Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#171

Post by projektfu » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:53 PM UTC

keenmaster wrote: post #130

ralmidani wrote: post #72

I use FB almost exclusively for news about the Middle East, especially Syria where the Assad regime actively targets journalists who tell the truth about what is happening there and very few Western journalists are going into the areas the regime is bombing. I have vowed to not use FB once the regime is gone, people can gather freely, and real news media can operate openly. My FB feed is mostly depressing these days,…

One of the benefits of social media is supposed to be transparency, and I believe that. However, isn't it an indictment of global callousness that so many people have seen Assad's destruction of Syria and no one is helping? In fact, Russia's bot armies far outnumber Syrian refugees on Facebook, and they're spreading confusion on the whole situation. They're making it seem like Syria is some sectarian black hole, wher…

The US had a moment to help when the Free Syrian Army existed in the first year or so of the conflict. For some reason, our leaders had cold feet and allowed our natural ally to be wiped out.

The UN was hamstrung by Russia and China's veto power.

No smaller power was willing to take on Russia in a proxy war.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#172

Post by luckylion » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:54 PM UTC

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #162

luckylion wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would somebody less privileged be negatively affected by not knowing about the news ? Mind you, it's not about being affected by what's in the news, of course you're affected when the government decides on a new policy ... but how does knowing about it on the same day or in the same hour mitigate that?

" of course you're affected when the government decides on a new policy ... but how does knowing about it on the same day or in the same hour mitigate that?" It saves people a nasty surprise when the policies they relied upon fall out from under them, or to try and head off future issues by calling up their representatives. For example, I was able to call up my representative regarding changes in immigration policy.…

Policies don't disappear the very next day, though. It's not that somebody that relies on some policy will be left stranded at the bus stop because he didn't watch the news that day that the program has been canceled.

RE becoming politically active: it's good to be informed, I totally agree. But that's not something you get from the news. I can't imagine you watching CNN and saying "whaaaaaat? I'm going to call my representative right now". You'll usually have that filtered by whatever organization/initiative you delegate that to. They will relay the important stuff to you and ask you to become active. That's very different from watching the news imho.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#173

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:54 PM UTC

anderber wrote: post #101

INTPenis wrote: post #89

What gave me the most satisfaction is quitting the news. Incidentally I don't have or use any social media either. Except imgur and sometimes among the funny memes I get news. But I'm afraid for people I meet who always remind me of all the awful things they've seen in the news. I'm aware of none of this until someone tells me. And yet my life is the same as everyone elses. Not knowing what is going on, living in a c…

I absolutely understand what you're saying. But part of me feels an obligation to be informed to hold those in power accountable. If everyone follows the advice of avoiding the news, what effect would that have in our Govenment?

[deleted]

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#174

Post by factsaresacred » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:57 PM UTC

Facebook kinda tops out as you get older and the rate of adding new friends declines. Turns out most people are doing variations of the same thing and it gets dull fast (admittedly maybe I need more interesting friends).

Twitter is novelty and Instagram is aesthetics. Facebook is reruns of the same ol' show.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#175

Post by kazarnowicz » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:57 PM UTC

keenmaster wrote: post #130

ralmidani wrote: post #72

I use FB almost exclusively for news about the Middle East, especially Syria where the Assad regime actively targets journalists who tell the truth about what is happening there and very few Western journalists are going into the areas the regime is bombing. I have vowed to not use FB once the regime is gone, people can gather freely, and real news media can operate openly. My FB feed is mostly depressing these days,…

One of the benefits of social media is supposed to be transparency, and I believe that. However, isn't it an indictment of global callousness that so many people have seen Assad's destruction of Syria and no one is helping? In fact, Russia's bot armies far outnumber Syrian refugees on Facebook, and they're spreading confusion on the whole situation. They're making it seem like Syria is some sectarian black hole, wher…

This is insane. I had no idea it was that bad. Do you have any sources where I could learn more?

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#176

Post by chrysoprace » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:57 PM UTC

I'd really like to quit Facebook but I'm holding out for three reasons:

a) Facebook Chat is a way to get a hold of friends or vice versa. SMS is often slow (less of a sense of urgency I guess), and not everyone has my number or even use SMS.

b) The network effect. It's a great way for introverts such as myself to get in contact with someone without the "what's your number?" question.

c) Events. If I didn't have Facebook I would probably not know about them.

How do introverts who quit Facebook get over these obstacles?

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#177

Post by christiansakai » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:59 PM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #89

What gave me the most satisfaction is quitting the news. Incidentally I don't have or use any social media either. Except imgur and sometimes among the funny memes I get news. But I'm afraid for people I meet who always remind me of all the awful things they've seen in the news. I'm aware of none of this until someone tells me. And yet my life is the same as everyone elses. Not knowing what is going on, living in a c…

In some ways, I actually like bad news. It reminds me of my fragility, immortality, and weaknesses. It reminds me to be thankful of what I have, and maybe one day too join the losing battle of making the world a better place. And for the context of my faith, it reminds me there is a better place I'm hoping to be.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#178

Post by keenmaster » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 9:59 PM UTC

projektfu wrote: post #171

keenmaster wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the benefits of social media is supposed to be transparency, and I believe that. However, isn't it an indictment of global callousness that so many people have seen Assad's destruction of Syria and no one is helping? In fact, Russia's bot armies far outnumber Syrian refugees on Facebook, and they're spreading confusion on the whole situation. They're making it seem like Syria is some sectarian black hole, wher…

The US had a moment to help when the Free Syrian Army existed in the first year or so of the conflict. For some reason, our leaders had cold feet and allowed our natural ally to be wiped out. The UN was hamstrung by Russia and China's veto power. No smaller power was willing to take on Russia in a proxy war.

Even beyond militaristic action, there are so many low hanging fruit that weren't picked. It took until 2019 to sanction any appreciable number of people in the Syrian regime. Many relatives and employees of the Syrian regime are happily flying back and forth between Damascus and Europe. Their illicit assets are safely parked in foreign bank accounts. They're sending their kids to LA and San Francisco, buying $2M homes with straight cash and going to the best private schools. Severe sanctions should have hit anyone even remotely involved with the Syrian government as soon as it became clear how many innocent people were going to be killed. Foreign assets should have been seized as damages to be distributed to the Syrian people in the future.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#179

Post by kazarnowicz » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #56

banana_giraffe wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm very happy that there are those that can interact with Facebook without negative side effects. If you're in that category, I hope the site adds value to you and you enjoy it. I can't. Yes, it's a failure on me, but my experience is better without Facebook in my life. You mention negativity, and that's part of it. I saw a steady stream of "the world's on fire" type posts. The other side, the rosy view of my friend…

Right, which is why the result in the headline seems misdirected. "Facebook quitters" are, in fact, a special group. They/you recognized problems that were addressed by quitting facebook! And the study found that when this population removes something they feel is a problem, they feel better. That's... not really surprising, if you think about it. And importantly, it's not a result that says "social media will make e…

You just changed my mind a little about Facebook. I mean, I still think they’re a threat to democracy, but you made me see the value of a feed with a small group of people.

Re: Facebook quitters report more life satisfaction, less depression and anxiety

#180

Post by hkmurakami » Thu, Feb 13, 2020, 10:01 PM UTC

papreclip wrote: post #18

I open facebook for 2 minutes a week and scroll through my relatives' baby and pet pictures. I don't get how the site is such a specter of misery for some people Twitter I would understand a little better. It's such a tar pit of negative energy, insults, rage bait, etc

I'm just like you. Friends' family, dogs, humor posts. I've aggressively unfollowed connections who exhibit/show behavior/posts/lifestyles I don't want to be exposed to.

Take control of your social media. It's great!