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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

#351

Post by sodality2 »

madeofpalk wrote: post #348
sodality2 wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a news forum. Only loosely does it fit in "social media". Would you call reddit.com/r/technews or alike a "social media"?

...yes. Reddit is a social media website. HN is a small, niche social media website.

Okay, I suppose going by the strict definition of "social media", it does. The study cites "Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok" as examples, however.

Do you believe there is a fundamental difference between these sites, and something like HN (despite both being social media)? I feel like there is. I know this might come off as "I use the superior, intellectual site" or something like that (even though I use the other sites occasionally). But reading tech-related news and comments about it feels very different than scrolling through funny videos on TikTok.

I don't mean to say HN is any better in terms of mental health than either of the others - I spend more time on it than I really should. But I never leave it feeling depressed or jealous like I do on more common social media: I always feel like I learned something rather than watching a meme I'll forget in 30 seconds.

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

#352

Post by Clubber »

cush wrote: post #133
ayngg wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think social media is like our generations tobacco, everyone uses it and it is considered fashionable and cool but eventually it will start to come to light how unhealthy and insidious all the data harvesting, time sinks and gamifying social interactions at scale can be, especially with children who have much of the spare time to dedicate to it.

It's much worse than tobacco. At least tobacco only kills people when they're older, whereas social media robs young people of their mental health while simultaneously threatening truth and democracy

>while simultaneously threatening ... democracy

This seems to be the latest topic from the outrage machine. Can you explain how social media is an actual threat to the democracy or democratic process to a reasonable person?

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

#353

Post by mitchdoogle »

rmbyrro wrote: post #347
ss2003 wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker News is social media

Come on folks, calling social something as nerdy as HN is hell of a stretch...

Nerds are some of the most social people - they love talking to other nerds

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

#354

Post by weatherlite »

id wrote: post #313
weatherlite wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 if they made less money, it wouldn't help me at all (it could even hurt me because then they have nothing to share). In difficult personal situations, it has often helped me to know that at least others have it better.

> Yes, because if they made less money, it wouldn't help me at all

Let's continue this thought experiment - say with a flick of my fingers I made everyone in the world have half the money they have now - but I leave you with the same amount. So you are basically 2X richer than you were before. You say this doesn't help you at all - I think it actually increases your chances of finding housing, finding a mate, getting healthcare etc. Your material well being is established relative to others. If we expand the neighborhood example further - to city or country, it is obvious why the amount others have relative to you matters. In a world of infinite resources envy doesn't make sense, but in our world resources are limited.

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

#355

Post by mrmrblister1 »

lordnacho wrote: post #328
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…

Needs more explanation though. You meet your friend, he tells you about his new job, you congratulate him. You meet your coworker and chat to him about politics, and it's kinda interesting. You meet your neighbor after their trip and they show you the photos and you're fascinated. You meet your cousin in real life, you see he looks better, you compliment him. You don't feel like you need to do something yourself. Wha…

You're meeting a friend in an hour, so you enjoy your moment for a while before you see them You spend time with a friend and are happy for them. After you bump into your coworker and chat for 20 mins about politics. Interesting, but you disagree. But you have lunch with a neighbour soon, so off you trot to go see their holiday pictures. All looks lovely yada yada yada - 1 even after the other, can being digested with context. Time is taken to enjoy or question certain things.

You are enjoying your moment for 1 minute. You open your phone and scroll facebook. You see all of that within 1 viewport. You haven't enjoyed your moment for long - you haven't enjoyed other's success cos you're still kinda angry about the political post etc.

It's the speed at which this all happens.

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

#356

Post by luxuryballs »

laputan_machine wrote: post #187
eafkuor wrote: post #181

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. If this would be your genuine reaction, congratulations. You belong to the 0.001% of the population that would feel this way.

If a friend gets a great job or starts to live a healthy life you don't feel great for them? I don't believe that puts me in the minority of people, not a chance.

Yeah I’m with you, I think the response itself might be an indicator of a certain personality type or if negative then a clue of unhealthy thinking habits.

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

#357

Post by 2pEXgD0fZ5cF »

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…

> If other people find their ideal job, have a tropical vacation, etc. it makes me feel... good?

This sounds like a misunderstanding. Being happy for friends (real friends not "500 Facebook friends" friends) is not mutually exclusive with these news invoking bad feelings inside you (shame, feeling of inadequacy etc.)

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

#358

Post by _fat_santa »

lordnacho wrote: post #328
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…

Needs more explanation though. You meet your friend, he tells you about his new job, you congratulate him. You meet your coworker and chat to him about politics, and it's kinda interesting. You meet your neighbor after their trip and they show you the photos and you're fascinated. You meet your cousin in real life, you see he looks better, you compliment him. You don't feel like you need to do something yourself. Wha…

IMO It's all about your mindset. You can look at a travel photo that your friend took and depending on your mindset, you're either going to feel jealous and wishing you could do the same or feel happy for that person.

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

#359

Post by sorry_outta_gas »

sodality2 wrote: post #338
ss2003 wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker News is social media

It's a news forum. Only loosely does it fit in "social media". Would you call reddit.com/r/technews or alike a "social media"?

yes

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

#360

Post by irrational »

I’ve noticed the same thing about the news. When I don’t follow the news I am happier and less anxious. Yet, it doesn’t feel right to be ignorant of what is going on in the world. How does one balance their own happiness versus being informed? “Ignorance is bliss” is a saying for a reason I suppose.
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