Scientific research over the last 10 years on how engagement networks affect our overall well-being is now conclusive — and while the results are concerning, they present an opportunity for positive change. This article explores the idea of redesigning engagement networks to optimize our mindset, making us more mindful of our well-being and less mindless in our consumption.
(more…)Tag: mental health
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10 Design Problems Driving Digital Systemic Inequities — and How We Can Solve Them
Maximizing wellness over engagement for how we interact and consume online.
How we interact with others and consume content profoundly impacts our mindset, shaping how we perceive both others and ourselves. Engagement networks are designed to enable us to stay informed, interact with others and foster new connections and opportunities. They are also battlegrounds harbouring systemic inequities including misinformation, bots, toxicity and breeding mental illness. The cloned alternatives do not provide any resolution. Can we combine design principles with the science of human behavior to standardize interactions in a way that mimics reality and aligns with the accordance of our individual values and wellbeing?
This article explores the most pressing forms of digital systemic inequities facing humanity with a call to standardize social interaction design patterns for the betterment of human wellness.
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The Illusion of Social Media: Reclaiming Attention in the Age of Distraction
The Descent into Comparison
It starts like a game. A blank page, a dream of creating, but then the wall of resistance arrives. Fear and overthinking drown out inspiration. Seeking relief, he turns to Twitter.
What he finds is not encouragement but intimidation. Algorithms showcase the most popular creators, with millions of followers and polished content. Comparison bias does the rest. Instead of inspiration, insecurity grows. He switches to TikTok, where brief sparks of pleasure turn into overstimulation and depletion. The spiral ends in avoidance, not creation.
Game over. Pleasure fades. Pain wins.
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