I found the readings for this week really interesting. The article, “How tech and social media are making us feel lonelier than ever”, was interesting and kind of sad. I do find that when I spend a lot of time on social media one day, it doesn’t make me feel good. I feel a bit anxious, so I definitely see how social media can evoke feelings of loneliness. Another thing this article mentioned was FOMO, or “fear of missing out”. I have definitely experienced this from social media! I remember going home for a weekend from school, and seeing friends’ social media posts made me feel like I had missed out on so much fun. I also have definitely decided to go to events because of FOMO.

I found the article “Is technology killing the human touch?” interesting as well. This article discusses dating apps, and how they are normalizing things like “ghosting”. A quote that stood out to me was “Rather than working up the courage to ask someone out, you pick them from a catalog, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s a near endless stream of other potential mates to choose from just one swipe away.”

Dating apps are structured so that there are so many options, that it almost feels like a game. I can see how people could forget each profile is someone looking for a connection. I can also see how this would make it easier to “ghost” someone, especially if you haven’t met in person. Even though you are hurting someone with real feelings, it might not feel that way for the “ghoster”.