Social Media Homesick Blues

In my last post I suggested that social media was a powerful force for good, one that offset much (I would hardly say all) of the loss of Putnam's "social capital" in the "real world."  In this post I examine the opposite end of the spectrum:  the widespread theory that social media is deleterious to one's mental health.  How widespread?  See for yourself.  Just google "social media and depression," "social media addiction," and/or "social media and mental health."

A recent article on Healthline asserts that "Social Media Increases Depression." It reports a recent study at the University of Pennsylvania which concluded that student subjects who limited their exposure to social media experienced less depression than students who consumed the "normal" amount; that is to say, a lot.

Baseline readings for participants were taken at the beginning of the trial in several areas of well-being: social support, fear of missing out, loneliness, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, autonomy, and self-acceptance. 

At the end of the trial, those in the experimental group saw both loneliness and depressive symptoms decline, with the largest changes happening in those who reported greater levels of depression.

The correlation was strong enough to appear causative, but in what way was social media detrimental?  “What happens many times when they log on is that you kind of activate a lot of social comparison,” said Oscar Ybarra, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “People don’t necessarily have to be super aware that this is occurring, but it does. You log on, you’re generally dealing with very curated content on the other side.”  Nearly everyone on Facebook, for example, emphasizes the positive aspects of their lives to the extent that they seem to have no life problems.  Instead they are perpetually getting together with friends, or announcing some professional success, or being in a perfect relationship, and so on.  Even when one is conscious that people are crafting a curated view of their lives, the unconscious tendency is still to compare oneself to the charmed lives that others seem to lead, and find oneself wanting.

Then there's "FOMO," which stands for "fear of missing out."

Amy Summerville, PhD, a professor of psychology at Miami University in Ohio, is an expert on issues of regret and the psychology of “what might have been."

She explains that FOMO is an extension of larger issues of inclusion and social standing. Once our basic needs are met, like food, shelter, and water, the need for inclusion and social interaction ranks right up there, she says. “The FOMO experience specifically is this feeling that I personally could have been there and I wasn’t. I do think that part of the reason that’s really powerful is this cue that maybe we’re not being included by people we have important social relationships with,” she told Healthline.

The now ubiquitous use of social media and technology has created a world in which we can gaze into our own crystal ball to see what our friends are doing at almost any time of day. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.   

Other articles I've found on the subject pretty much say the same thing, but occasionally with one new wrinkle:  social media is addictive.  Many people, including myself, look at Facebook numerous times a day.  Some of us wind up doing so compulsively.  So compulsively that when we abstain from social media we exhibit definite withdrawal symptoms.

A couple of days ago I posted a status update on Facebook asking my FB friends to offer their own appraisals of the impact of social media.  Several of them observed that interactions with FB friends, while they might be fun, did not provide the psychological boost that one experiences when interacting with friends in real life.  I think that's astute; I would almost say intuitively obvious.  And it's not unreasonable to suppose that at some level the human mind perceives the ersatz interactions in social media as hollow:  the equivalent of seeing a picture of a nice juicy steak rather than actually dining on it.

And I have said nothing about the trolls and cyberbullies out there.  At best, they aren't good for the soul.  At worst they can cause devastating psychological damage.  Most of us have seen news items reporting that cyberbullying drove a teenager to attempt or commit suicide.

So where is God in all of this?  The apostle Paul offers some insight.  "All things are lawful for me," he wrote, "but not all things are helpful.  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything." (1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 12.)