By Hey there, Social Media Wanderers! Ready to dive into a topic that’s a bit heavy but totally relevant? Let’s talk about the not-so-rosy side of our beloved social media platforms. Yes, they’re fantastic for cat videos and memes, but did you know they might be contributing to feelings of depression and loneliness? Grab a cup of coffee, get comfy, and let’s explore the five factors that shed light on the connection between social media and the blues.
The Comparison Trap
Ever scrolled through Instagram and felt a discomfort of jealousy seeing your friend’s seemingly perfect life? Welcome to the comparison trap! Social media is a highlight reel, not the full movie. Constantly comparing ourselves to others can lead to feelings of inadequacy and, you guessed it, the big ‘D’ word—depression.
Now, don’t get me wrong, those travel photos and gourmet meals look amazing, but they only represent a snippet of someone’s life.
Reality vs Social Media
I’ll discuss the psychological impact of living in a world where everyone seems to be living their best life. Spoiler alert: not everything that glitters is gold. Understanding the difference between real life and the curated online persona is crucial for maintaining mental well-being. You’ve seen so many videos of places that looks so beautiful. But in reality when you visit them, that was not what you saw in the reel. Creators Professionally edit videos with super attractive color grading which are so attractive and release dopamine in your mind.
These video editing techniques are used to attract more users and increase user’s intrest rate. The fact is people not arrtact with place, they attract with the colors using in video.
24/7 Party
Social media never sleeps, and neither does FOMO. Social media platforms always stay active and whenever you want to consume content you can. Currently as we know snapchat introduces it’s feature of MY AI in chat. It’s an Ai Bot who talks to you perfectly like you are talking to your friend. It attracts you by using human tone replies. It also reads your picture and real time location and gives you attractive suggestions in the form of replies.
Better solution is to not get addicted to this you should block Snapchat Ai. Because you cannot uninstall it, it’s a compulsory feature in it, so better is that you block SnapChat Ai.
Social Media and Friendship
We all want friends, But are virtual friends the same as real-life buddies? The answer is NO. Virtual Friends cannot play the role of your real-life true friends. They are just temporary friends of yours. Whenever, if you are stuck in trouble and you are in Florida and your virtual friends are from California, Can they help you? Obviously NO!! They have no physical access in real time for you. So in this case your real-life friends who live in your city can come for your help.
When you have virtual friends, you lose value for your real friends and if you have any argument with your real life buddies, instantly you apologize or talk about problems you leave them. You do nail biting of your real life friends to your virtual friends and lose your real life buddies who were always in your every problem. You get a mental satisfaction from nail biting because it’s in human nature.
Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Social Media
Bullying didn’t magically disappear with adulthood; it just went digital. Social media provides a breeding ground for cyberbullying, and the impact on mental health can be devastating. Many Ai tools are in the market which can convert your normal picture into a nude picture and blackmail you if you don’t send them money they will upload your tool edited NSFW content on the internet.
As per human nature everyone is careful with his respect and never wants to be exposed falsely on the internet and get defamed. The fear of relatives and “ what People think” depresses that person and scammers just enjoy the hard earned money of that poor person. If he is rich he has no problem but if he/she is poor or middle class then there is a nightmare for him/her.
Trolls, Haters, and Keyboard Warriors
Let’s be real; not everyone on the internet is spreading rainbows and sunshine. Some folks are out there to rain on your parade. These are those people who have no work in their lives. They just do scrolling and commenting on other people’s character, lifestyle, car or judge them. Some people have a soft nature and they feel hate comments instantly and get depressed by those comments.
In such cases we found that some models or social media celebrities committed suicide due to hate and false negativity spreding about them. The reason of suiciding is the depression from social media they are getting in the form of hate comments.
Virtual Connections vs. Real Relationships
When you come home from school or office. Your mother is always readying your food for you and sets your clothes which you wear after refreshment. This is Because she is your mother and your real relationship. But it’s very bad when you don’t give attention to them and after refreshment start scrolling your social media or talking to your virtual friends or your Girlfriend.
This is the reason that your real life relationships are getting ignored. Let’s be real! If things become tough, can you count your virtual connections on that situation? Obviously No! Social Media also taking you far away from your real life relationships.
Is Deleting Social Media a Sign of Depression?
Ever wondered why some people decide to hit the delete button on their social media accounts? There are several reasons that deleting social media is a sign of depression. But It also depends on the self control of a person. Some people delete their social media accounts to explore real life and get out of the depression of social media FOMO. They become mentally fit and think about the purpose of life. Their real life relationships are becoming better. Deleting social media impacts positively in their lives.
On the other hand, people with less self control cannot prevent deleting social media because their obsession with social media is so high that the visuals and colors and fantasy reminds them again and again. They have very badly obsessed that they cannot live without social media addiction. Then leaving social media becomes tough for them.
Conclusion
Before you swear off social media forever, let’s talk about balance. Its better that you maintain a balance of using social media and focus on your practical life. These social media creators are earning money no matter if you stop watching them. But if you watch social media regularly or the whole day your brian thinking power will vanished.
Many successful persons including businessmen, managers, employees use social media too but they have a balanced routine. They use social media for business purposes. So you should have to control your social media consumption and content consumption. Learn productivity from social media except high entertainment consumption.