Abstinence from Social Media Improves Quality of Life

I want to talk about the effect that social media (such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) has on our quality of life and mental health. If you google this topic, there are numerous studies from established universities stating that not using social media actually makes a person happier.

The only social media I have used is Facebook, and I deleted it (changed email and password to gibberish) so I could never get on around 1.5 years ago. I found that overtime, I became a happier individual.

Research has hypothesized that many become depressed through social media like Facebook because of simple jealousy. They don't realize that people on Facebook only talk about and share their happiest and best moments so innate jealousy arises and users become sad about their own lives.

What do you guys think about this? I'm excited to hear your opinons. I can say that through my own experiences, not using any kind of social media for around 1.5 years has made me a happier person overall and has dramatically increased my quality of life.

 

I use Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat as far as social media goes.

Twitter I use pretty much exclusively for hockey/sports related stuff (news/updates/chat/debate), I think I follow maybe six people I know personally on it, and they pretty much all tweet about sports also. Barely use Twitter during the off season and I have my doubts it changes my quality of life.

Snapchat is solely just for snapping hoes and sending funny/dumb shit to my friends

FB I have just to stay in touch with fam and cause I once read a study that said potential employers find it strange if they can't find you on FB (and also linkedin, which I have, but never log onto unless i get an email saying someone messaged me/etc). And when I do log into FB, it's basically just people sharing stupid videos and clickbait articles, so tbh i dont think it has any real effect on my life either

Insta is probably the only one I should cut out of my life. frankly i think it's the worst out of all social media for people trying their hardest to curate their pages to make it look like they're some sort of cool ass individual who is always out doing cool ass shit with all their cool ass friends when in reality they're about as interesting as a lawn chair. im probably just as guilty as anyone on that front tho. i might just delete it today even, it literally serves zero benefit to my life

 

It's definitely a problem but I think it needs to be put into context, mainly the people that would be selected for a study on social media use are probably people that make large use of it, instead of people like me who go on facebook once or twice a day to look at shitty memes and what my buds are up to, and people like me who go on instagram to post a nature picture I took once or twice a month.

 

I AGREE, but people in society nowdays dont have the strong willpower to do it

 

Would you not consider forums a form of social media? You can also hypothesize that watching television could also make one depressed or jealous. I'm not doubting the negative effects it can bring or cause, but causation typically stems from having a low self-esteem.

 

IMO it is about what you are going to put that social media time into. If you are going to quit Facebook to play video games then it doesn't really make huge difference.
But in a general thought I am going to have to agree. I've tried disabling my Facebook account a couple of times but i don't know why i keep coming back. However, i did find myself being more productive without having to go through my news feed reading fake news and shitty memes.

With social media i see all these people which i used to know, posting status updates and uploading pictures and in some way i feel like i am still in contact with these people when in reality i am not.

 

Social comparison theory - Wikipedia
Social media makes it seem like everyone else are leading perfect lives as they get to curate what parts of their lives you see. This idea snowballs into a kind of cognitive dissonance where you assume that people don't deal with the same doubts you and eventually develop into impostor syndrome.

That said, I ain't ever gonna stop sending my friends snapchats of my dick tucked, looking at memes on facebook, and jerking off to brazillian models on instagram.

The enlightened man realizes sythe is a form of a social network and that he should quit the site and start a family to help fight against the impending white genocide.

 

I remember reading an article about increased dopamine hovering in the reward circuit when an individual received likes on social media. Something analogous to conditioning a monkey to release dopamine when it hears a stimulus. If you give the stimulus but no reward it'll experience a decrease in dopamine <-> teenage girl posts a picture and expects reward in likes, doesn't receive it, decreased dopamine.

 

I could give a long list of pros and cons in terms of what social media has done to me individually.

Something that it undoubtedly has worsened is my ability to speak publicly. I used to be very comfortable and quite adept at public speaking. Post social media usage I find myself tripping over my words or repeating myself when talking to people in a group or presentation setting. I can trace this back definitively to when I started using social media.

The only real value it holds for me is staying in touch with people I otherwise wouldn't. Drastically reducing my friends list has helped curb a lot of the negative stuff social media brings about in my own personal life.

I think it's different for everyone though. But in a world where we are more connected than ever through technology, I swear we've never been or felt more alone.

Whenever I'd post something really personal on facebook that didn't make my life seem like it was better than everyone elses, like 90 percent of people on facebook do, I would actually get chastised by my friends. Like you can only ever post happy stuff and stale memes on facebook. Once you try to get real, people usually use that as a reason to delete you. Just something I've noticed. But again, everyone is different. I'd be willing to bet that is a common social media practice though.

 

In my experience, social media lead to problems in a personal relationship. Twitter/Instagram are the main proponents that lead people to believe there is a "better life" like stated above due to people just posting their best moments, rather than every aspect of their life. I personally don't use any social media and I agree I am happier as I don't seek to compare my life with others and the new relationship I am currently in also revolves around this aspect of focusing on ourselves rather than on other couples who have the "picturesque perfect relationship."

 

I am genuinely jealous that you're able to cut ties. I'm too addicted to do it. I have tried. I would need to live somewhere with no internet to quit unfortunately. I'm not really sure what it is. But whenever I leave I come back.

 

I agree completely. I've seen many studies regarding this topic. I haven't deleted my social media apps/accounts (facebook, twitter, IG) but I've reduced the time spent using them considerably (maybe by 70%?).

I never felt that I was becoming unhappy by using them but I did felt that I was wasting my time. I feel like SO many people portray an unrealistic image of who they are, be it to seem happier, for likes, i don't know.

Just the other day I was reading an article that explained how sharing your problems online/through social media can actually make you feel worse about them.

 

FACTS agree with OP

 

I only use Facebook now for the sake of keeping in touch with everyone. I know only use Instagram as my social media tbh.

 

I did a search for the studies you mentioned, and all I can find are posts by smug people jerking each other off because of how much better they are than everybody else. Do you have a link to any studies?

 

Here's just one I read: Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults

 

Having people self-report their happiness while they're aware of the study's purpose introduces bias into the results. Also, a study of 82 people is very small, and typically results in a tremendous amount of variation if the study is repeated. I wouldn't call that conclusive.

 

Yeah, I never said the data is conclusive. I was mainly referring to how studies do exist supporting this particular claim.

 

It's an interesting topic and I would like to try doing this but I use the likes of Twitter to keep up to date with news, sports mainly and then instagram provides a connection to people who you would not normally be able to be privy to their lives at all.
Facebook I only really use as a messenger now to close friends and family I talk to regularly.