Marium Ibrahim Ahmed
Oct 23, 2024
Building Real Connections: Confinity's Role in Combatting Loneliness on Social Media
Social media was made to bring people together and connect them over distances but, despite the increased use of social media, people today feel lonelier than ever. The number of connections, followers, subscribers may be increasing but the disconnect between users makes the experience of using social media more isolating than ever. Research shows that the problem of loneliness is prevalent even in societies where social media is most widely used.
As Olds and Schwartz argue in The Lonely American, despite internet access and social media platforms devoted solely to the purpose of staying connected, 21st century America suffers from higher levels of loneliness than any previous generation. Loneliness is defined as an unpleasant experience that stems from a perceived discrepancy between a person’s desired and actual social relationships. In simple words, a person feels lonely when their social relations are deficient in some important way.
Loneliness occurs despite the use of social media because platforms lack the ability to build meaningful relationships between people and they fuel negative emotions which damage people’s self-esteem and confidence, causing mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. Despite the increased ‘connection’, people feel isolated because those connections don’t feel very real.
Unlike traditional social media platforms, Confinity offers people a space where they can foster personal connections with their loved ones and build a meaningful presence. Where others fail, Confinity tackles the growing issue of emotional loneliness by giving people a platform which instils a sense of belonging, affirms their identity, and provides them with support.
According to research, image-based social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are more effective at making people feel happier than text-based platforms such as Twitter (now X). This is because images are better at quickly communicating feelings and messages than words are. And also because people tend to trust what they see. However, even though images can create feelings of connectedness, these social media platforms lack authenticity. Interactions are superficial and shallow, with people building a life on social media that is far removed from their reality.
Researchers Makarin, Bragheiri, and Levy found that college-wide access to Facebook led to a 7% increase in severe depression and a 20% increase in anxiety disorder. A reason for this harmful impact on mental health is social comparison. People spend a significant amount of time on social media comparing their lives to others which can lead to anxiety and depression. Where traditional social media platforms are marked with this culture of promoting curated lifestyles, Confinity encourages users to share genuine stories and memories.
By fostering a deeper emotional connection between people, Confinity relieves them of the pressure of presenting a perfect life to their network and reduces the anxiety associated with social comparison which is prevalent on traditional social media platforms. Hence, by shifting the focus from the number of likes and followers to meaningful interactions, Confinity promotes a safe and healthy environment where users can be vulnerable without fearing judgement and engage with content that resonates with them instead of competing for attention.
Moving away from a format of mindless scrolling and endless content, Confinity promotes a culture of healthy digital habits by encouraging intentional engagement among users and reflective exercises for individuals. With its unique journal feature, Confinity taps into the power of journaling by letting people create personal entries in the form of text or voice recordings. This not only allows people to note down things ranging from their daily thoughts to important moments and memories, but also gives them a space to reflect on them.
The option to keep these reflections private or share them with their network to whatever degree they’re comfortable with allows users to remain in control of their story and privacy. Journaling not only helps in reducing anxiety and regulating emotions but can also speed up physical healing according to some studies.
While research shows that excessive use of social media is associated with lower psychological well-being, it is also important to note that it is the quality of social media use rather than the quantity that really defines the nature of the impact it can have on a person’s mental health. This means that social media can be leveraged to enhance the mental health of users, which is exactly what Confinity aims to do.
By facilitating meaningful interactions, allowing users to build a supportive network of close friends and family, and giving them a safe space to reflect and express, Confinity creates an increased sense of belongingness and perceived emotional support - all of which gets lost in the comparison culture, cyberbullying, and trolling on traditional social media platforms.
Confinity prioritises building a legacy supplemented with real emotions and memories for future generations over constructing a fake, unreachable online persona to attract followers. Through its mindful features created while taking mental health issues and memory problems into consideration, Confinity is unlike any of the other social media platforms. Falling on a completely different end of the spectrum, it brings people together in the real sense - by building an emotional bridge between kith and kin.
Confinity surrounds people with shared memories, positivity, and a safety net of support, far from the negativity that other social media platforms breed. Unlike other social media platforms which focus on increasing the number of interactions, Confinity is designed to increase the quality of user interactions and encourage moments of reflection which in turn intend to reduce social isolation and foster stronger connections.