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Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

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Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#31

Post by ericd »

moreorless wrote: post #30
gtirloni wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We" is referring to society in general. There will be exceptions to everything. Maybe you'd like to point out that people are free to opt out? Is that what you're saying?

It sounds good on paper, but in reality, it is not. For many people, they absolutely need to be on FB otherwise they will be excluded from all their friends. Sure those people can choose be hermits.

I think it's mostly this mindset that keeps that being true. As soon as some of your friends defect from FB, it becomes much easier to defect yourself. Or, you could be the first person, and make it a bit more viable for your other friends to stop.

At this point, most of my friends don't really use Facebook much, we mostly stick to messaging apps and email. Maybe start by making a chat group in Telegram and telling people about it?

Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#32

Post by ericd »

blfr wrote: post #7

I'm all for burning Facebook to the ground but the rise in the use of antidepressants started well before modern social media. It does look associated with alienation, so does travelling alone, but social media use is probably a result of loneliness, an attempt to connect however feeble, not its cause.

Yep, I think it's more that the US and other similar countries have become less community oriented and the social fabric has weakened. As we've become less religious, many people in towns/cities have lost their primary shared social gathering point (Church/Temple/etc), and it doesn't seem like anything has really replaced that yet. Social media has to some extent, but it's a meager gruel compared to gathering in person.

Sometimes I've thought about what could replace this. Maybe some updated version of the Rotary Club/Lions Club/etc?

Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#34

Post by burdo3417 »

teleclimber wrote: post #28

Interesting article about something we should definitely be having a conversation about. But i want to point out an anecdote: we have a newborn and we share pics of her privately with fam. All the pics are of her good moments: her first smiles, her just being cute, etc... We don't share pics or videos of her screaming her lungs out, or of her diaper explosions, which intuitively woul be weird. Reading this article it…

Interesting point. But I believe the problem relies not in the sharing but in our perception of reality based on what others have shared. I understand that it's an inevitable consequence of the first but that has been the case for centuries. The new problem is that this misperceptions are now on a massive and unprecedented scale and our brain is constantly attacked by this misperceptions.

Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#36

Post by nyolfen »

RhodesianHunter wrote: post #22
TomMarius wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is we? I am not paying anything AFAIK. When my girlfriend had problems, she simply stopped using it that much. I myself simply don't subscribe to pseudomotivational bullshit or internet "personalities".

When people get stuck in a bubble of fake news and manufactured outrage they tend to vote accordingly, and that does impact you.

fake news and manufactured outrage is how our political system has always operated, it's just easier to see the process applying to people you disagree with now

Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#37

Post by jcelerier »

teleclimber wrote: post #28

Interesting article about something we should definitely be having a conversation about. But i want to point out an anecdote: we have a newborn and we share pics of her privately with fam. All the pics are of her good moments: her first smiles, her just being cute, etc... We don't share pics or videos of her screaming her lungs out, or of her diaper explosions, which intuitively woul be weird. Reading this article it…

> isn't the point of memories to preserve the good ones?

ugh, no. why would it ? sad memories make you go forward as a human being, too

Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#38

Post by joeax »

annadane wrote: post #3

Facebook is playing a very dangerous game by not allowing people full control of their feeds and even algorithmically sorting things. That's different from just "social media", it's a specifically Facebook way of doing things

I have scaled back my usage of Facebook after I discovered they are advertising my like activity to my audience i.e. "friends". I've had relatives accost me at family gatherings or have been unfriended over a Facebook page I followed, even though I rarely if ever share my personal views directly in my feed. Sometimes I'll like something even though I have a marginal interest in the subject.

Facebook has the power to destroy life-long friendships because we continue to give it this power.

Re: Depression, Self-Identity and Reality: Living in a Story Created by Facebook

#40

Post by boltzmannbrain »

I'm happier and healthier that these conversations are happening; I'm not alone.

Facebook is clearly problematic, and I've been suspicious of the negative effects of Instagram and Hinge (dating app). The former would make me jealous/depressed/frustrated as I compare myself to glimpses of my peers supposedly winning at life. The latter would make me less outgoing in real life, b/c somehow flipping through dating profiles satisfied an underlying desire to meet new people.

I highly recommend Johann Hari's work: "Lost Connections" book [1], Sam Harris and Ezra Klein podcast episodes [2, 3], TED talk [4].

[1] https://thelostconnections.com/

[2] https://samharris.org/podcasts/142-addiction-depression-mean...

[3] https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/vox/the-ezra-klein-show/e/5...

[4] https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_y...

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