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Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

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Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#111

Post by kayodelycaon »

jbirer wrote: post #90

I decided to go monk mode for a year. No friends, no family, no social media, no distractions. I focused on learning cooking, yoga etc. Spent most of my time either in my studio apartment or solo travelling. The results were huge, I went from an anxious depressed mess to someone who enjoys waking up, which is a very basic thing, but when you are depressed you hate that you have to wake up and go through life. I recom…

I don't think isolating yourself from the world and getting rid of all your friends and family is a good suggestion for most people.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#112

Post by guerrilla »

jbirer wrote: post #90

I decided to go monk mode for a year. No friends, no family, no social media, no distractions. I focused on learning cooking, yoga etc. Spent most of my time either in my studio apartment or solo travelling. The results were huge, I went from an anxious depressed mess to someone who enjoys waking up, which is a very basic thing, but when you are depressed you hate that you have to wake up and go through life. I recom…

Have you written more about this anywhere? What was your daily routine like? And how exactly did you avoid distractions? Didn't all that take a lot of self-discipline?

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#113

Post by hyuuu »

rgbrenner wrote: post #85

I agree with the article that it's not facebook. You're depressed, dont feel like doing anything but know you should, so you procrastinate on facebook, and then maybe the whole day passes, and the waste of another day makes it feel like nothing is going to change, helping feed your depression. Facebook really has little to do with this... if it wasnt facebook, it would be youtube, instagram, watching tv, or sleeping…

All of these comments that are trying to pin it back to facebook is quite interesting. Whatever hole the depression creates will be filled by any other content consumption, may it be TikTok, Youtube, Reddit, etc but there is a big pattern, time and time again, to single out Facebook.

Why is that? Youtube spreads misinformation too, most recently about election if I recall correctly. I mean hell, there are subreddits that full on organize crime / hate speech, all of them are just as bad, however facebook, every single time, always gets the active hate. I guess this is why PR is an industry, yes I just now realize this as I type the whole thing haha.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#115

Post by loufe »

Kiro wrote: post #84
float4 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gosh what a nuanced take that is. I enjoy reading the news and then discussing it with friends that are also news readers. That's the hobby aspect for me (and aforementioned friends). Together we try to predict what will happen in the world (wars, inflation, energy transition, stock market, ...) and quite often at least one of us is completely right or spectacularly wrong, which makes it fun for us. I know it's not v…

You just proved their point.

I'm failing to see how that's the case

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#116

Post by spikeagally »

hyuuu wrote: post #113
rgbrenner wrote: post #85

I agree with the article that it's not facebook. You're depressed, dont feel like doing anything but know you should, so you procrastinate on facebook, and then maybe the whole day passes, and the waste of another day makes it feel like nothing is going to change, helping feed your depression. Facebook really has little to do with this... if it wasnt facebook, it would be youtube, instagram, watching tv, or sleeping…

All of these comments that are trying to pin it back to facebook is quite interesting. Whatever hole the depression creates will be filled by any other content consumption, may it be TikTok, Youtube, Reddit, etc but there is a big pattern, time and time again, to single out Facebook. Why is that? Youtube spreads misinformation too, most recently about election if I recall correctly. I mean hell, there are subreddits…

[dead]

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#117

Post by spikeagally »

madmads wrote: post #105
johnfn wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Facebook really has little to do with this... if it wasnt facebook, it would be youtube, instagram, watching tv, or sleeping all day. …or you could end up doing something to improve your situation, like taking a walk outside or going to the gym. It’s kinda like saying vapes aren’t a problem because you would just get a cigarette.

In this case, if the individual is diagnosed with depression, taking away an escape from reality like Facebook doesn't solve the depression. Like they said, a depressed person will find something else to substitute Facebook. Depression needs actual treatment in most cases. The analogy to vaping and smoking doesn't exactly work.

[dead]

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#118

Post by jezzamon »

baby wrote: post #107
uncletammy wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Taking away facebook will not make them un-depressed. Although I agree that Facebook isn't the problem here, taking it away might be a necessary first step.

The problem is that you can’t take it away. If it’s not fb it’s tiktok, or youtube, or instagram, or reddit, or HN, or emails, or rss feeds, or food, or video games, or …

All of those bar one can be done by physically separating yourself from technology, which is quite feasible in short periods. Downgrading to a dumb phone works ok too (until you need to work with some service that requires an app)

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#119

Post by hxugufjfjf »

jbirer wrote: post #90

I decided to go monk mode for a year. No friends, no family, no social media, no distractions. I focused on learning cooking, yoga etc. Spent most of my time either in my studio apartment or solo travelling. The results were huge, I went from an anxious depressed mess to someone who enjoys waking up, which is a very basic thing, but when you are depressed you hate that you have to wake up and go through life. I recom…

Yeah just chuck my one year old in the bin and focus on my yoga. Jesus christ some of the recommendations on this forum is infuriating.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#120

Post by float4 »

barbazoo wrote: post #103
float4 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gosh what a nuanced take that is. I enjoy reading the news and then discussing it with friends that are also news readers. That's the hobby aspect for me (and aforementioned friends). Together we try to predict what will happen in the world (wars, inflation, energy transition, stock market, ...) and quite often at least one of us is completely right or spectacularly wrong, which makes it fun for us. I know it's not v…

It depends in my experience on what "news" we're talking about and the depth of the information. Almost all I'm seeing online is made to engage and engage people, some more and some less, and that definitely matches what parent is describing. Maybe you're talking about different kinds of content. I stopped consuming "news" i.e. CBC, CNN, Guardian, and the likes two months ago and I feel objectively happier and spend…

I agree. As with so many things in life: news can make you miserable, but if you take the right approach it doesn't have to make you miserable.
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