Why the Internet will Make Your Mental Health a Mess

Understanding human behaviour has been a major endeavour in the technology industry. Artificial Intelligence (AI), one of the most lucrative and well-marketed fields of computer science, aims to mimic the human brain. For example, the Spotify recommendation system, or algorithm, recommends songs that people with similar tastes have heard. Algorithm is a fancy word for a sequence of steps that complete a task. The algorithm recommends songs that people with similar tastes have heard. The important thing to note is:

“The prediction is based on the factor of similarity in taste rather than knowing the taste”

British mathematician Alan Turing, who broke the German Enigma Code during World War II, devised a test called The Turing Test. The test ascertains the difference between a machine versus a machine impersonating a human. The pretend part is becoming harder to spot, and certain key developments are making this even harder.

Social media lends interesting insight into human nature. Through the algorithms that keep people hooked onto the platform, humans are turned into petri-dish. These algorithms have been designed to elicit a response and release pleasure hormones into the body’s systems. This process has been achieved by methods that can be questionable. These algorithms use a negative bias, and although this can be offset with AI programming, they do not, leading to extreme polarisation in opinions. In turn, this has made aggression, trolling, and heated arguments a commonplace theme on social media.

However, rather than depicting a dystopian future, my goal is to raise awareness about the negative effects technological phenomena can have on our bodies and minds, and how to respond. Every person has certain triggers and their respective responses. One can apply this knowledge by creating a conscious bio-feedback loop. A bio-feedback loop can be termed as self-regulation which is done by a person to check certain parameters in check. The major difference in this case, however, is to make sure that one is doing well mentally.

Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated stress, social isolation, and unpredictability. These drastic shifts have taken a toll on people, resulting in increased suicides, anxiety, and depression rates. This is tragic, to say the least, but has brought psychology into the spotlight in different walks of life. Chronic stress leads to a myriad of problems, and added to isolation and unpredictability, it is a cocktail ripe for disaster to strike. Although, people found ways to circumvent most of these issues. This is when the algorithms started to shine. Primed with an audience that needed escapism and time, these platforms had been ready to provide a feeling of satisfaction. The issue that makes the internet so messy or murky in essence is the drive to run more ads or get more payments for subscription. This is the philosophy that has defined the 21st Century internet:

If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.

Although controlled experiments have been done on people before, the major difference was the intent. While internet companies are working on a better product every day, a major section of these teams is tasked with changing user behaviour. Such firms have normalised advertising as a major revenue driver. The negative impacts of these issues must be combated with intentional interventions and steps. The most essential step is to prioritise one’s mental health. Reducing time on social media and sleeping well at night are recommended. Everyone has opinions, thoughts, issues, and insecurities, so talking about them with someone willing to listen can reduce the bottled-up aggression that has been amplified in people across the globe due to the pandemic. One cannot stay cut off from the internet but one can be aware of the problems that plague the internet and avoid them.