How many vacations have you wasted making sure a picture or a post was perfect? Or better yet, how many times have you compared your lifestyle to someone else's? I’ll let you in on a secret: it is not your fault.
Originally, social media was intended to be a way for people to connect with one another. There was never a challenge to collect “friends” or “followers." There was never a competition to gain the most likes or reactions.
But these competitions have always existed in the real world. People portray themselves as people with the most friends and strive for praise from people they want to impress, and most of us are guilty of it. The social issues people have battled with for generations have taken on a new form inside a five-inch screen. It seems to be human nature to seek out someone to follow or an idea to worship.
“Conformity is a natural and normal part of
The argument that social media brings with it a more informed community and an easier way to share ideas is also apparent. Social media users have the world at their fingertips and can find information with just a single click.
Rather than this positively charged way of searching, social media users are instead tailoring a message they want to hear, creating what is called an “echo trap." The concept of editing the message we want to hear can be empowering, but it's not what we use it for in our day-to-day lives. Instead of simply clicking unfollow, we choose to follow more and more people we do not know to reinforce our ideas and fulfill our wants.
“Social media only worsens this as people further restrict their social networks to only those people that they agree with," Gitter said. "This relates to a concept in psychology called the confirmation bias in which people seek to confirm their beliefs but are generally very unwilling to question their own beliefs, even when presented with information that clearly shows they are incorrect."
Every like, reaction and comment contribute to the new normal for an innate following culture that the world has recently defined. While social media was intended to enhance interpersonal connections among friends and communities, the argument stands that it has created a façade of connecting to a world we are not a part of.
For many users of various social media platforms, using social media outlets comes with an unfortunate side effect: Social Media Anxiety Disorder. This disorder is generally related to social anxiety, the third largest psychological disorder – following alcoholism and depression. This unfortunate occurrence can feel debilitating to be a part of and can cause a person to feel inadequate or depressed.
Now the question stands: How should this issue be addressed?
“If you find that you are experiencing a lot of distress as a result of following people on social media, the first thing to do would be to try to reduce the amount of time you spend doing that," Gitter said. "At first, it will not be easy. It can be very difficult to break strong habits. But as time passes, you will probably start to find other ways to fill up your time and find that you are much the better for it."
With all the negativity that social media has the potential to bring, we as a whole should see that if we change our ways, we can repurpose it to the good it was intended to bring us.
Facebook was designed to keep the world connected when reality can have us living far apart from the ones we love. Instagram was a way for the world to get the opportunity to share pictures that show special moments in our lives. Messaging friends and sending Snapschats can fulfill a need for those who are isolated to participate in human connection. News can spread faster than it ever has in human history because of how connected we all have the ability to be.
When crossing the street, you are taught to stop, look and listen. Well reader, to make sure that the internet stays a form of positivity in your life, I am going to ask you to stop, pause and then follow.
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