This news or study is not telling something new. It's old news that social media is causing depression in people, all over the world.
But what is astounding here is that most people still take what other people post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media site as the proof that those friends of theirs have a much better life than their own; a great house, travelling to exotic locations, having great food; essentially, living the luxurious life.
Then, if they are single, they go into depression & stress. If they are in a relationship, then they not only go into depression themselves, but also start to create a rift in their relationship by constantly fighting with their partner that why aren't they are living the luxurious life.
What those people forget that what their friends are posting on social media is without context & only half-truth. They are not posting anything negative about their life. Nobody does. Frankly, if everyone is living such a luxurious & beautiful life, then world should be a lot more enjoyable place; we wouldn't be constantly hearing about divorces, runaway kids, people being laid off from jobs, people not protesting against austerity, minimum wages, & debts, etc.
We may think that people should use common sense when they see things (pictures, status, comments) on social media by their friends & realize that it's only tiny side of the whole picture. But then, like a colleague of mine once said to me in 2008, "common sense is not as common as you might think."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Using Facebook to spy on friends in order to compare their achievements with yours can lead to depression & may have a detrimental effect on mental health, a new study from the University of Missouri has found.
But when Facebook is used to see how well an acquaintance is doing in terms of their finances or to see how happy one of your friends is in their relationship, then this behavior can cause envy among users.
“Facebook can be a very positive resource for many people, but if it used as a way to size up one’s own accomplishments against others, it can have a negative effect,” said Duffy.
Facebook users should be aware that it’s important to have social media literacy, said Edson Tandoc, assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who coauthored the study.
“Users should be self-aware that positive self-presentation is an important motivation in using social media, so it is to be expected that many users would only post positive things about themselves. This self-awareness, hopefully, can lessen feelings of envy,” said Tandoc.
But what is astounding here is that most people still take what other people post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media site as the proof that those friends of theirs have a much better life than their own; a great house, travelling to exotic locations, having great food; essentially, living the luxurious life.
Then, if they are single, they go into depression & stress. If they are in a relationship, then they not only go into depression themselves, but also start to create a rift in their relationship by constantly fighting with their partner that why aren't they are living the luxurious life.
What those people forget that what their friends are posting on social media is without context & only half-truth. They are not posting anything negative about their life. Nobody does. Frankly, if everyone is living such a luxurious & beautiful life, then world should be a lot more enjoyable place; we wouldn't be constantly hearing about divorces, runaway kids, people being laid off from jobs, people not protesting against austerity, minimum wages, & debts, etc.
We may think that people should use common sense when they see things (pictures, status, comments) on social media by their friends & realize that it's only tiny side of the whole picture. But then, like a colleague of mine once said to me in 2008, "common sense is not as common as you might think."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Using Facebook to spy on friends in order to compare their achievements with yours can lead to depression & may have a detrimental effect on mental health, a new study from the University of Missouri has found.
But when Facebook is used to see how well an acquaintance is doing in terms of their finances or to see how happy one of your friends is in their relationship, then this behavior can cause envy among users.
“Facebook can be a very positive resource for many people, but if it used as a way to size up one’s own accomplishments against others, it can have a negative effect,” said Duffy.
Facebook users should be aware that it’s important to have social media literacy, said Edson Tandoc, assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who coauthored the study.
“Users should be self-aware that positive self-presentation is an important motivation in using social media, so it is to be expected that many users would only post positive things about themselves. This self-awareness, hopefully, can lessen feelings of envy,” said Tandoc.
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