Are we ready to log off for good? Sharyn Ghidella on social media fatigue
A casual chat about banning social media for teens sparked a bigger question: Have we all become exhausted by the endless scroll of perfectly curated lives?
It started innocently enough. A simple conversation with a fellow mum about the upcoming ban on social media for children under 16.
Between sips of peppermint tea and a small (OK, OK large) serving of cake, we sat discussing the pros and cons of this revolutionary ban, agreeing some control was desperately needed.
How are they going to achieve it?
That was a whole other topic. Some of these kids were probably hacking the school Wi-Fi long before they ever learned their times tables.
Still, we wished them luck. So much luck, in fact, that my friend suddenly decided this groundbreaking ban didn’t go far enough.
“You know what,” she said, expressing her own frustration. “I’m really over social media. Let’s just ban it for everyone – even adults.”
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After checking Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t seated at the next table in a cold sweat – and that we needed to call 000, it did get me thinking.
Another friend had recently expressed something similar in a text and, let’s face it, we’ve been hearing the same sentiment in our day-to-day conversations for a while now. People just seem to be becoming increasingly bored with scrolling.
As I read somewhere recently, social media seems to have gone from a shiny promise to a “repetitive treadmill of boredom”.
That’s a bit harsh. But I guess it’s a bit like reheating leftovers two days running. You’ll do it … but you sure ain’t very excited about it!
Now at the risk of peeving off everyone who’s built a business empire off the back of these platforms, or loves keeping up with family and friends on their phone, I’m certainly not advocating a total ban on social media.
The genie is out of the bottle there, and there is no putting him/her back.
But, I’m sure plenty of you would agree, there are only so many dance challenges, life hacks, personal vanity projects and cleverly-looped cat videos we can endure before we get completely disinterested and seek out something new.
Social media started as an incredible form of connection. A chance to share memories, be part of a global conversation.
It was a perfect way to reacquaint yourself with long lost friends, some of whom you hadn’t seen in 30 years … or had been to school with.
These days, however, social media seems to have been hijacked. It’s less fun reunion and more an endless talent show … where we’re all being judged … by everyone you went to school with.
And it’s exhausting getting a glimpse into everyone else’s lives, when your own is positively mundane and boring by comparison.
Even after years of seeing how easily others do it, my birthday parties still aren’t curated, my lunch doesn’t resemble an art installation, my bikini body is not fit for publication and my workout sessions do not involve the words “I’ve just run a marathon” … in the same sentence!
Admittedly, those new “talking” baby videos flooding my feed are very cute.
But something tells me even their clever birth parents, Mr and Mrs A.I., will need to find a new trick soon, before we become increasingly bored with that as well.
And it’s also the ads. Oh, the ads! Who knew there were so many “life-changing” gadgets out there that we suddenly can’t live without.
So many miracle creams with the potency of acid to erase every wrinkle etching your face.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just using them wrong. Perhaps the face creams are meant to go on the shower screens instead … because, Lord knows, all the soap scum hacks we’re constantly bombarded with don’t seem to work!
Or perhaps I just need to tap into the army of self-proclaimed gurus and life coaches the algorithm still sends my way. You know, the ones who are thriving … by convincing the rest of us we’re all failing dismally ourselves.
Yes, maybe my friend does have a point about a blanket ban on social media.
Maybe we are reaching our saturation point.
Maybe we really should put down the phone more, reinvest in “real” life and dust off the board games again.
My children may call them “bored games” – but we laugh more rolling the dice than we ever do scrolling reels.
And the best part?
There’s no need for a quick selfie, 30-second reel with cinematic filters and a witty hashtag when we’re doing that.
No likes, no shares, no emojis required.
It’s just pure unfiltered fun, and there’s something very social about that.
Originally published as Are we ready to log off for good? Sharyn Ghidella on social media fatigue
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