“In my last post, I noted that Facebook and social media are major contributors to career anxiety. After seeing some of the comments and reactions to the post, it’s clear that Facebook in particular takes it a step further: Its actually making us miserable.
Facebook’s explosive rate of growth and recent product releases, such as the prominent Newsticker, Top Stories on the newsfeed, and larger photos have all been focused on one goal: encouraging more sharing. As it turns out, its precisely this hyper-sharing that is threatening our sense of happiness.” Daniel Gulati.
Personally, I don’t write for Facebook, Google +, Twitter, or any other social network. We all need to take care of ourselves and draw a line in the sand. For me this means staying away from the noise. I imagine most Facebook users would disagree with the paragraphs above, but if you’re consciously trying to look after your mental health then it’s worth thinking about.
Click to read Daniel Gulati’s full article: Facebook Is Making Us Miserable.
Amy Karon 21 Jan 2012 @ 4:30 am
This and your previous post absolutely resonate with me, even though I use Facebook. A friend said the other day, “Facebook makes me unhappy. Everyone is posting about their accomplishments and it makes me feel inadequate.” To that I’ll add that Facebook can be very isolating: reading constant updates from Facebook friends with whom I’m not close friends in real life can worsen feelings of loneliness; and most Facebook interactions are, of necessity, superficial, but this can reinforce distorted beliefs that we’re the only ones suffering. I’m trying these days to only use Facebook’s messaging feature to contact real friends to make plans to get together. And I feel a lot better!
Noch Noch | be me. be natural. 25 Jan 2012 @ 7:45 pm
yeh. facebook and all the happy things seem to deflate us. but perhaps we can also understand that, and see that maybe it’s just the surface. so instead of feeling bad, we can send a little message to our friends, see how they are REALLY doing behind that facade…
Noch Noch