Not all technology is bad, though; many beneficial uses of technology exist. We have all probably used spell-check software to remove embarrassing typos or artificial intelligence to do research for an assignment. As I’m writing this line, I have Microsoft Word open to write this article, Firefox open to research it and Taylor Swift’s “Suburban Legends” playing in my headphones. I use lots of technology.

And you probably do, too. Unless you are reading this article in the December 2023 print edition of the “Hilltop Monitor”, you are using a device of some kind—whether mobile phone, tablet, or laptop—to read this. Technology can serve humanity in all sorts of ways. We cannot deny that we are living in the Information Age.

But this relationship—technology serving humanity—is often reversed.

The Culprits
In an essay for New York Magazine, ominously titled “I Used to Be A Human Being,” Andrew Sullivan draws our attention to what seems a very simple statement. Mobile phones are, well, mobile. “At your desk at work, or at home on your laptop, you disappeared down a rabbit hole of links and resurfaced minutes (or hours) later to reencounter the world. But the smartphone then went and made the rabbit hole portable, inviting us to get lost in it anywhere, at any time, whatever else we might be doing.”

The emergence of the Information Age, especially social media, creates three critical problems.

1. Quantification of Social Standing
Social media causes the quantification of social standing. In other words, social standing now comes with numbers attached. Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook all show (publicly!) how many people follow you and how many people interact with your posts. Snapchat shows you a Snapscore that increases every time you send someone a picture. YikYak has a leaderboard of people who use it, sorted by how many upvotes you receive.

These numbers on social media are a double-edged sword. Research from the University of Florida shows a significant negative impact on users’ mental health. People who look at “upward” connections—i.e., profiles that indicate the profile’s creator is “better off” than the viewer—came away with “deflated self-esteem.” In contrast, when people look at content indicating other users are “worse off”, they feel better about themselves. We trade short-term benefits for long-term detriment—while people do feel better in the short term, they do so at the expense of others.

2. Information Overload
We suffer from information overload. We have access to worlds of knowledge at our fingertips: nearly two and a half quintillion bytes per day. If you type into Google the words, “how much information is available to us right now,” Google returns this:

This does not seem to be a problem per se. Sure, there is a lot of information to sort, but there is nothing wrong with the information existing. Processing that information, though, requires our attention. As such, humans have to triage; we discern what is important, focus on those bits and disregard the rest.

However, the internet puts that system into overdrive. “Viewing and producing blogs, videos, tweets and other units of information called memes have become so cheap and easy that the information marketplace is inundated,” write Thomas Hills and Filippo Menczer of Scientific American. We do not have the ability to effectively parse everything, so our biases take over.

This inability to fully process stimuli activates what I call our “lizard brain.” We are unable to determine fact from fiction or beneficial information from bologna. Critical thinking ceases and we are open to misinformation. We need only look back two years to understand the cost of such misinformation. A Brown University analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic estimates that 319,000 lives could have been saved with vaccinations. That is ten times the population of Liberty, Missouri!

3. Virtual Substitution
Social media, messaging apps and podcasts serve as a virtual substitution for human contact. This does not seem like it should be a problem, either. After all, research exists linking “[the] quantity of one’s virtual interaction partners… [and] better mental health at both the daily level and the weekly level.”

Virtual interactions are wonderful, especially when distance makes in-person interactions impractical or impossible. But if we lack meaningful physical contact (because we limit our interactions to being virtual), we do not benefit as much. Multiple studies indicate that in-person interactions are more fulfilling; Zoom fatigue is real!

We have to take time to talk to the people we care about. If distance makes doing so impossible, maybe give the person a phone or video call. It is so much better than texting, as we can hear a person’s voice or see their face in a call.

The Solution
So what can we do? Fortunately, the Internet has plenty of information on how to avoid the devastating effects of the Internet. (Ironic, I know.) A notable work in this field is Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. In the latter half of his book, Newport provides solutions to escape the world of technology. I have used his recommendations to outline three easy recommendations and one difficult recommendation for busy college students.

The whole text of Digital Minimalism is worth a read; if you want to read it, it is available here for free from the Internet Archive. (Quick shoutout to the Internet Archive!)

1. Walk to Class Alone
In 1845, transcendentalist and author Henry David Thoreau expressed concern about an overly interconnected world. “We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas,” wrote Thoreau in Walden, “but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.” Thoreau is not challenging the existence of the telegraph, far from it. If Maine and Texas had something important to say, then there would be justification for its construction. Thoreau is simply concerned with remaining intentional in communication.

Newport defines the phrase solitude deprivation as a “state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.” When this lack of solitude happens, we lose our sense of identity. I describe this phenomenon as “being afraid of my own thoughts,” however, we need time to be alone with our own thoughts.

“Ethan,” I hear you already saying, “I’m so busy with athletics or academics or extracurriculars or all three at once. How do I find time to do this?” You have more time than you think.

I often find myself (and see other people) with headphones on as soon as I walk out the door of my residence hall, keeping music or video content on for my entire walk to classes or to the Union. For those looking for an easy way to find time with their thoughts, consider walking to class alone. No headphones. Nothing playing. Just you, nature and your thoughts. You would be surprised what it does to you.

2. Stop Liking Things
Weird heading, I know. You might think I told you to not have hobbies, but that is not what I mean. Clicking ‘Like’ on something seems to be a standard way to say, “I like this! This is cool.” When Facebook introduced the ‘Like’ button in 2009, that is what it was supposed to be for. According to Newport, the ‘Like’ button was “introduced as a simpler way to indicate your general approval of a post, which would both save time and allow the comments to be reserved for more interesting notes.”

The quantification of social standing incentivizes people to constantly check their accounts, investigating to see if anyone else has ‘Liked’ their posts or story. But in terms of information conveyed, the ‘Like’ button conveys exactly one bit of information, the least amount of information possible to convey, according to information theory. “To say it’s like driving a Ferrari under the speed limit is an understatement,” writes Newport, “the better simile is towing a Ferrari behind a mule.” By conditioning our brains to accept ‘Likes’ instead of proper communication, we are selling our amazing communication capabilities short. We have limited the amount of fuel our communication can run on; we are literally receiving information one bit at a time.

3. Schedule Everything
Our lives are all defined by schedules. Every person at this College, whether student, staff or faculty, has a schedule to follow. For students, that could be a class schedule; for athletes, it could be a practice schedule. One easy way to limit your screen time is to schedule it.

Schedule time to check your social media, watch television or employ whatever form of screen enjoyment you like best. After that, put the screen away. Newport continues: “Without access to your standard screens, the best remaining option to fill this time will be quality activities.” This is a good blend of abstinence and enjoyment; while you do not have to give your media up completely, you are able to limit it in this way.

4. Detox
This solution is not for the faint of heart. If you attempt to detox, you will have to demonstrate significant self-restraint. When I first read Newport’s book as a senior in high school, I attempted this solution and failed to maintain the thirty days required of me.

Newport’s tough suggestion is to give it all up.

Take thirty days and eliminate all non-optional screens from your life. Newport considers a technology non-optional if “its temporary removal would harm or significantly disrupt the daily operation of your professional or personal life.”

Take Instagram, for example. In considering if Instagram is essential, one must ask themselves if temporary removal of Instagram would significantly disrupt their lives. In most cases, the answer is no (and no, finding out about events is not considered essential). However, if someone runs a business from Instagram (where, for example, they are posting handmade goodies to sell), then Instagram is an essential technology for them.

After the thirty-day detox, begin to introduce non-optional technologies back into your life. Doing so enables you to think critically about whether technology needs to be there or not.

If you are considering this, I seriously suggest reading the entirety of Newport’s book. He provides many more examples and much more research than I can include in this article.

Conclusions
At the beginning of this article, I noted that technology’s relationship with humanity was backward—that humanity served technology, and not the other way around. However, I sincerely believe we can undo this relationship by making our relationships both with technology and other humans intentional. By using our time wisely and using technology to our benefit, not to our detriment, we can save humanity from this servitude. The world is increasingly moving online; we must learn how to adapt.

In the last 10 years or so, the journalism industry has had a 25% decrease in the number of jobs available. In the next 10 years, jobs will likely decrease by another 9%. 

And though online readership has increased, this is still not enough to offset the sharp decline in print readership. Furthermore, younger generations increasingly use social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Twitter in order to get their daily news. 

Some of the difficulties The Hilltop Monitor faces now are reflective of these broader problems in the journalism industry. The past two years have seen a decrease in readership for The Hilltop Monitor and a decrease in the volume of articles published each issue. There is less incentive for students to write involved articles on a weekly basis when information and gossip can be easily shared in a quick YikYak. And reading these posts takes almost no effort at all – all the more convenient for the bogged-down college student trying to make it through undergraduate classes. 

But if this past year as Chief Editor has shown me anything, it’s that local news coverage – and in particular, coverage of campus events – is crucial to the development of a good college community. William Jewell College is undergoing a great deal of change. A sizable chunk of the faculty has retired or will retire soon. New programs and minors such as the Faith and Culture Center and the ancient Mediterranean studies minor respectively are being added next year. The institution is committing itself to values of radical inclusivity, diversity, access, and equity. The administration has ambitious plans for the College moving forward – they are attempting to increase the size of the student body and provide highest quality education and highest access to that education. 

And while social media sites like TikTok and YikYak are useful for getting bite-sized morsels of information, they are by nature inadequate for giving a comprehensive account of the changes at Jewell. Thus, the importance of student journalism cannot be understated. Student journalists are tasked with investigating and reporting on those issues which are most pertinent to the members of the community (and to prospective students who want information on the culture and programs of the College). 

More than keeping the community informed about important changes, student journalism itself keeps the institution accountable throughout its ongoing metamorphosis. For example, this year The Hilltop Monitor has covered an ongoing, institutional conversation concerning the nature and value of student and faculty academic freedom. Where information on this conversation was often difficult to obtain or difficult to wrap one’s head around, The Hilltop Monitor’s staff worked tirelessly to disseminate key points to the community. 

My time as Chief Editor is almost complete. I am grateful to my wonderful staff for writing substantive and well-researched stories on all sorts of subjects. I know that the staff will continue to do excellent work. And you, dear reader, are encouraged to participate in student journalism – whether as a reader or a member of the writing staff. In doing so, you will contribute to the proper development of Jewell as an institution. 

By now we have all heard the warnings of how bad social media can be for you. For example, that social media, when used consistently, may paint unrealistic expectations for your life and can cause way too much overthinking. 

While this is true, I think there’s a way to find a balance and make social media both beneficial and fun. It’s all about setting boundaries between you and your phone and realizing that all your accounts on social media are for yourself, and no one else. 

The biggest apps out there that have the potential to be detrimental to our generation are Snapchat, Instagram and Tik Tok. These apps portray unrealistic lives and body images through editing and filters. I think we all have been there and tried to take a million different photos for a selfie just so we could look good for our feed. Personally, I don’t think this is bad, though. It’s okay to take photos and post them and feel good about how you look. Where it gets toxic is in the reason behind posting it. 

If you are posting a photo and then taking it down because it didn’t get enough likes or you think you look bad in it, then it might be time to take a break from social media. However, once you start thinking of social media as your platform to express yourself, then the selfies and accounts you follow and things you see on your feed become super beneficial for yourself, and you stop worrying about the likes and comments. 

Follow who you want to follow. Social media can be used to either build yourself up or knock your image down, so if you follow accounts that impact you positively and add a smile to your day, it’s a lot better for your health. This means you should follow what you find inspirational and helpful, not just who has a lot of followers. For me, that means lots of dog and food accounts and zero Kardashians. I think it’s also really important to not feel bad about muting an account or blocking someone on Snapchat or Instagram – it’s not petty. They won’t know, and you will be so much better off not seeing things that might distract you or cause you to overthink things.

Lastly, take a break. There are a million ways to enforce this ideal but I think deleting the apps for a week or two can be really refreshing. Now I know this can be scary, but your streaks and likes are not as important as your mental health. If Snapchat is distracting you from getting things in real life done, tell your friends you’re taking a break, and delete the app – they can text you. For Instagram, you can actually temporarily suspend your account so you can’t even receive notifications. You can also turn off notifications for apps for a temporary break or give your phone to a friend when studying. This is usually what my friends and I do, and it really works to stay focused on what you actually need to do instead of reacting to every notification that pops up. 

In the end, you can either have a healthy relationship with social media by setting time limits, following accounts that you like and not overthinking it, or a toxic one that is difficult to break. You just have to remember that it’s supposed to be fun and that it is yours to do with what you want. 

It has been a little over a year since @wjc_memes made its first post on Instagram. Not long after that, @wjc_memes became the talk of the campus. The page reached 100 followers within a few weeks of its first post. Now, the page has garnered over 900 followers and has been a consistent presence on the Instagram feeds of many William Jewell College students. The page recently requested another interview with The Hilltop Monitor, and we were happy to oblige. I reached out to the secretive owner of the account to get an update on the page.

“The creative process has been challenging,” @wjc_memes said in regards to how the new school year and COVID-19  have impacted their mindset when it comes to running the page.  

“I don’t wanna just make a bunch COVID-related memes (there’s plenty of other stuff around campus to make fun of). The mindset remains the same: give students something to laugh about, especially now when it can be hard to do that,” @wjc_memes said.

The fact that @wjc_memes has persisted for over a year at this point, especially when other Jewell-based social media accounts like a Jewell confessions account and a parody account of Jewell’s president, Dr. Elizabeth MacLeod Walls, have burnt out quickly after their creation, is surprising. I asked the page creator about these controversies and how @wjc_memes has been able to stay relatively free of controversy for so long, both within the administration and among students.

“I felt like I made my stance toward those pages [the Jewell confessions and the parody MacLeod Walls accounts] pretty clear. Ultimately it comes down to the underlying purpose of why these pages exist. For those Twitter pages, as far as I can tell, the purpose was to create drama. The purpose of @wjc_memes has always been to give Jewell students something to laugh about. More often than not that does not involve controversy (sometimes it has), but I think the drive to be a positive influence on campus is what has set this page apart from others,” @wjc_memes said.

@wjc_memes is looking to spread laughter to as many people on campus as possible, and on a campus as small as Jewell’s, an influx of new students provides the best opportunity for @wjc_memes to grow. 

“I’m pleasantly surprised at how well new students have responded to the page. Recently there have been a lot of high schoolers committed to Jewell who have followed the page, which I think is hilarious,” @wjc_memes said. “I think it’s interesting because last year the page was the new thing that everyone picked up, but for the first-years it’s just another part of the Jewell experience, and that was a big milestone for me.”

Along with that, @wjc_memes discussed its upcoming goals for this school year.

“I would like to see consistent growth on the page, but I also understand that there’s a limiting factor of how many students there are. I would say the main goal is to be relatively active on a week-to-week basis, and see where it goes from there,” @wjc_memes said.

When people talk about @wjc_memes on campus, one question always comes up: who runs the account? The person or persons who run @wjc_memes have remained a mystery since the very beginning, and some students have been working hard to figure it out. There have been several theories floating around on campus. I decided to ask @wjc_memes if they have heard any theories that they found interesting or if there were some that were close to the truth.

“I won’t name names, but the guesses that some people have thrown out are interesting to see, to say the least. Some people have point-blank [direct messaged] the page with their theories. There are definitely certain students at Jewell that are more likely to be suspected of running it, but I will answer the same way I did last year: No one has been 100% correct with their guesses yet, and it’s more complicated than everyone has suggested so far,” @wjc_memes said.

This raises the question: why the anonymity and mystery when it comes to the identity of who runs the page?

“More than anything, it comes down to my preference to compartmentalize the two,” @wjc_memes said. “If people found out who ran the page, people wouldn’t see it the same way. It’s like watching a magic trick and then seeing how it’s done, it takes the fun out of it. I have personal reasons to keep the two separate as well, but for the most part, it’s about keeping it fun for the students.”

@wjc_memes certainly has done that. The page provides a consistent source of laughter and discussion among students whenever a new post drops. If you do not already follow @wjc_memes on Instagram, I highly suggest you do. We all could use a bit more laughter in the world right now.