But if we think about it carefully, the happiest moments in our lives often have nothing to do with the Internet and social platforms. So should we reflect on the time invested in the online world and whether there is a corresponding return?

Which represents you better – the online you or the real you?

I’m so tired of this situation——One day I was hanging out with some friends – karaoke, walking, eating …… But there are always people busy taking photos, retouching pictures, and posting on social media. Sometimes I feel like I’m just hanging out with a couple of mobile phones. Everything that happens needs to be documented by photos and videos and then uploaded to social networks as if the day had existed. I want to laugh face to face, discuss gossip or social issues with my friends, rather than just posting some seemingly beautiful pictures.

I can’t help but think: what exactly are the psychological mechanisms and reasons behind this phenomenon? Why on earth are people so addicted to social networking, or to moulding an online persona, a 2D version of themselves. Do we ever realise that these time-consuming activities don’t bring us any real economic benefits, and that we are instead labouring for others without pay?

Of course, recording life is a very happy thing. Looking back at the photos many years later, you can still think of the happiness at that moment, but is what we record our real life? Or is it that what exists on the Internet is just our ideal version of ourselves, with no acne or wrinkles, no burying our heads in pillows crying, and always clean and tidy hair?

I have always believed that people should not live in the online world, to feel the real connection with the nature, the world, and the people. But it is undeniable that various platforms have made our lives more interesting and convenient than ever before, but are we really happier and more satisfied? Or are we becoming less and less satisfied because there are always new trends, new advertisements, and new products waiting for us, which make us no longer grateful for the things we already have in life, but always want More. Like Emily West said, although people participate voluntarily and enjoy participating, this productive activity is transformed into profit for privately owned companies.

Have we all become digital serfs?

There is a sentence in the book The Little Prince that I have always liked: “Only adults like numbers.” Obviously in this era, it is not just adults who like numbers, but also various platforms and companies. The data of these users Like blood, it revitalizes the digital economy and continuously creates economic value for these companies. I have always believed that people cannot be reduced to numbers and hashtags, but the current reality seems to be exactly the opposite of what I thought. Our lives are built on data. Without the support of data, we cannot move forward. Height, weight, post code, bank card number, number of fans, number of likes……you name it. As Taylor argued, “prosumer”—a somewhat benign term to describe the offloading of paid work onto consumers who perform it for free—has evolved into the digital serf.

I always have mixed feelings when it comes to social media. On the one hand, humans are social animals, and socializing on the Internet has become a part of people’s lives. Our likes, comments, and postings not only provide content and data for the platform, but the platform also provides us with a modern form of social interaction. In this way, we can get to know more people in different fields, see more possibilities in life, and even learn a lot of knowledge online.

But on the other hand, people may pay too much attention to the online world and ignore the offline world. But if we think about it carefully, the happiest moments in our lives often have nothing to do with the Internet and social platforms. So should we reflect on the time invested in the online world and whether there is a corresponding return?

Be careful! Platform capitalism, consumerism, and the information cocoon

As we spend time online, we generate information that is instantly collected, analyzed, sold, and then presented back to us in the form of targeted advertisements that reflect our online behavior and consumption patterns.

Take the Chinese version of Ins, Xiaohongshu, for example. Xiaohongshu has a powerful algorithm, a software that probably understands what you want better than you do, and every move a user makes on the platform is transformed into data that builds a cocoon of information for the user, as if the only thing you care about is beauty and dressing. Users, in turn, are influenced by the information they ingest every day, and lose sight of the wider world and more real life. By the way, the pushing of this data is tightly linked to consumerism, and the little information cocoon can constrain one’s eyes, and advertising campaigns are usually part of that.Users provide content and data to platforms and act as both producers and consumers in the digital economy. But no matter what role users play, the biggest beneficiaries will always be the platforms and companies.

Let’s rediscover balance in our life, put down our mobile phone and breathe freely in the real world instead of being trapped in a tiny mobile phone screen. Happiness will become easier!