Opinion | How social media stifles real-world action

By Bijou Allard

Illustration by Yana Samoylova, Illustrator

I feel paralyzed all the time, and you probably do too.

We’re all in the same boat — bombarded by endless choices, flooded with ideas of what to do next and constantly exposed to people doing things more innovative or impressive than we ever could. It’s overwhelming, and often, it keeps us from doing anything at all.

Of course, this paralysis — induced by doom scrolling — is terrible for our mental health, stunts our creativity and fuels self-destruction, but you probably already know that. What I think we rarely consider is how social media affects our ability to tackle global social and political problems and how it benefits capitalism and global powers.

How can we tackle climate change if we’re paralyzed? How do we confront inequality? How do we motivate ourselves to take real-world action? Instead of acting, we scroll, absorbing the horrors of the world, internalizing them and feeling the weight of everything we “should” be doing. This only makes us feel worse, drawing us deeper into social media in search of solutions that, ironically, only lead to more passive consumption.

What I’m suggesting may conflict with studies linking online political engagement to offline activism, but let’s be honest: these studies are mostly correlational. While some people do use social media to mobilize or join protests, most of us are spectators, not participants. Meanwhile, social media is eating away at our time, preventing us from engaging in meaningful action. The average American spends around two and a half hours a day on social media, with teens averaging closer to five hours. And let’s face it — the fight for change doesn’t happen while scrolling.

This is an uncomfortable truth, especially for me. I’m ashamed to admit that there is a giant chasm between the time I spend consuming political content and the time I spend actively engaging in political efforts. My mind tricks me into thinking that being an informed, outraged citizen is enough. But being informed isn’t action. We won’t tackle climate change by watching TikToks about it and feeling outraged. Meanwhile, each Instagram refresh is fueled by the burning of even more fossil fuels.

The last thing anyone needs is another person's finger wagging and screaming, “Bad phone!” The real issue isn’t our fault. But we need a collective reckoning. Social media, which promises connection and the free exchange of ideas, keeps us passive. It serves the interests of capitalism and political powers by freezing us in place, perpetuating a cycle of consumption and the illusion that we can consume our way to lasting change.

Don’t get me wrong; I am aware that there are a plethora of activists and creators attempting to raise awareness of issues and bring others into the cause. I applaud these people for their efforts and consider their work important. However, they are operating within platforms whose goal is to keep you scrolling for as long as possible. Try as you might, social media is intentionally designed to keep you locked in. Thus, even if a creator shares an important message, the leap from consuming the content to engaging with issues in the real world can become nearly impossible. 

Most important of all is the fact that real change doesn’t happen online. Our reality is here in the physical world, and thus, making change demands real-world engagement. It necessitates action, and action becomes harder when we’re trapped in media paralysis. The loss of creativity and dissent should be at the forefront of our concerns when considering social media’s consequences.

I’m not saying we need to quit our day jobs to become climate crusaders or spend twelve hours a day calling our senators. But, our first radical political act might be examining our social media consumption and disengaging enough to fight back against this paralysis. Life is truly lived in the real world, and that’s where real change begins.

This article and accompanying media was submitted by an independent student. If you are interested in having your work featured in The Panther, reach out to pantheropinions@chapman.edu.