Joe Rogan's 'Genuine Fear' Could Become Reality

Joe Rogan has shared his fears that society will become increasingly addicted to social media, as numerous platforms are made to appear as though they are a necessary part of everyday life.

Rogan expressed his thoughts on the matter during a lengthy discussion on his podcast with social psychologist, professor and author Jonathan Haidt, who wrote the book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

During the discussion on The Joe Rogan Experience, the host told Haidt that he rarely ever posts on social media himself, using it as a resource to glean information rather than a forum to participate in online discussions and arguments.

"The only reason why I use it is to see information," Rogan said. "I don't read anything about myself. I very rarely post at all. And I if I do post, I certainly don't read [what's said about me]."

"What social media is good for is putting out information quickly," Haidt responded. "I'm a professor, I'm a researcher, I am engaged in various academic disputes and debates. And Twitter [now known as X] is amazing for finding current articles, for finding what people are talking about.

"So the function of putting info out is great, but the function of putting something out and then watching everyone fight in the comments...nothing good comes from that."

"My concern is that we are paddling upriver, and that there's a raging waterfall that's powering this whole thing that you cannot fight against," Rogan said, adding: "We're moving in a direction as a society with the implementation of new, more sophisticated technology that's going to make it ever more difficult, unless you completely opt out. And some people are going to opt out.

"But it's gonna be like My 600-lb Life. People that are realizing like, 'Oh my god, what have I done? I've ruined my body, I've ruined my life. How do I slowly get back to a normal state?' It's gonna take a tremendous amount of effort."

Rogan added that he knows and follows people who are currently "tweeting 12 hours a day. They're addicts. My fear is that this is only gonna get greater."

"I share that fear," Haidt responded. "And if current trends continue, it's really not clear how we get out of it. Something might break in a big way. Humanity has faced many crises before... As they say, past performance is no guarantee of future success. So we've faced many crises and we've always come out stronger."

"But we've never faced anything like this," Rogan interjected. "This is a rewiring."

According to Medical News Today, social media addiction is most common among adolescents and young adults. Research by the American Psychological Association found that by 2016, adolescents were spending an average of six hours a day on social media.

Symptoms of social media addiction often show in a compulsion to check the various platforms available and spend long periods of time on the chosen platforms. This, in turn, leads to less time taking part in offline activities.

A Statista survey conducted in 2019 found that 40 percent of adults in the U.S. aged 18-22 responded that they believed themselves to be addicted to social media.

On his show, Rogan shared how easy it can be to be lured into social media, after recounting how impressed he was by the convenience of having a cellphone back in the 1980s.

"There were so many positives to it," he told Haidt. "And it gave you an advantage... My fear is that [evolving technology] is gonna be that times a million. It's gonna be you have to have it in order to compete, just like you kind of have to have an email today. You kind of having to have a cell phone today.

"Yes, we are certainly headed in that way," said Haidt, who later commented that through technology, we are "leaving our humanity and stepping into an unknown zone."

Sharing his belief that social media and technology could become a medicine of sorts, he said: "My fear, my genuine fear, is the rewiring of the mind in a way that can enhance dopamine, enhance serotonin and do things that can genuinely make you feel better. And that we will decide that this is a better thing."