Gen Z's Opioid Crisis, and How Some Gen Zers Are Taking Their Power Back

Social media is designed to stimulate emotions, everything from ads to food products gives us quick pleasure which is followed by emptiness and craving for more. Studies show that the average person checks their phone 110 times per day. In 2021 TikTok became the most used app of the year overtaking Google. Jealousy and envy are rampant, comparing ourselves against our friends' pitch perfect profile and coming up short. Unfair comparisons which can lead to depression and loneliness. Photoshopped images and negative self body representation can lead to serious long-term issues.

“In 2021 TikTok became the most used app of the year overtaking Google.”

A survey reported that 72% of teens say they have been cyber bullied in some way. It may be worse than face-to-face interactions because the bullies or a group of people never get to see the reaction or the effects of their actions. It’s easier to show in young girls, whose rates of depression, anxiety, and self-injury surged in the early 2010s as social-media platforms grew. Many platforms have been known to amplify insecurities while encouraging other things like sleep deprivation where it’s been reported that 20% of teens wake up throughout the night to check their social media.

“Social media also feels like you’re beating a dead workhorse because of the amount of posts/content they want you to give in order to be allowed on the algorithm.”

In my opinion social media has been such a mental overhaul. My friends and I find ourselves taking a lot of periodic breaks from social media because of the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' aesthetic during the pandemic. Social media also feels like you’re beating a dead workhorse because of the amount of posts/content they want you to give in order to be allowed on the algorithm. It’s become the newest drug for a lot of users to cope with today's current issues in the world. Shows such as MTV Catfish display how people are trying to vicariously live through others to push off some sort of false imagery that isn't their own.

We are finding ways to cope and reduce our internet consumption because we realize how unhealthy and unsustainable it is. On social media you tend to waste time and feel bad about yourself and things that excite you no longer excite you like they used to. We’re seeking out alternate activities and methods to stay offline. One of the ways is ‘dopamine fasting’, the hottest Silicon Valley trend which allows you to reset your brain and cancel behavior that negatively impacts your life. Dr Cameron Sepha released a guide about Dopamine Fasting 2.0 based on CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) identifying the behaviors that are causing distress, impairment or addictiveness. There are six common impulsive behaviors; emotional eating, Internet and gaming, gambling shopping, thrill / novelty seeking, recreational drugs, and porn and masturbation. With dopamine fasting you schedule your thrills to reduce the amount of time you waste with activities. Just as many people who are TikTok-ing there are just as many people fighting to disconnect from
social media.

“One of the ways is ‘dopamine fasting’, the hottest Silicon Valley trend which allows you to reset your brain and cancel behavior that negatively impacts your life.”

Apple released its own software to combat the usage of social media and overindulgence called Screen Time. Almost every major corporation like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple are visiting capitol hill defending themselves against antitrust allegations. These companies are using their power and market share to keep users stagnant in their ecosystems. 210 million people across the world suffer from social media addiction making social media one of the greatest drugs of the 21st century – but our generation is waking up. The benefit of being digitally native is that we are also equipped to educate ourselves on how to defend against a tool designed to hook us. We are using the same internet to find solutions to fight back.

“The benefit of being digitally native is that we are also equipped to educate ourselves on how to defend against a tool designed to hook us.”