual relationships; the only “Satsang” left for many.

At a physical level, humans need to occupy their hands for social acceptance. Interesting research conducted on the thumb usage for most teenagers showed that our brain activity is different with thumb actions on the touch screen. The pinching sensation gives healthy signals to the brain. But now scrolling with the thumb lacks the pinching movement. In yogic science, hands lead the sense of touch and cater to distractions through sensory indulgence. The whole science of hand mudras is developed to lock and redirect that energy for improved cognition. Just the way smokers fear quitting as holding a cigarette in the index and middle finger oozes confidence and command, in the same way, phone users fear a non-preoccupied look.

Instagram undertook an international test “to remove pressure” by hiding the “likes.”

Their digital well-being policy states, “Your time on Instagram should be intentional, positive and inspiring.”

The number of likes is also the way to put a value on a post for the business side of Instagram. The immediate backlash came from the influencers, who are paid to promote content in their posts, which are then measured by the high number of likes.

We know that various social media engines are here to stay, but how to maintain sanity while using them and limiting our dependence on them. Know how to draw yourself away from the two poisons (mentioned in yoga as Kleshas, a Sanskirt word). First is to acknowledge the real possibility of rationality. Not seeing things as you would like them to but know their reality. Awareness must be a way of life. Being surrounded by obscuration is nothing but the death of the human mind.

Second, staying away from jealously, which has the element to split your personality and confuse your mind and create a sense of unfulfilled desires. Less attachment to worldly things or “likes” helps curb the emotion of jealousy.

Social media will continue to create perplexing diversions but disciplined life is the answer to stop human suffering. Truth, reality and wisdom are within “oneself.”

The author is a wellness and yoga expert