Does Anyone Else Feel Bad About Themselves Social Media?

[Ronin]

Meh. I do social media when I want to entertain myself doing something vaguely prosocial and productive & / or to cope with hyperactivity as they can get fast paced enough, but taking it to heart is as said above, quite pointless.

 

[WillyKat]

I think those w/ like 500+ friends can't possibly be close to very many of them. I have one FB acquaintance that has her ex-husband as a friend. So a "friend" on Facebook is pretty similar to a Connection on LinkedIn. In fact, I wish they would use that term instead of Friend.

 

[Changing4Best]

The only reason I am on Facebook is because it is one of the only ways I can stay in touch with several of my family members. Some of them live in Lithuania and I also have a nephew that is not a phone person at all. He is very talkative in person, but on the phone it is like pulling teeth to get him to say anything. Oh, and I have a relative in London too. I love my family and I wish I could see all of them more often. especially since I have been in the Hospital 2 times in the last two weeks, it occurs to me that I might never see any of them again before I die. I am hoping and praying that they will help me to come visit them financially, because I don't have the money or the wherefore to get there without some help from them.

(If I already said all this above, I am sorry. I am quite forgetful these days and I seem to recall having said these things recently, but in case I answered some other thread than this one, I figured there is no harm in posting this twice. Please forgive me if the above is the case).

 

[J_trustno1]

Thanks guys for your honest answers. I wasn't going on Facebook much in last few months maybe once a day or every other day for like 30-40 mins. But whenever I went there I felt I was wasting my time and stalking other people despite having limited time. Then I felt I was comparing myself to other people which was toxic. Lastly, whenever I chatted with someone in private I felt I was pretty much complaining about life. I just can't handle the drama of Facebook, it makes you feel naked in terms of your privacy. For the last month or so it felt no different to real media and gossip. I mean you have phone number and email and if people want to stay in touch with you they will contact you so there is no point of fake social media. I used to fear losing touch with friends so I kept FB but trust me , NONE of those so called friends ever messaged me there except for few odd occasions: i.e. 1) when they needed some favor. OR 2) When they wanted to know about my personal life (eg. If I have a job yet? If I have found a man yet? ??etc) and none of their questions were about how I am doing or feeling but all about materialistic social measure so they can feel better about themselves. One more thing @WillyKat , I have read somewhere that humans or animals can't remember more than 150 people. You're smart with your numbers :P.

 

[Panda Bear]

Okay, I do FB quit a bit. But it does eb send flow, that's for sure. I've learned to keep my friends list low and really scrutinize who I add. More often then not, I will not add request from people,

It used to be an issue with how I felt...but I've learned.

 

[Deleted member 28403]

I developed this habit to not give a f*ck about social media...

No TV, which makes it even easier.

I do have twitter, facebook and reddit accounts, but I forgot passwords of both twitter and reddit, and haven't been to fb in a while (I mainly use it for talking to people anyway)..

Also, from time to time I just delete my fb account. So most of the time there is like 50ish facebook friends in total

 

[Deleted member 29920]

Facebook mostly just attracts idiotic narcissists, if you are someone kind, introverted and spiritual who lives out of their higher self, then you will usually feel out of place and like your life is rubbish compared to theirs on that site. Don't be fooled by it, most of those people are not truly happy anyway, they are merely sheep! I have no time for those types ;)

 

[FireSign8]

I lasted about 3 days before I shut it down. Too risky for me to take a chance that my attacker can find me after he did almost 10 years in prison for trying to kill me. I don't need the FB stress in my toolbox. Too old to care about followers & such.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

For me being on FB has been an education. I have had two perverts, quite a few with opposite political views which I have had to defriend, and a few really good family, and friends.

I like to read through it and share what I think is interesting to look at posts and sayings and pictures.

I have joined a lot of groups and had to unjoin from them because it all became overwhelmning.

The most negative thing from FB has been comparing and feeling sorry for myself for being much younger and surrounded by families. I do need better coping skills so I realize the problem lies within me.

Overall I do enjoy it very much.

 

[420kitty]

Recently, my fb account got deleted because I had an obviously fake name. I got a message from FB stating that they need my real name along with sttsched documents for evidence, some examples they gave: driver's license, birth certificate, etc. My account got deleted. I only went on there to look at the memes when I got bored. I guess I'm lucky in that I never really liked social media and found it too fake. I never really felt inferior because I want different things for myself than most. Think of the positive things going on in your life. You cannot compare your progress to someone elses. I always used to when I was in my teens and early 20s. It doesn't do any good, just self doubt.

 

[Justmehere]

Studies have been done that link Facebook to depression - and this has been known for awhile.

This study in 2015 explains why people get depressed after being on Facebook:

Link Removed

Hint: it's due to people comparing themselves to the fake Facebook images others put out there of themselves.

It actually causes clinical depression over time.

 

[Justmehere]

In case that link to the Forbes article about the study doesn't work, here is another more direct abstract about two studies done on this: Link Removed

"Both studies provide evidence that people feel depressed after spending a great deal of time on Facebook because they feel badly when comparing themselves to others."

I have a FB account myself, but I limit what I read pretty drastically and describe my account whenever I find myself beginning to compare myself to others. It's so easy to do.

I'm happier when I'm not on it, but various commitments require me to be on it for event planning. I try to use it for connection, not comparison. It's really hard.