Paul Daley, a Guardian Australia columnist, has quit two social media platforms cold turkey due to their harmful effects, and he is now close to ditching another. He describes his relationship with these platforms as “at best ambivalent – and at worst deleterious.”
The loneliness epidemic
Daley observes that loneliness is pervasive, calling it an epidemic. He sees it in the faces of rough sleepers seeking eye contact, in commuters glued to screens, and in drivers zoned out in their cars. Academic research, including in Australia, shows young people are especially prone to loneliness, which has serious repercussions for mental and physical health.
Hyper-connectivity and under-connection
Despite being the generation of hyper-connectivity, young people up to age 25 often develop an addiction to it early, leading to a global state of emotional under-connection. Daley notes that while he has made friends and contacts online, the scroll leaves him feeling “dead inside, empty, and often angry.”
The impact on mental health
Daley admits that even as a non-heavy user, social media makes him feel lonely, and he worries about its effect on more vulnerable people, especially children. He cites extreme harms like algorithmic encouragement to suicide and violent extremism, yet he remains hooked due to FOMO and the like-minded communities he has found.
A call to disconnect
Daley concludes that being alone with a book and a dog feels like a near-perfect state of connectivity, and he values real-life awe in communal spaces like museums and libraries with phones on silent. He urges readers to consider disconnecting from harmful platforms.
