Exploring link between social media and depression
Exploring link between social media and depression
RECENTLY, I came across a report linking social media to depression. The study was not first of its kind. Many researches have reached a similar conclusion, which means that we cannot ignore the connection and we should better be careful.
A recent study in the US, sponsored by the National Institute for Mental Health, found that there is a strong association between social media usage and depression among young Americans, as reported by Mashable.
“The study found that levels of depression increased with total amount of time spent using social media and number of visits to social media sites per week.”
The root cause of this problem is envy and inferiority complex one feels on seeing somebody happy, successful or having a good time. Whether on Twitter, Instagram, and I won’t exclude Snapchat, we usually see others enjoying their lives, having fun, attending events, hoping between different countries, eating at different restaurants and jumping from an attraction to another. Seeing all these people having all that action from the sofa of your living room makes you sad, thinking that there is something wrong with you; why are not you having as much fun as these people?
I would like to be straightforward — a lot of social media stars have all the action because they are paid to do so. Social media is no longer a place for you and your friends to exchange happy moments and photos of your kids, there are people traveling on a weekly basis to cover this event or that, to promote one product or another. On the social media, we get to see only the fun part. We don’t get to see the other side of the story where exhaustion and being away from family and friends become a way of life.
Nevertheless, there are many other reasons that make social media, at least sometimes, a lonely place to be. It is ironic when you come to think of it; while social media seem to be the place for people to connect and exchange ideas and special moments of their lives, a lot of people need to be alone to consume it, turning the whole experience into a sort of addiction; you need to be away from real people, to interact with people you follow and like in the cyber world.
What happens in the US is not different from what is happening around the world, including Saudi Arabia. A lot of us have become addicted to smartphones. We like the feeling of being always connected, to watch photos and videos as they appear on social media sites. The next time you are in a restaurant or a coffee shop, look around to see how many individuals are sitting alone hooked to their phones or laptops, or how many of them are sitting in a group without exchanging a word, as their eyes are glued to their own phone screens.
A recent study in the US, sponsored by the National Institute for Mental Health, found that there is a strong association between social media usage and depression among young Americans, as reported by Mashable.
“The study found that levels of depression increased with total amount of time spent using social media and number of visits to social media sites per week.”
The root cause of this problem is envy and inferiority complex one feels on seeing somebody happy, successful or having a good time. Whether on Twitter, Instagram, and I won’t exclude Snapchat, we usually see others enjoying their lives, having fun, attending events, hoping between different countries, eating at different restaurants and jumping from an attraction to another. Seeing all these people having all that action from the sofa of your living room makes you sad, thinking that there is something wrong with you; why are not you having as much fun as these people?
I would like to be straightforward — a lot of social media stars have all the action because they are paid to do so. Social media is no longer a place for you and your friends to exchange happy moments and photos of your kids, there are people traveling on a weekly basis to cover this event or that, to promote one product or another. On the social media, we get to see only the fun part. We don’t get to see the other side of the story where exhaustion and being away from family and friends become a way of life.
Nevertheless, there are many other reasons that make social media, at least sometimes, a lonely place to be. It is ironic when you come to think of it; while social media seem to be the place for people to connect and exchange ideas and special moments of their lives, a lot of people need to be alone to consume it, turning the whole experience into a sort of addiction; you need to be away from real people, to interact with people you follow and like in the cyber world.
What happens in the US is not different from what is happening around the world, including Saudi Arabia. A lot of us have become addicted to smartphones. We like the feeling of being always connected, to watch photos and videos as they appear on social media sites. The next time you are in a restaurant or a coffee shop, look around to see how many individuals are sitting alone hooked to their phones or laptops, or how many of them are sitting in a group without exchanging a word, as their eyes are glued to their own phone screens.
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