posted in Technology
Social media addiction affecting boomers, BBC hears
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly4z33kzl3o
Replying to @Mustachius_Grumpius@thelemmy.club
Unsurprising to anyone around boomers. Grandma asks Gemini everything. Dad scrolls shorts all day. Grandpa rage posts on Facebook.
Then you talk to them about real life shit and they act like they understand, but how could they understand when they haven’t been present for years? Their opinions and beliefs are no longer based in reality. They say stupid out of touch shit and have absolutely no hobbies anymore. The disconnect between me and my parents and grandparents makes me physically sick and there’s legitimately no amount of effort I can put in that would get any of them to stop… Because it’s addictive as fuck.
For fucks sake any time I’m with my dad he’s just scrolling short videos and laughing/making comments trying to bring everyone else into what he’s watching and holy shit it’s legitimately the most annoying fucking thing. Put your fucking phone down and experience real life. YOU think it’s so awesome because they know EXACTLY what you like but nobody else fucking cares.
I see everyone around me mentally degrading because of this shit and I’m feeling worried. It makes me feel like I need to make a Facebook account just to fill their feeds with less slop but I deleted my Facebook 10 years ago. I don’t know how else to get through to them. If anyone has ideas that’ve worked on their family, lmk. Rant over.
Replying to @TheKaul@lemmy.dbzer0.com
I feel you and your frustrations, same for me on all accounts. Mom wonders why I don’t visit often but then sits there on Facebook the entire time.
I tried to fight it online, you won’t win. Their algorithms bury your stuff, your comments get the stupid laughing emoji, it’s not worth it. Plus it just starts to suck you in so it’s a lose lose.
The only thing that helps is getting them off their phones. There’s no silver bullet there, but simply disconnecting them somehow. Starting a hobby with them, or hiking, or something that isn’t being in their phones. If you ban phones you’re the villain so be careful, but you can do things that are less phone involved. When they’re not memorized by their phones they come back a little.