Messaging apps are enough, social media is addictive noise
Social media is a drug; simple messaging applications are enough to keep ourselves happy, smart, productive, and connected. We need a semi-dumbphone with support for bank and payment-related IDs, simple messaging apps like Signal, and Email.
Wherever I go in the street, at the bus stand, inside the bus, in the park, while someone is walking a dog, while parents are taking kids out, on a bench, in a cafeteria, during lunch, and sometimes even during dinner, people are always inside their smartphones. Sometimes they are also wearing headphones while walking on the street. I believe that also consumes some part of the brain’s processing capacity. When the eyes are on the phone, and the ears are closed by headphones, how much awareness is left for the real world?
A funny thought that comes to mind is that if aliens came to Earth today, they might think humans are a species that takes smartphones for walks.
But the serious point is this: many people do not seem to know what is happening around them while they are walking, sitting, eating, waiting, or even spending time with family. They are physically present, but mentally somewhere else. And then comes social media.
The problem is not communication. The problem is the feed.
I am not against communication. Human beings need connection. We need to talk to family, message friends, communicate with colleagues, send emails, send important updates, and check on people we love.
That is normal. That is healthy.
My point is different: simple messaging applications are enough for most of this.
Signal, SMS, email, maybe WhatsApp (though I am not a fan in 2026), only Messenger without a Facebook account (Meta, please allow users to simply have Messenger by deleting or without a Facebook account, I request on behalf of many people I know want it 😊), or any basic messaging app that lets us connect with our contacts is enough. We do not need endless feeds, reels, TikTok-like videos, Instagram filters, Facebook posts, Snapchat streaks, YouTube Shorts, influencer drama, political outrage, and algorithmic noise to stay connected.
A messaging app connects you to people. A social-media feed connects you to addiction. That is the difference, I think.
Social media algorithms are designed for attention, not wisdom.
In the current state, many believe social-media algorithms incentivize more clicks, more views, more reach, more reactions, and more time spent on the platform. From a business point of view, I understand it. These companies reach massive audiences, generate massive views, collect massive amounts of user attention, sell advertising, collect data, and create huge revenue for shareholders and the company itself.
But is that all? Is the world only a market?
You might have already thought about it if you read this far. Are human beings here only for business, just to trade attention, fry brains, spread misinformation, outrage, body insecurity, political anger, and short dopamine clips?
This is a question for all of you, not me, just to show off 😃 because I am happy and productive.
In my mind, I am pretty clear: no, I do not want to spend my life scrolling through social media feeds, observing every political fight, every war update, every celebrity lifestyle, every viral clip, every influencer opinion, every “expert” who is not really an expert, and every claim made without evidence.
A claim without proof or evidence, not backed by real data, is not knowledge. It is usually a hypothesis. Sometimes it is a theory. Sometimes it is a conspiracy. Sometimes it is simply nonsense dressed up with confidence.
Now comes the real issue, the instant Dopamine Problem
One of the biggest problems with social media is the instant dopamine spike. Here comes an easy poem on it:
A few seconds of video. Swipe. Another clip. Swipe.
A funny reel. Swipe. A beautiful face with filters. Swipe.
A fight. Swipe. A political insult. Swipe.
A half-naked influencer. Swipe. A fake expert shouting into the camera. Swipe.
This is not deep learning (haha, computer science people; by "deep learning" I don't mean trying to refer to AI here). This is not real knowledge. This is a machine gun of stimulation fired directly at the attention system of the brain.
Facebook Reels, TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, and similar platforms are not just entertainment anymore. They are behavior-shaping systems. Their design is based on keeping people engaged, and the easiest way to keep people engaged is to give them emotionally strong, visually stimulating, quickly changing content.
There is scientific literature showing that smartphone presence and heavy digital interruption can affect attention and cognitive capacity. One well-known paper, “Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity,” found that even the presence of a smartphone can reduce available cognitive capacity.
There is also research suggesting that limiting social media use can improve well-being. An experimental study, “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression” found that limiting Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat use to about 10 minutes per platform per day reduced loneliness and depression compared with normal use.
So when people say, “It is just entertainment,” I do not fully agree. Entertainment is not always harmless when it is engineered at an industrial scale to capture attention.
Even leading AI people are warning us.
People working at the highest level of AI and algorithms have also warned about these problems.
Geoffrey Hinton, often called one of the “Godfathers of AI,” has warned about AI, misinformation, election manipulation, and algorithmic echo chambers in this video and many other interview by him in 2026, “How AI Creates Echo Chambers- Geoffrey Hinton in The Diary of a CEO”. In this interview, there is a section titled “How AI Creates Echo Chambers” around 19:20.
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has also warned that AI should not repeat the mistakes of social media. In the Athens Innovation Summit 2025 discussion, he said we should learn the lesson from social media, where the “move fast and break things” attitude went ahead of understanding second- and third-order effects. He also said AI could help with attention issues, but if misused, it could make the problem worse. Article reporting the same point: Business Insider — “The CEO of Google DeepMind warns AI companies not to fall into the same trap as early social media firms”
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has also spoken about the need for guardrails, safety around powerful AI, and social media getting it wrong (See this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1wZwxY3CMg&t=2457s). Also in the 2026 World Economic Forum discussion with Demis Hassabis, both discuss AI risks, labor-market effects, and guardrails, but these are not the focus of article but i want to share it here, haha.
World Economic Forum 2026 — Demis Hassabis and Dario Amodei
Risks section around 07:39 ; Labour-market impact around 13:37; Guardrails and malign use around 24:48; Dario Amodei’s essay: “The Adolescence of Technology”
When people like Hinton, Hassabis, and Amodei, who understand AI, algorithms, and large-scale digital systems, are warning about attention, safety, manipulation, and social consequences, I think ordinary people, parents, teachers, governments, and technology companies should listen.
Fake expertise is everywhere.
Another problem with social media is that everyone can post as if they are an expert. Anyone can talk about medicine, neuroscience, politics, war, religion, finance, nutrition, education, history, AI, parenting, or climate change with complete confidence, even when they do not understand the topic.
This is dangerous.
I am not saying only people with degrees should be allowed to speak. A farmer, nurse, engineer, teacher, worker, parent, artist, or entrepreneur can have real knowledge from life and work. But if someone is making expert claims, platforms should ask for context and their credentials (research, academic qualification, field of study, work portfolio, professional experience, or other tangible contributions).
If someone makes a medical claim, we should know whether they are a doctor, researcher, or random influencer. If someone makes a political claim, we should know whether they are citing evidence or spreading propaganda. If someone makes a scientific claim, we should know whether there is data behind it.
Otherwise, the people could become easy to fool and manipulate.
My grandfather used to say something like this: if people do not use their intellect and do not keep their brains filled with factual information, skills, and knowledge, they may become like a herd of sheep.
That sounds harsh, but I understand what he meant. If people stop thinking, others will think for them.
Celebrity culture and fake beauty
Another thing I do not understand is why people like Kim Kardashian and similar celebrities are followed and watched by so many people as influencers. Why?
This is my personal opinion, not a personal attack: I do not see why society gives so much attention to people who mainly sell a luxury lifestyle, makeup culture, body image, cosmetic enhancement, and consumerism. I do not think this is the highest model of beauty or success we should give to children, adolescents, or even adults, including both male and female.
Beauty should not mean only makeup, filters, luxury clothes, expensive brands, a particular skin color or complexion, no spots on the skin, or a body modified to match market trends.
To me, a person is beautiful if they have a wider understanding of things, people, society, science, and technology, they are kind, humble, respectful, disciplined, clean, aware enough to wear clean clothes regardless of brand, color, or style, and if they are caring, productive, and useful to other human beings.
A person who wears clean clothes, treats others well, does meaningful work, respects people, cares about fellow human beings, thinks of the whole world as one family, and lives with discipline is beautiful.
Social media often teaches the opposite. It teaches children that beauty is something you buy, filter, inject, expose, or perform.
That is not healthy.
Smartphones and social media are drug-like, especially for children.
I would say smartphones and social media are drug-like in people’s hands. Not literally cocaine or heroin, but psychologically, they can behave like addictive tools.
This is especially dangerous in the hands of kids.
If you are a parent-to-be or already a parent of children or adolescents, please pay attention to what your kids are doing with smartphones. Pay attention to their exposure to Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube Shorts, adult websites, cyberbullying, scams, violent content, sexual content, and online exploitation. A lot of children get exposed to adult content very early. Many are also exposed to cyberbullying, body-shaming, strangers, dangerous challenges, and manipulative communities.
The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on social media and youth mental health says that there is not enough evidence to conclude social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents. It also points to risks such as harmful content, cyberbullying, sleep problems, and mental-health concerns. The American Psychological Association also recommends that adolescent social-media use should not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or healthy development.
Cyberbullying is another serious issue. A JAMA Pediatrics review found a consistent relationship between cyberbullying and depression among children and adolescents.
So this is not just a moral panic. There is real evidence that we need to be careful.
The UK, Australia, Norway, and others are finally moving ?
Recently, the United Kingdom announced a major move: social media platforms will be banned from offering services to under-16s, with protections expected to come into force in Spring 2027.
The UK government press release — “Social media to be banned for under-16s” said the ban will include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. It also said messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal are not intended to be included.
Official UK fact sheet:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fact-sheet-new-rules-to-protect-children-online/fact-sheet-new-rules-to-protect-children-online
For 16- and 17-year-olds, the UK government says live streaming and stranger communication will be switched off by default. It is also looking in more detail at overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for under-18s. This is important.
Australia has already gone further. Official Australia eSafety source mentions that from 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms in Australia must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. Messaging services and online gaming are generally treated differently.
I believe Norway and several other developed countries have also moved toward stronger age limits and protections for children online.
I support this direction because children are the future. Their brains should be healthy. They should be fed with good data, correct information, human values, empathy, skill, discipline, physical activity, sleep, nature, and real human connection. Children cannot become laboratory animals for technology companies.
Developing countries need to be especially careful.
One point I want to raise is about developing countries and least-developed countries.
In countries where education levels are lower, media literacy is weaker, institutions are fragile, income is lower, and people may be more vulnerable to propaganda, social media can become extremely powerful. It can influence elections, religion, ethnic tension, rumours, violence, social trust, and even government stability.
I am not saying social media alone causes these problems. But it can amplify them. If a platform can control what millions of people see every day, then that platform has political power. If recommendation algorithms decide what is visible and what is buried, then algorithms are not neutral.
This is why each nation should have digital sovereignty. I do not mean censorship. I do not mean governments should control truth like dictators. That would be dangerous.
I mean every democratic nation should have the right to inspect, vote on shaping the algorithms (rather than limiting it to the CEO/CTO or shareholders), as well as audit, regulate, and require transparency from the algorithms that shape public life.
There should be independent algorithm audits, data-access rules for researchers, child-safety rules, election-integrity rules, misinformation response systems, and strong privacy protection.
The world’s information system should not be controlled only by private companies, billionaires, shareholders, asset managers, and advertisers.
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Companies like Meta, Google/YouTube, TikTok, Snap, and X are too powerful to be treated like ordinary entertainment businesses. They influence childhood, democracy, attention, education, markets, and mental health.
What should be the solution?
Complaining is not enough. I do not like complaining and hearing only complaints. We need concrete solutions.
Here is what I believe can make people, children, families, and countries healthier, happier, smarter, more productive, and economically stronger.
1. Keep messaging. Remove addictive feeds.
We should separate messaging from social media. Messaging apps should be treated as basic communication infrastructure. People should be able to message family, friends, colleagues, school groups, doctors, emergency contacts, and communities.
But addictive feed-based social media should be restricted, especially for children.
A child should be able to message parents. A child does not need exposure to TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube reels at any time, especially in the evening. A teenager may need school communication. A teenager does not need infinite scroll designed by engagement-maximising algorithms.
2. No social media accounts for children under 16.
I support a minimum age of 16 for social-media accounts. For children under 16, there should be no TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X, adult YouTube account, or similar algorithmic feed account. They should have access to learning, school tools, books, documentaries, messaging with known contacts, family communication, maps, and emergency services.
But they should not be left alone inside addictive public feeds.
3. Strong limits for ages 16–18.
For 16- and 17-year-olds, social media should not be a free-for-all. There should be:
No livestreaming by default
No stranger messaging by default
No adult content
No addictive infinite scroll at night
No algorithmic recommendation of harmful content
No targeted advertising
Strong screen-time limits
Strong parental and school tools
Age verification built into devices, platforms and networks
The UK’s direction on default restrictions for 16–17-year-olds is a good start.
4. Built-in age verification in smartphones
Age verification should not only happen inside apps. It should be built into smartphones and operating systems in a privacy-preserving way. A phone and phone network should know whether it is a child’s phone, a teenager’s phone, or an adult’s phone. Then, apps should follow that setting.
This can be linked to digital ID, parental approval, school systems, or privacy-preserving age-assurance methods. The goal is simple: if a child is under 16, harmful social-media apps cannot be installed or function. Internet providers can also help block age-restricted websites and apps on child devices.
With all these, the privacy must be protected. We should not create a surveillance system that tracks everything children and adults do. The system should verify age, not spy on life.
5. Phone-free classrooms
Classrooms should become phone-free learning zones. UNESCO has argued that technology in schools should be used only when it clearly supports learning. By 2026, many countries had introduced national restrictions or bans on mobile phones in schools.
Students need attention. Teachers need classrooms where they are not competing with TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and games. A school should be a place for learning, sports, friendship, art, debate, science, reading, discipline, and human development.
Not a place where every child carries a pocket casino of distraction.
6. Parents need simple rules at home.
Parents should not just say, “My child is smart; they can handle it.” Can adults handle it? Why do we think children can?
For a practical family plan, explore the internet; I believe you will find scientifically proven facts and evidence. Based on those, along with your knowledge, intellect, and common sense, brainstorming with your family members, you can make the best plan for your family.
However, as I said, I like giving solutions, not just complaining, so here are some of my thoughts as part of a practical family plan:
No phones during meals
No phones in bedrooms at night
Shared charging station outside bedrooms
No social media before 16
No short-video apps for children
Parents approve all app installations
Parents talk openly about cyberbullying, pornography, scams, strangers, and fake expertise
Encourage sports, music, reading, nature, friends, volunteering, and real-life skills
The goal is not to make children afraid of technology. The goal is to make technology serve childhood, not replace it.
7. Adults should also fix themselves.
This is not only about children. Adults are addicted to it too.
We should ask ourselves:
Can I eat lunch without checking my phone?
Can I walk without headphones?
Can I sit at a bus stop and just observe life?
Can I read a full article instead of only watching 10-second clips?
Can I talk to my children without looking at a screen?
Can I sleep without my phone beside my head?
If the answer is no, then we should not laugh at children for being addicted. We trained them by example, haha.
8. Bring back long-form reading and learning.
When it comes to information, we should encourage people to read full articles, books, scientific papers, and long-form analysis.
Watching a 5-second clip about world politics is not the same as understanding world politics. Watching one angry person shout about science is not the same as reading a scientific paper. Watching a conspiracy reel is not research.
A healthy brain needs depth. Books, full documentaries, lectures, long articles, real conversations, and serious study keep people smarter than endless short videos.
9. Platforms must verify expertise.
Social-media platforms should create visible expertise markers.
If someone posts medical advice, the platform should show whether they are a medical doctor, researcher, nurse, or not verified. If someone posts legal advice, show whether they are a lawyer. If someone posts financial advice, show whether they are certified or whether they have conflicts of interest. If someone posts scientific claims, encourage them to provide citations and evidence.
This does not mean banning ordinary people from speaking. It means helping the audience understand the difference between opinion, experience, evidence, and expertise.
10. Create better phones: the Nokia idea
Finally, I believe companies like Nokia, BlackBerry, and other keypad phone makers should build “not-so-dumb phones.”
The old Nokia dumbphones were good because they did not allow endless addictive apps. But modern life also needs banking, digital ID, email, maps, payments, and messaging.
So we need a new category: “Not dumbphones. Not addiction phones. But smart-enough phones.” These phones should include:
▪️ Calls ▪️SMS ▪️Signal or simple messaging ▪️Email ▪️Maps ▪️Calendar ▪️Notes ▪️Camera ▪️Banking/payment apps ▪️Digital national ID ▪️Digital passport ▪️Emergency tools ▪️School/work tools ▪️No TikTok or similar short video reel apps ▪️No Instagram Reels ▪️No Facebook feed ▪️No Snapchat streaks ▪️No addictive infinite scroll
This would be useful not only for children, but also for adults who want productivity and peace. I would personally like to see Nokia or BlackBerry return with such a phone: clean, strong battery, secure, simple, useful, and free from algorithmic addiction.
The economic reason to care
This is not only about mental health. It is also about productivity and economics.
A distracted child or adult will, in fact, i believe, learn less. A sleep-deprived teenager performs worse. A worker interrupted every few minutes does lower-quality work. A parent lost in a phone becomes emotionally absent. A society full of misinformation makes bad political and economic decisions. A country where young people cannot focus will not build strong science, engineering, business, healthcare, education, or democracy.
Attention is economic infrastructure. Healthy childhood is economic infrastructure. Good sleep is economic infrastructure. Education is economic infrastructure. Truth is economic infrastructure.
If we destroy these things for advertising revenue, we are not becoming advanced. We are becoming foolish.
Final thought
Social media promised connection, but in its current form, it too often gives addiction, comparison, outrage, misinformation, distraction, and insecurity. Messaging is enough. We can stay connected with family, friends, and colleagues through simple tools. We do not need our brains constantly fried by reels, feeds, filters, influencers, fake experts, celebrity culture, and algorithmic outrage. Or, hey, social media shareholders, please work on solving it the right way to benefit people.
Technology should help us live better. It should not steal childhood. It should not destroy attention. It should not turn people into a herd of scrolling sheep (my grandpa message).
The better future is simple: More sleep. More sports. More books. More nature. More family. More real friends. More deep work. More truth. More kindness. More useful technology and science. Less addictive social media. Messaging apps are enough. Life is bigger than the feed.
Disclaimer: I have to say I enjoyed writing it and wanted to write it for so long; finally, I wrote what I think. I have no conflicts of interest, nor has anyone paid me to write this. If you enjoyed reading it, I may write in the future, depending on my mood, time, and what comes to my mind next time. Haha
