The pros of social media are abundant. It facilitates connection and community building, easily allowing you to connect with other like-minded individuals. It also allows information to spread rapidly, and there is an educational component to much of what is posted on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.
However, the pros of social media, upon closer examination, are surface-level and pale in comparison to the many cons of social media.
Firstly, studies have shown that people who use social media as their main source of information are less engaged and less knowledgeable. It’s no secret that part of what makes social media so addictive is because the algorithms are designed to feed our cognitive biases.
We seek confirmation of our ideas and choices and social media tailors itself to do just this based off of what we like, comment, and share. This brings us to the second issue with social media.
Social media feeds our envy. While connecting with others like ourselves we often fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. Envy is a natural emotion, but too much of it can lead to hostility, resentfulness, and depression.
How can you combat these drawbacks of social media? One way is to limit your intake of it. Studies have suggested that about 20 to 40 minutes a day of social media facilitates a feeling of “happiness.”
With that being said we’ve put together this collection of social media quotes to help you disconnect and live more in the present.
Quotes About Over-Connectedness
“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant.”
“I send notes. I’m not a chambermaid whom you can ring at every moment. Today, you know, most people act like they work at a switchboard in a hotel.”
“Electronic masturbation.”
– Karl Lagerfeld, speaking about selfies
“Now, 75 years, in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books.”
“Distracted from distraction by distraction.”
“It amazes me that we are all on Twitter and Facebook. By ‘we’ I mean adults. We’re adults, right? But emotionally we’re a culture of seven-year-olds. Have you ever had that moment when are you updating your status and you realize that every status update is just a variation on a single request: ‘Would someone please acknowledge me?’”