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Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

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Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#301

Post by simonswords82 »

It's been about 5 years since I made the decision to quit Twitter/Facebook.

The only social media I've got to endure is LinkedIn (which is becoming more like FB by the day but that's a separate discussion). This is purely because my target market live on there, so I have no choice but to be on there but as soon as I am able I'll disconnect from that too. I cannot wait for that day.

Social media platforms are of course optimised by their owners for their owners. They could not care less about your feelings, so long as you keep coming back.

I think 90% of all that is wrong with the world can be, at least in some part, traced back to social media.

My view is that they have been devastating for the mental health of society - and the more people who realise that social media is bad for them the better.

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#303

Post by MisterTea »

philip1209 wrote: post #296

I’ve been off of social media for about two years, and I haven’t looked back. But, I’ve realized that it’s been harder to stay in touch with people. I think the answer is that personal newsletters will make a comeback. Even digital minimalists like Cal Newport have one! Without viral dynamics or an algorithmic feed, a good email seems to be the calmest way to stay in touch. I’ve played around with tools like Substack…

> But, I’ve realized that it’s been harder to stay in touch with people.

The people I was in contact with before social media are still in contact with me via phone, text, chat, email, etc. Most of my social media "friends" were connections and acquaintances. I was never really in contact with those people so nothing was lost when I deleted my social media accounts.

If they don't make an effort to talk to you then they aren't that interested in a relation/friendship and not worth worrying about.

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#304

Post by mcphage »

scotty79 wrote: post #192
charstacker wrote: post #149

Consider the following scenario: You're pleased and content one minute, thinking your life is going fine the next. You have a few minutes to kill, so you log onto Facebook and begin scrolling... First, you notice a friend's post stating that she has accepted her ideal job. Then you read a coworker's too political rant. You continue browsing and see a video of your neighbour enjoying a fantastic tropical vacation. And…

I think a lot of people realize that facebook makes them feel bad but they prefer to feel bad rather than not feel anything at all. They unknowingly pursue easily available emotion (even negative) to avoid emotional boredom. It's a bit like watching scary or sad movies.

> It's a bit like watching scary or sad movies.

People like sad and scary movies because they can experience powerful emotions in a safe environment. Scary minus being in danger is exciting. It’s not to avoid emotional boredom.

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#305

Post by mcphage »

coffeeblack wrote: post #228
Gigachad wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the problem is I do get sucked in to the drama really. There is nothing really of value on twitter other than drama.

Twitter is great if you are interested in breaking news on specific topics. Most people aren’t though. Twitter is terrible for discussions, so there I agree with Joe Rogan: “never look at the comments”.

"Never read the comments" is much older than Joe Rogan.

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#306

Post by emteycz »

k_sze wrote: post #225
emteycz wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But does it exacerbate the problem more than other ways of social interaction? As opposed to a real life social interaction, I can simply hit Unfollow on Facebook (so we stay Friends but I don't see your posts unless I look for them)...

Maybe social media gives you a much more concentrated feed of things that can trigger your inferiority complex, compared to normal, real-life social interactions? And if you have to resort to unfollowing, you’re basically agreeing that it’s a problem.

I don't see how that proves anything specific to social media, I'm "unfollowing" people IRL all the time, it's not like I want to hear everything someone has to say, especially not if it makes me sad.

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#307

Post by maximus-decimus »

weatherlite wrote: post #279
id wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If other people find their ideal job, have a tropical vacation, etc. it makes me feel... good? Those are good things in general, although the tropical vacation might make me also feel concerned about the climate. The problems I have with social media are that - it steals a lot of time - a lot of content gets me by evoking negative emotion - it's taxing to get exposed to so many different ideas, clips, heated discussi…

Thought experiment - let's say you are the poorest person in your neighborhood. Would talking to your neighbors daily about their salaries really make you feel better? I mean them having money, even if more than you is a good thing according to you what you said.

Yes because it lets me know I can probably make more money?

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#309

Post by [deleted] »

id wrote: post #168
charstacker wrote: post #149

Consider the following scenario: You're pleased and content one minute, thinking your life is going fine the next. You have a few minutes to kill, so you log onto Facebook and begin scrolling... First, you notice a friend's post stating that she has accepted her ideal job. Then you read a coworker's too political rant. You continue browsing and see a video of your neighbour enjoying a fantastic tropical vacation. And…

If other people find their ideal job, have a tropical vacation, etc. it makes me feel... good? Those are good things in general, although the tropical vacation might make me also feel concerned about the climate. The problems I have with social media are that - it steals a lot of time - a lot of content gets me by evoking negative emotion - it's taxing to get exposed to so many different ideas, clips, heated discussi…

[deleted]

Re: Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

#310

Post by id »

sdevonoes wrote: post #272
laputan_machine wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never felt envy towards my friends and family. No, never. I find it bizarre that you do. I never said I don't feel envy. You jumped to conclusions based on a very little sentence I wrote. I currently have a very severe skin condition, and I live in a country with 'free' healthcare. I am envious that some people get medical treatment for it and can live a normal life again and some people do not (such as myself).…

> I find it bizarre that you do. Why? Feeling envious is just human nature. Sure, one can argue that in our current society that kind of feeling is "bad", and we should "fix it". I tend to agree, but that you find it bizarre, it's bizarre to me :D Oh well, maybe you are a machine (based on your nickname), so yeah, machines do not have imperfections (just kidding).

It's definitely not "human nature" to feel envy towards your friends and family, unless you have been wronged by them.
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