Three guidelines for optimizing your smartphone’s impact on your health.
Japan introduced the world’s first mobile phone with a built-in camera in 1999. At most, it could hold twenty pictures. There are now over 350 million daily photo uploads on Facebook alone. Around 30 applications each month is what the typical individual utilizes. Technology is becoming an integral part of every aspect of our life, for better or ill. The health of consumers is changing as a result of commonplace technology, especially the applications on our smartphones.
This has prompted several calls for us to put our phones away, particularly at events like concerts and social gatherings. Yet, I have done extensive study on the impact that photography has on our appreciation for moments in life. In fact, my findings suggest that the opposite is true; that is, the act of creating material about an event enhances our enjoyment of it by making us feel more involved in it.
Increasing our awareness
Taking pictures during an activity makes us more aware of our surroundings than if we just let our phone (or camera) sit on the table. When our focus expands to take in more information, we become more invested. Time passes quickly as a result. Even if you don’t like snapping pictures, you can still profit from having a smartphone.
Most individuals would not anticipate this. Based on my findings, I can confidently say that around 40% of the population believes that snapping photos at an event will diminish their experience. Almost 20% more stated it wouldn’t make a difference. Many of us are prone to making mistakes in our foresight. We aren’t great at anticipating the long-term effects of something, even if we have a lot of experience with it.
One proviso though. According to my findings, the immersive effects of photography diminish when the primary motivation is to share the images on social media rather than to record the experience for posterity. In this scenario, it’s important to consider who you’re writing for. Taking pictures and showing them to our loved ones brings us closer together, much like the slideshow parties our grandparents used to have for their friends and neighbors.
These days, however, we reach a considerably wider audience when we post images to social media. Self-presentational anxiety, the fear of being assessed or judged based on one’s online image, is facilitated by the prevalence of such visual evidence. The same holds true if our attention is diverted by concerns about popularity or the number of reactions our photos may receive. That might break our concentration and spoil the fun.
Portraits versus snapshots
Most of us prefer to publish staged photos of ourselves on social media out of concern for our reputations. Pictures when the subject stares intently into the lens are called “posed,” and they typically include striking a position that we hope will make us seem our best. We hope that by presenting this carefully crafted image of ourselves, we will be more likable to others. My findings suggest, however, that candid images are the way to go if we want our viewers to feel a greater sense of empathy with us.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if the subject of a candid snapshot knows they’re being filmed. A spectator has no way of knowing if this is the case. Experiments showed that when individuals were given both sorts of images, they were more interested in interacting with the persons in the candid shots. The rationale behind this was straightforward: photos taken off guard gave the subject a more genuine vibe.
Read more: How Social Media makes Families Happy
Knowing the setting is crucial. LinkedIn is a professional network where the purpose isn’t to make friends, so while we might want to utilize more candid images on our dating accounts and other social media, we should stick to our staged head shots.
Goal-setting based on streaks
The power of technology to promote beneficial behaviors is another another manner in which technology affects our well-being. Apps may remind us of our “streaks” when we’ve done the same thing several times in a row, such as going to the gym. When people are made aware of their streaks, they are more likely to keep it up.
New findings from me reveal that streaks may become motivating factors in and of themselves. There is a lot of effort put into not missing a day when we know that it doesn’t really matter. App users may be ready to “purchase a freebie day” in advance or spend money to mend a streak, which is good news for developers.
Yet, applications that draw attention to our shortcomings might be disproportionately demoralizing. In that regard, streak notifications may be both helpful and annoying. If a company decides to alert its customers about their streaks, it should remain silent when a customer’s record is broken, otherwise it risks losing the customer forever.
These are three ways to get the most out of your social media presence.
1. Do not post images from a recent event until at least 24 hours have passed. Benefit from photography’s ability to help you feel more at one with your surroundings while reducing any tension you would otherwise feel by doing so. You shouldn’t let thoughts about your appearance or the number of likes and comments on your post distract you from enjoying the experience.
2.Remove all of your social networking applications from your mobile device. You may use this helpful advice to put the first one into action. You should only use your laptop to share stuff on social media.
3.Maintain a small but dedicated following. Users of many social networking sites have the option of creating subsets of their total number of followers. There is a potential for self-presentational anxiety to increase in proportion to the amount of content shared with casual acquaintances and even total strangers.
