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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

#141

Post by GalenErso »

kneebonian wrote: post #92
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…

This is me with HN and Reddit. I have spent literal entire workdays just telling myself "5 more minutes" "one more post" it never ends well. I hate myself for it but we are doing better, i have a time blocker and if things get bad I can use my /etc/hosts file to block it. But I agree I think these may be symptoms that worsen something already there.

Something I've done that worked for me was set my Reddit password to a long string of characters that I couldn't easily memorize, so I couldn't log in on my phone if I wanted. I also force myself to nuke my accounts from time to time, so I don't get attached to them too much.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#142

Post by thewataccount »

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…

Similarly that's also how addiction as a disease works.

Clinical addictions generally imply more use than originally intended, some type of inability to quit, and some type of "significant impact" on school/work/relationships/goals.

These are known risk factors for developing depression, and of course worsening it. More studies are good, but from a news perspective, "addiction increases depression severity" is hardly surprising regardless of what the addiction is.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#143

Post by tim-montague »

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…

> Facebook really has little to do with this...

"Facebook addiction increases depression" - so yes it does. However, I think we need more companies like FourHere, Humane, etc. that want to fix the harm that social media causes.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#144

Post by baby »

tgv wrote: post #123
baby wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 …

> fb ... tiktok, or youtube, or instagram, or reddit, or HN, or emails, or rss feeds, or food, or video games Is the question: which of these is not like the rest? Furthermore, you deny two things: firstly, that the influence of facebook is real, and secondly, that other forms of (social) media can have a different effect. E.g., RSS is totally unlike facebook. And let's ignore you mentioned food.

I’m not sure I understand how you differentiate these in terms of how they can be addictive and negative for your life in unreasonable amounts. For example, RSS used to be the worst for me personally. I was severely addicted to my feed.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#145

Post by baby »

kixiQu wrote: post #133
tgv wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> fb ... tiktok, or youtube, or instagram, or reddit, or HN, or emails, or rss feeds, or food, or video games Is the question: which of these is not like the rest? Furthermore, you deny two things: firstly, that the influence of facebook is real, and secondly, that other forms of (social) media can have a different effect. E.g., RSS is totally unlike facebook. And let's ignore you mentioned food.

I want to read the first-person essay about someone in the 2020s dealing with depression and developing a problematic avoidant-escapist relationship with emails. Does this person even exist? Maybe; if so, I am fascinated.

It used to be THE addiction that most books on work and productivity used to talk about. These days perhaps slack is in the top as well.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#146

Post by baby »

Sebb767 wrote: post #124
tgv wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article literally says facebook aggravates depression. It's in the title. In this context, you can't just argue that taking away facebook doesn't help without reasons not to trust the article.

It's like a headline saying Budweiser fosters alcoholism. Yes, alcoholics will be worse off if they drink Budweiser and yes, Budweiser does in some way foster alcoholism by producing and selling alcohol, but it's a very narrow picture to paint Budweiser as the sole perpetrator, which is heavily implied by the headline. I hate Facebook as much as the next guy, but in this case, singling it out like this is neither fai…

It’s also a bad faith argument as it ignores the positive aspect that it provides for many people.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#147

Post by swayvil »

baby wrote: post #108
swayvil wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it really is Facebook. Facebook provides a temptation . Like a table full of cookies over the holidays. Of course you are going to visit that table a hundred times a day. Even though it isn't really very healthy. And then when the holidays are over your diet will improve. We are not Nietzschean creatures of pure will. The temptation-landscape significates.

Temptation is everywhere. Every app today is trying to maximize your time spent there.

Temptation has legendary threat value.

How does that ancient Christian prayer go? ...Lead me not into temptation...

What did Satan do to Jesus when he was fasting? He zapped Jesus with lightning? No, he tempted him.

What did Mara do to Buddha...

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#148

Post by steveBK123 »

nradov wrote: post #125
steveBK123 wrote: post #41

I think different social media can trigger depression in different ways. TikTok/Instagram is full of people posting a glossy, edited lifestyle that makes your life feel bad by comparison. Facebook/Twitter filled with more miserable people being miserable about one thing or another (politics/culture wars/news/etc) and allows you to spiral in misery.

Nah. I don't see many miserable people in my Facebook feed. It's all just a matter of who your friends are. If you're friends with miserable people and like their posts then those are going to fill your feed.

I think FB is where you realize which of the real-world people you know through family or friends are absolutely insane.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#149

Post by steveBK123 »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #55
steveBK123 wrote: post #41

I think different social media can trigger depression in different ways. TikTok/Instagram is full of people posting a glossy, edited lifestyle that makes your life feel bad by comparison. Facebook/Twitter filled with more miserable people being miserable about one thing or another (politics/culture wars/news/etc) and allows you to spiral in misery.

It doesn't have to be any characteristic of facebook itself which I think a lot of the comments here are missing. A depressed person addicted to anything will become more depressed. Having spent a lot of time in addiction recovery spaces, addiction and depression have astoundingly high comorbidity, to the point where much of the time it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, which came first in a given p…

I think IG for example creates enough FOMO in even non-depressed people as to induce some amount of depression adjacent symptoms. Ultimate "keeping up with the Joneses" kind of thing.

Re: Facebook addiction increases depression severity among already depressed people

#150

Post by shepherdjerred »

hxugufjfjf wrote: post #119
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.

There's not going to be a panacea. This advice could very well work for those without children or similar obligations. Other advice might work for you, but that's not a reason to get upset.
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