Should social media be age restricted?

As someone who recently deleted the applications from my phone (Save you Facebook, how dare you become pre-installed on new phones. Also near impossible to remove from phones)

I noticed that the dopamine releases of waking up and checking those sources of witnessing have caused me to look into other places for entertainment. That’s where youtube comes into play. I am aware that I am still messing around with my time, instead of you know actually being productive. We can rationalize anything. The antagonist is always the protagonist in his/her own mind. I rationalize my viewing of youtube because it helps me train.

I digress.

The last youtube video I watched before writing this was rather short. It was titled “How alcohol, porn, and social media affect our brains.” It was a talking head type of video, with a goateed man describing instances of 400 percent dopamine spikes. Cocaine was an easy one to reach those levels, a close second was alcohol, but social media caused peaks of equal or same levels. In the video, they specifically quoted Simon Sinek “If you wake up, and don’t say hello to your significant other, before checking social media, that is an addict’s behavior.” (Jokes on them! I don’t have a significant other! Check and MATE!)

There were times when I certainly did engage and probably still do engage in that behavior.

So if social media has the same neurological implications as such illicit drugs and pornography would it be in the public’s interest to add an age restriction to it? Also what is the larger implications of such a dopamine fueled society?

Now before you go and discard my questioning by stating that in fact most social media (Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, does have a minimum age of activation) How enforced are those limitations?

Would further governmental intrusion be justified in enforcing those age restrictions?

How do all these infinite loops prepare, or hinder a child’s development?

Questions!

The unfortunate part about all these questions is the will go blindly unanswered. Not by a professional resource or anything, but only by myself.

Why is this you ask?

reminds me of that Dr. Seuss quote from the Lorax

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Frankly, I don’t care enough. I do not want to follow my curiosity to the answer. I would rather muse about asking questions then never seeking the resolution. It, therefore, makes me the pseudo-intellectual, I get to sound smart without actually following through.

Small victories I suppose.

Is the option of social media being age restricted invalid because that is the most common way for advertisers to reach their prospective clients?

Could that be a short coming of consumerism? Foregoing public mental health, just to market products.

We shall never know.

Or shall we?

Truth be told I am not thinking straight. Hold on I got to check my Facebook to see if anyone liked that puppy dog video/ selfie I posted………….

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Damn it! No one did!
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Oh man my aunt did!
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I was really hoping that girl I never talked to in person would respond to it.
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She did!
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.Hell Yea..

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Social Media rocks!

Those are the subconscious thoughts I think of every time I look at mine phone and see if there are any new notifications.

As I wrote the above, I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. First anxiety, for social acceptance, then frustration, because I was ignored, and my aunt liked it. Lastly was elation when the person I find attractive interacted with my post.

Appeal to emotion.

That is one of the tried and true methods of advertising and selling in general.

Remember that Simon Sinek fellow I mentioned earlier? He explains specifically that people’s actions are always based on emotion. Why are you smoking that cigarette? Because I am stressed out and this calms me down. (True the neurological effects of tobacco, arsenic, and nicotine do play a role in composure) The reality is when you are able to take a moment to go outside and get some fresh air, the act alone has a calming affect. We do things because of emotion. In the instance, before I was angry that I was stressed out.

Things to consider.

Well, that is the end of my thoughts for the day. I am going to plug back into the world of Facebook likes and social media cravings, if you liked what you read. OR HATED IT let me know in the comments below or by pressing that like button.

and as always,

Hang Tough,

Live Creatively,

Be Bold.