Only the Privileged Can Opt Out of the Online World

Stay as far from social media as possible!

Tech CEOs are known to not give phones to their children.

I am a Taiwanese Third Culture Kid who grew up in a myriad cultures including the Philippines and the US. My background spans Psychology and Technology. I grew up connecting with people across economic and cultural lines.

Growing up in a city where access to nature and education depends on economic class, I can say being able to opt out of social media is a privilege.

Metro Manila

Welcome to Metro Manila.

In my undergraduate economics courses in Manila, we divided society into classes A through E, with E representing the urban poor.

You are forced to confront this disparity after leaving the airport.

There is only a small geographic distance between elite Class A and Upper B enclaves like Rockwell and areas of extreme poverty. Between them stand gated village walls and security guards.

Then there are the supermalls for those who can afford to shop. People in lower middle classes take out loans (”utang”) or request salary advances just to spend money in these malls.

Access to Nature is Not Equitable

Class A and Upper B families are most likely to live in gated villages.

Source: Forbes Park, Makati

These neighborhoods provide access to parks, green spaces, and recreational facilities. Clubs such as Manila Polo Club and Manila Golf offer exclusive environments where people socialize with others from similar backgrounds.

For the urban poor, they could go to Rizal Park. But for many of them who live in Greater Metro Manila, that requires a one to two hour public transportation journey.

If you cannot afford the fare, a place filled with lush green nature might as well exist in the afterlife.

Not Everyone Can “Go for A Walk” in Nature

I moved to Los Angeles for my Psychology Master’s.

While in class, a question always comes to mind whenever I read research papers:

Does this apply to people across economic and cultural classes?

What does it mean when a study conducted in the United States, with a relatively small sample size compared to the global population, makes claims about humanity as a whole? Or suggest recommendations that are not application to half of the world?

Source: Women’s Running Magazine

Consider the common mental health recommendation:

“Go for a walk.”

I can tell you that isn’t always easy in Class E Manila.

The streets are crowded with people, garbage, traffic, and the smell of open drains.

Try going for a walk here.. Source: Habitat for Humanity Philippines

“Digital Detox” Is Not Accessible to Everyone

Could the dominant narrative of our time, that social media is inherently bad, be challenged?

Is it a technology that is as evil as smoking cigarettes or excessive alcohol consumption?

Although my career is in technology and I want say that tech is not evil, my heart remains that of a Psychologist.

Neuroscience research has documented the negative effects of excessive device use.

I would not allow my future children to use these apps until they are teenagers.

I am firmly against social media use for young children.

But I am also aware that I live a privileged life, with access to many other forms of employment opportunities and entertainment. I can even do a digital detox from work a few times a year.

Let’s zoom in on the adults living in the urban slums of the Philippines.

In the absence of accessible green spaces and education materials, and with government officials doing little to provide them, could the online world be a healthier alternative?

The Online World Could Be a Refuge

What if the digital world is more pleasing than the physical one immediately available to many of its users?

Source: Inquirer Philippines

For those in the urban slums, instead of listening to a drunk neighbor’s fight at 2am, they can plug in their earphones and laugh at a Youtube video. They can watch long form videos that help them dream.2

Instead of relying on information school provides (if one could afford to go to school that is), they gain access to other intelligent opinions.

Those who want to upskill in the age of AI can have the opportunity to with all the free education tools shared on social media.

Without the online world, those who are in dire situations may think that their immediate surrounding is all that is in the world.

Unregulated Social Media is Still Dangerous

The cons are real. Gambling, betting, exploitative lending. People are susceptible to buying things they do not need because of advertising. If a young teen from a lower economic class in the Philippines sees a fashion influencer promote a brand, they might take out a loan to have it.

There is no denying evil exists and they need to be regulated.

The Effects of Technology is Nuanced

For a child in an urban slum, with a corrupt government that has never built a public park, a phone replacing the street outside is not the same trade-off as a wealthy kid whose phone is replacing an afternoon in a nice garden.

For the impoverished, checking apps can be a vital window out of their existing world.

For the privileged, the online world can be a toxic distraction from a beautiful physical world.

While one of the best solutions would be for there to be proper economic opportunities and healthy living spaces for people across economic groups, this is still a far dream.

Before that day comes, I continue to ask whether being online could offer an oasis for those who are struggling in real life.

I remain hopeful and hope the benefits of the real world will outweigh the online world.

Notes

1. Psychology papers have a section called “confounding variables”, a polite acknowledgment that outside forces may have skewed the results. I would encourage everyone to read that part too.

2. The Philippines is the social media capital of the world. This is for many reasons. Phones are accessible through secondhand markets; Facebook data plans are cheap, sometimes free; and a collectivist culture means adoption spreads fast.