Five Ways Social Media is Making Us Feel More Lonely Than Ever.
The Pandora’s Box of social media has been opened and it is here to stay in our lives and society. The platforms will continue to change their names, evolve, and become more predatory on our psychology through addictive programming with how they incorporate manipulation of dopamine release. In an article that explored the connection of social media and dopamine written by Trevor Haynes (2018), they found that our need for social validation and the dopamine feedback cycle associated with social media is designed to make us habitual users.
With any system, activity, or substance that exploits our natural neurochemical reward center it is important to be mindful of its impact on your daily life. It is usually fine to engage in these activities with healthy boundaries and limits, along with being aware of their exploitative design. It’s when you start noticing negative changes in you physical, mental, and spiritual health that the insidious nature of social media becomes more apparent.
1. It becomes quantity over quality.
The deleterious engineering of social media hijacks our psychology and is also a driving force behind the epidemic of loneliness and isolation we are currently experiencing. In a post that explores social media and loneliness written by Dr. Silard he explores the “paradoxical effect of the internet” in how it connects us with many acquaintances who mean little to us and reduces our ability to connect with the few that matter within our inner circle.
2. You become an outside observer.
Social media preys on your disconnection by becoming the very cure to its disease. As you become further disconnected from friends and family, you begin to check their posts and images to see what they are up more obsessively. It becomes a form of passive entertainment and interaction, much like watching television or a movie, but lacks any depth or intimacy of our close personal connections.
3. You only see the highlights.
Scrolling through your social media posts will only show you curated snapshots of people’s lives that demonstrate success, wealth, and perfection. An article by Sherry Amatenstein (2019) explores this by stating users will often feel that everyone else is more successful, more interesting, and enjoying a better quality of life.
4. It negatively impacts your sleep and health.
In a journal article by Youssef et al. (2020) they found an association between social media induced loneliness and insomnia; feelings of isolation from scrolling social media late at night exasperated feelings of isolation. Insomnia, and other sleep related disorders, have been shown to increase fatigue, decrease cognitive performance, and increase risk of obesity and diabetes. If you are not feeling well from the impacts of loss of sleep it is unlikely you will feel like going out to meet with some friends that further compounds the issue.
5. You may start to feel bitter towards others.
Have you ever logged on to your social media account and felt irritated or frustrated with posts by your immediate family and close friends? Did you ever feel anger or rage from a news article or click-bait type post designed to stir your emotions? If so, you are not alone. Amy Fleming reviews this issue in her article (2020) detailing how social media chronically induces tension and frustration in people and that we are getting worse with dealing with anger in healthy ways.
Social media does have its place in our society and has given a platform and voice to many marginalized groups along with bringing awareness to progressive causes. It has also become a lifestyle and career for many to generate a new source of income that aligns with their talents and creativity. As with most things in life it is important to moderate your usage and be mindful when it’s causing distress and impacting your quality of life. If you do feel isolated, lonely, and depressed I encourage you to reach out to those that care for you and connect with them. You may also consider reaching out to a therapist of your choice to explore these issues further and rediscover those connections that made you previously feel valued.
