Open app, liking, scrolling, sharing, now!
If anyone reading has watched Grace Reiter’s The Hunger Games (but better) parody on YouTube, you’ll know what I am referring to. If you haven’t, I strongly suggest that you go watch it, as it is pretty funny. Just make sure you come back to this post and don’t fall down a rabbit hole on YouTube.
Now, it may be a bit ironic to quote something from a social media platform as I am about to talk about a lot of negative things about social media, but, I feel like that moment really does encapsulate what using social media feels like nowadays. Things are quick, harsh, and constant. Every day, people are posting less for pleasure or connection, but more for monetization and social approval.
This resulting environment is not by coincidence either, virtually all social media platforms are designed in some way to keep people’s eyes on the platform, whether or not it’s ethical. In Tristan Harris’ article about these tactics as he connects his pastime as a magician and his work at Google, he talks about the specific ways companies do this, like only showing certain pages and material that will keep people engaged or designing the platform itself to be addictive (endless scroll, disruptive and near constant notifications)1. But also by using techniques that gambling machines employ and preying on people’s need to be liked and included, it creates this tornado of feeling bad because you’re online so much, while simultaneously also feeling scared if you aren’t in the know about everything.
One way this result has stolen enjoyment from people in online communities is when sharing their hobbies. Fariha Ahmed did her thesis on this wider topic; about how social media has commodified hobbies and created this fabricated environment2. It’s not about leisure or pleasure anymore, but instead about what you can add to the ever-flowing conversation, and what you can get back. The motivation isn’t to do something you like, but to do something to get something else in return.
I have experienced this personally, with my hobby of photography. Since it is such a visual media, it makes sense that people will post the photos they have taken on social media; but now, it feels like there is obligation to do so. If you aren’t posting on Instagram or LinkedIn, you’re missing out on vital exposure so others can see your photos and possibly miss out on an opportunity. And if people can’t see your photos, how else are you supposed to show how good you are? While I am in the camp that is awful about posting my photos on social media as they continue to just sit in folders on my laptop, the pressure is still there.
But when did this new norm become the expectation? Where will it lead us?
The results are already beginning to show face, as a study from the Journal of Consumer Research found that people who specifically take photos for Facebook were less engaged with their surroundings when compared to people who took photos just for their own amusement3. The former caused people to look internally and focus on themselves, instead of spending time being active in the place that they were in.
Now I am not perfect when it comes to this topic, as I will most likely spend too much time watching YouTube before I go to bed tonight, but when we’re engaging with hobbies, people, and things we claim to like because that’s who we are, it is always a good idea to check in with yourself and experience that joy separate from social media, as it could prove to be the most beneficial thing for us that doesn’t completely forgo our attention.
May the algorithm odds be ever in your favor!
Thank you so much for reading! Do you post often on Instagram or other platforms? Like I said in my post, I am really so bad at it. In fact, my roommate was going through my camera roll with me a while back and was getting upset with me when I hadn’t posted basically any of the photos I had. Whoops! Maybe I’ll be better at it one day, or if I end up swearing off all social media, that could just make it worse; who knows!
Citations:
- Harris, Tristan. “How Technology Is Hijacking Your Mind — from a Former Insider.” Thrive Global, 16 Oct. 2019, https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3. ↩︎
- Ahmed, Fariha. “Algorhythm: Commodification of Hobbies on Social Media Platforms.” Theses and Dissertations, Jan. 2026. COinS, https://doi.org/10.25772/bcs3-yb33. ↩︎
- Barasch, Alixandra, et al. “How the Intention to Share Can Undermine Enjoyment: Photo-Taking Goals and Evaluation of Experiences.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 44, no. 6, Apr. 2018, pp. 1220–37. Silverchair, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx112. ↩︎
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