Scroll Culture — Suffering in Silence

With increasing screen time, our attention span has been sacrificed. Long-form essays, documentaries, and even conversations have been squeezed into digestible, looping, often context-free fragments.

- Nandini Banerjee

As Likes, comments and shares take on the real world; the line between reality and illusion starts to fade away. These platforms are curated in such a manner as to snare your attention, keeping you hooked, constantly looking for an update. Excessive use of social media causes psychological cravings. It often starts with a picture you post on social media; a constant need for validation fills the air around you. Following that, when you receive a like, a share or a favourable comment on the post, it triggers the release of dopamine in the brain. It acts as a 'reward'. The more you are rewarded, the more time you will want to spend on social media, even if it becomes detrimental to other aspects of your life. The over accessibility of social media and its hyper-connectivity can trigger impulse control problems. Constant alerts and notifications affect concentration and focus, disturbing your sleep cycle.

Human beings are social creatures constantly looking for companionship as they navigate their way through life. These relationships have a huge impact on our mental well-being. Socialising in real life can boost your confidence level, ease out your stress and anxiety level as well as shape your understanding of overcoming challenges in real time. On the other hand, a lack of social connections can take a serious toll on one's mental and emotional health. In recent times, many of us rely on social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram and many more to find and build connections. With social media having its own benefits, we should always keep in mind that it can never be a replacement for real-life human connections. These technologies that are designed to bring people closer, spending time online, intend to make you feel more isolated and lonely — exacerbating mental health problems.