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Facebook depression…
We’ve all been there, mindlessly browsing around from
profile to profile while avoiding some less enjoyable task… in my case that
task is often homework.
The thing about Facebook, and similar social networking
websites, is that they only show glimpses of peoples’ lives. The second thing
is that they only show the glimpses that people want others to see. In general,
these things are usually the highlights, showcasing all of the interesting,
different, and fun things that everyone does on a day-to-day basis… right?
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Anyways, I think it is important to realize the implications of Facebook, and to remember that everyone else is not enjoying everything 100%
of the time. I also think it’s important to realize that there are potential
negative side effects such as depression and jealousy that can stem from
Facebook use. I think these potential psychological effects are especially
important to acknowledge in adolescence, when self-esteem is fragile and sense
of self is developing. I would not be surprised if Facebook related depression
became increasingly common as the technological era proceeds.
All in all, I just think there could potentially be negative
implications to social networking websites, but at this point I think only the
future will tell.
Here are some links if you're interested in furthering your reading on Facebook depression.
I didn't have Facebook for close to two years and just recentlly began using it again. This prompted me to write about Facebook for my research paper to gain a better understanding of the veiws around it. While researching I found articles that were both in support of and against Facebook. A journal article that I found supports the messgae in your blog post. The article spoke about the correlation between low self esteem and facebook 'friending'. It was found through a study that people that were anti social and had a lower self esteem had an influx of 'friends' on facebook. People with low self eseteem were using the amount of friends they had on Facebook to compensate for thier deficiency in self esteem, thereby appearing more popular.
ReplyDeleteI think Facebook can become either a positive medium for communication or become a negative, depressing space based on individual comparisson.I agree with you in that only time will tell the future of Facebook.
Wonderful blog post, thanks for sharing!
I can relate to this because I have had deactivated my Facebook account uncountable times in this past year due to similar reasons. It was also because I was taking 5 courses this year in each semester which caused so much depression in general anyway! And then of course, logging in and viewing photos of someone on vacation or taking a year off to tour the world really got to me. There was one thing I could not do obviously, which was ignore Facebook for more than a week, and in no time I was back to the same old routine of fretting the circumstances in my life.
ReplyDeleteI do understand that this is a big issue and can lead to depression to many, but the way I handled this was instead of viewing other's pictures, I went into our family photo album and started recollecting my own experiences of when I had fun and remembering those times really helped me, because now I could also hope than in the future I will have many more of these experiences and not just study my entire life! It gave me something to look forward to.
Thanks for sharing this issue, it is really something everyone should think about!