Social networks have become our favorite means of entertainment, and the hours we spend connected to apps like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebok or even WhatsApp prove it. For many people, especially the youngest, these platforms are crucial in their lives to a level that can be unhealthy.
And not in a banal way, but more and more studies on social networks demonstrate and point out that When these platforms are used a lot on a daily basis, users suffer from different mental problems. ranging from anxiety to depression resulting from addiction to screens.
Although the WHO does not yet consider addiction to the internet, mobile phones or social networks as a disorder, the data show that the misuse of electronic devices harms the well-being and, especially, the mental health of young people. According to data from the Ministry of Health, in 2022, 10.8% of the population between fifteen and twenty-four years old said they made problematic use of the Internet, being the most affected population group.
A large part of these studies investigate why these apps are so addictive, and they all point out that all of them (which are increasingly similar to each other) They are designed to the millimeter to ensure that the user spends the maximum number of hours possible inside them. with functions like “infinite scroll”, real-time notifications or automatic video playback.
What is “infinite scroll”
Infinite scrolling, also known as continuous scrolling, is a web design technique that automatically loads new content as the user scrolls to the bottom of the app. This is the main success of platforms like TikTok and now also Instagram, since now you enter a loop of videos that just by downloading other content appears which plays automatically, and if you go down again the same thing happens, and so on infinite times.
This means that the user is constantly hooked, since they watch one video after another, and it is very difficult to cut and exit the app, because at no time do you stop being entertained. This has led to people spending several hours on a single platform, creating addictions to these apps and with consequences for their mental health, while For these apps, more time connected means more money in your pocket.
The PSOE proposes ending the “infinite scroll” and the rest of the functions that contribute to addiction
Although the users themselves are already campaigning to combat this problem, with movements such as JOMO, a new anti-social media trend, this is not enough and the PSOE presented a non-legal Proposition a few days ago, to put an end to these dark patterns that social media apps are exercising.
From the Socialist Parliamentary Group, several points have been proposed. Firstly, the aim is to appease the problem through knowledge, and that is why we want to create training programs for families on the dangers of social media abuse and how its use can be managed.
At the same time you want detect and appease all the functions that these platforms have to capture attention of users and monetize their data. And by the way ban tools like “infinite scroll”, real-time notifications or automatic video playback that cause them to spend so much time connected under a new regulation (that would have to be created) that forces social networking services to be “ethical by default and give up using these dark patterns.
At the same time we want The apps themselves offer accessible tools on digital detoxificationl in which users can manage how much time they spend in the application and what type of content is displayed.
There is no doubt that screen addictions are a problem that must be addressed, but whether what is said on paper later becomes reality is another story. This is because it would lead to global apps like TikTok, Instagram. YouTube or Twitter among others would have to change its design only for Spain, something very unlikely. In any case if approved in our country, the most effective would be take it before the European Parliamentwhich is already working to moderate the overuse of social networks.
It is a very important battle, because the mental health of the youngest is at stake, and it is important that the Government takes action on the matter and tries to find solutions. But legislation is needed that goes beyond our borders to achieve this, and reaching the EU would be a great step to get closer to it.
#infinite #scroll #PSOE #change #TikTok #Instagram
