I've definitely noticed this myself. Friends that I've known to be depressed almost always posted very frequently on Facebook and those that had some negative life event occur almost always seemed to post way more than usual in the following months. It got to the point that back when I used FB, I would make a point of asking old friends how they were doing when I noticed an uptick in their posting habits.
The relationship between social media use and well-being
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Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#22I am curious what's the point of being connected all the time? It's a question I've been asking myself since the U.S. election. So I can have access to a bunch of garbage people post on the Internet? So I can chat people quickly? There's like a handful of truly useful things on the Internet. Most of the useless things though take up 90% of time on it. I'm failing to see the value at this point.
I never played WoW because I was afraid of how far I'd fall into an addiction. Having read "Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked," I was rather relieved to read game developers who have said they have willingly abstained from WoW for the same reasons. Even device-makers and tech leaders are cautious about introducing their own devices to their children.
The book, along with others like Hooked, remind me that we have to be very careful about the technology we use on a day to day basis, because it effects our brains in a way we might not want it too. Our brain and willpower is being tested against the skills of thousands of incredibly smart and talented designers, developers, product managers, et al.
Having chosen to abstain from apps like Facebook or social media websites, I don't feel like I lost anything. If anything, I've regained more time and mental space for things like getting deeper in my career. I'm not a luddite, as I am still a big believer in the productivity and information gains via the internet and computers. But our attention is a resource that a lot of companies want. And yet, I only feel like it's more recently that we've begun to question whether the benefits these companies give to us is worth the change in ourselves.
Because of mindfulness, I have recognized the need to distract myself (via Twitter, Reddit, E-mail, Whatsapp) is sometimes a symptom of not wanting to deal with something that is hard or uncomfortable (e.g. paperwork, making a decision, etc.).
Yet we know that become deep at something we care about, we truly do need focused time (Deep Work by Cal Newport is a worthwhile read). So I think it's really in our best interest to only choose apps that provide a lot of benefits with only marginal drawbacks to our mind, and to be very careful about how often we use them.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#23Deleted mine a few months ago, and I do think I feel better.
Only regret is that I probably can't get hired by Facebook now... :-)
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#24Anecdotally, I completely fall in this category. I had a Facebook account from 2006-2010. Never missed it in the last 6 years. I don't really use other social networks either (HN counts?), email & phone is generally more than enough for me.
However, also anecdotally, my mom and brother seem to thrive on it. It's a part of their daily ritual, and the few times they've decided to get rid of Facebook, they claim (and seem) to be missing a part of their identity. They don't live "amazing" lives, and most posts are pretty ordinary.
>5,208 adults from a national longitudinal panel maintained by the Gallup organization
So, anecdotally, I do think that there is a subsection of the population for which this this a positive influence. Or they've found a way to use it positively. It may help to study narrower bands of populations to determine if this holds true across the board.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#25I'm curious: Which aspects of Facebook cause this? Do other social networks, like Insta or Twitter, exhibit this behavior?
In a way, this and studies like it are damning to Facebook's core mission to connect everyone in the world.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#26Sometime in the next few yrs or so (if not already), I suspect we'll see many research papers related to social media and suicide rates. Furthermore, it'll be interesting in cross examining this data with cultural views ie. Western culture vs. Asian culture where social media has really taken off.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#27Interesting how much of an echo chamber HN is wrt social media use. I certainly agree, but most people I know would tell us that it's great for keeping in touch and organizing events.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#28I quit Facebook because it warped my perception of others gratification, making it appear instantly achieved for everyone and everything but me.
The cumulative impact of a constant feed of this was incredibly demotivating.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#29I came to the same conclusion a few years ago, when I delete my social accounts like Facebook. They only show you the best slices of individual lives, all day, every day. When compared to your life, it makes it look like you're doing nothing with your life. That it's completely boring, while all of these people are living these amazing adventures everyday. Combine that with all of the vitriol comments plaguing all of…
>They only show you the best slices of individual lives, all day, every day. When compared to your life, it makes it look like you're doing nothing with your life. Exactly. You end up judging your interior by others' exterior. They show you a highly edited version of their life, made to impress everyone else. You're doing nothing but constantly chasing a phantom life you can never have, because no one else really has…
So many people complain about this, and I just don't get it. Maybe if I'm not part of the solution, I'm part of the problem?
When I'm stuck at my desk and I see someone posting vacation pictures from Spain, I say "man, that looks nice, I wish I was there!" And that's it. Maybe it makes me think about where I want to go next, but it doesn't send me into some existential crisis.
I wonder if there are personality types more prone to being affected by stuff like this? If anything, I'd think I would -- certainly prone to depression, particularly in my younger years. But I just don't care. I wonder why that is, and what is different among people who are affected by these things differently.
Re: The relationship between social media use and well-being
#30I came to the same conclusion a few years ago, when I delete my social accounts like Facebook. They only show you the best slices of individual lives, all day, every day. When compared to your life, it makes it look like you're doing nothing with your life. That it's completely boring, while all of these people are living these amazing adventures everyday. Combine that with all of the vitriol comments plaguing all of…
Part of the allure of Snapchat seems to be that people are much more willing to share the human, "FML" style moments when they don't have to worry about them being there permanently. Some people still use it as a "look at all these cool things I do" platform, but then, that tells you as much about those people as it does about the communication channel.
Some of my favorite Facebook friends are the ones who post stuff like "there goes my 'no more Taco Bell' resolution, bring on 2018!" on, say, January 10.