A Morning Scroll
Imagine waking up and reaching for your phone, bleary-eyed but eager to check Instagram. You scroll through a sea of posts, each one a snapshot of someone’s curated life. You find yourself liking photos and commenting on friends’ updates, feeling a sense of connection with each tap. But as you close the app, a nagging thought lingers: Am I really connecting, or just filling a void?
The Need for Belonging
One psychological mechanism at play here is the need for belonging. This fundamental human drive originally existed to promote social cohesion and survival in early communities. By forming bonds, individuals increased their chances of support, protection, and shared resources.
However, platforms like Instagram have distorted this need. The algorithm rewards engagement with likes and comments, leading users to prioritize quantity over quality in their interactions. Instead of deepening relationships, the focus shifts to superficial metrics that create a false sense of belonging.
Consider a scenario where you post a photo of a recent outing with friends, only to receive a flurry of likes from acquaintances but minimal engagement from your close circle. It feels validating in the moment, yet leaves you feeling isolated as your true connections go unnoticed.
Engaging online feels personal, but the algorithm-driven metrics create a landscape of shallow interactions.
This is why the patterns of our online behaviors are predictable; they arise from the intersection of our innate social needs and the designed environments of social media platforms.