Beware: Social Media Makes Neighbors Depressed, Anxious, and Unhappy

 


There is abundant evidence that social media makes people depressed, anxious, lonely, and unhappy. 

Most studies find a positive correlation between time on social media and mental health problems, especially mood disorders (depression and anxiety). Fifty-five studies in one review found a significant correlation, and 11 had no relationship.

Social media took off in 2010, and then we started to see its adverse effects shoot up among teens. Although teens may suffer the most, the American population isn’t doing well either.

Why does social media cause these problems? We can’t say with absolute certainty, but as someone on the Internet before social media, I can guess what’s happening.

1) Toxic communication. Believe it or not, Internet forums and chat rooms didn’t use to be toxic. Today, if your Tweet goes viral, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you get hundreds of likes and others call you a dirty name. It’s poison for your mind, and it can make you sick.

2) Destroying faith in humanity. There is a saying: “You really wouldn’t want to know what people think.” Unfortunately, social media is too often that, and worse. It’s tough to imagine the best about other humans when you see them at their absolute worst on social media.

3) The never-ending race for attention. Social media is a never-ending race for positive attention/validation; most humans are not well-equipped to run it. Most people quickly run out of funny things to say or cool things to show themselves doing. Then they too often add sarcasm, nasty comments, or worse to get attention.

4) It rewards bad behavior. Social media typically rewards cutting insults, spewing propaganda, etc. Incentives are heavily slanted toward it in a direction that creates strife, not harmony, targeting your tribe’s enemies, not bringing different sides together.

5) It raises the bar too high. We tend to view ourselves through the lens of others. What we think of ourselves depends on what other humans think of us and how we feel we stack up. Social media can make you feel inadequate if you don’t understand your place well.

6) It replaces healthier activities: Twenty years ago, the average person wasn’t on social media. Today, the average person spends 2.5 hours on social media daily. That time comes from healthy activities and sleep, resulting in anxiety and depression.

7) The media outrage machine: Emotions like anger, outrage, and fear draw more eyeballs than positive emotions like gratitude, kindness, and enthusiasm. We can definitively say that negative emotions grab your attention. If you spend all day listening to people trying to convince you that everything is horrible and that you should be terrified and furious, no one should be surprised if it works.

Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Are you interested in taking the Engaged Neighbor pledge? The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge online at http://engagedneighbor.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special privilides and get invited to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.

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