How Facebook Causes Depression

How Facebook Causes Depression - Some years ago, a brand-new type of interaction has actually conquered the globe by increasing considerably the way individuals take pleasure in news and also home entertainment: television. At that time television was a huge step for humankind, even if there were individuals who had a various opinion. The poet as well as playwright TS Eliot, for example, specified: "It is a tool of enjoyment which allows numerous individuals to pay attention to the exact same joke at the same time, but however, they remain to be alone".

Facebook And Depression

Now you might use the exact same logic to social networks, especially Facebook, which in 10 years has actually reached 1.3 billion clients, half of which passes an average of 18 minutes logged. Facebook links individuals worldwide. Nevertheless, the influence of this social network is not as favorable as you may believe.

How Facebook Causes Depression


A boosting variety of research studies recommend that the opportunity to be "attached" with other individuals does not always imply to be happier; as a matter of fact, it might adversely impact our state of mind, due to the fact that many people are linked however still are alone.

In this regard, psychologists of the College of Michigan and University of Louvain, have decided to strengthen the connection between making use of Facebook as well as an enjoyable life. These scientists asked a group of people to state 5 times a day for two weeks on their mood. So they found that using Facebook is associated with a bad health. They additionally discovered that individuals state they feel worse after visiting the social network, not before.

Friendly World Syndrome: Everyone seems to be more happy and successful than us
Why making use of Facebook can affect our mood making us feel worse? These psycho therapists indicate that of our standard needs is the social get in touch with. Interpersonal connections are an unbelievable source of comfort. Yet the social network does not give us the kind of social get in touch with we need to remain healthy.

One possible explanation could be the easy jealousy. After all, Facebook allows us to see the achievements of individuals with whom we have lost get in touch with. Additionally, in a certain sense, this social network has come to be a collection of bluster, a place where individuals accumulate their successes at the office as well as in their individual life, upload pictures of their wonderful family members, of the costly vehicle or the phenomenal getaway.

Actually, this sensation has a name: the "pleasant globe síndrome", which describes the propensity to believe that all of them have a far better life than us. This sensation is the result of an impact determined by sociologists in 1970 called the "considerable world síndrome", according to which, people that saw a great deal of violence on television thought the globe was a lot more fierce than it actually was. Something similar occurs to us with Facebook, taking a look at pictures and updates, we believe that the others are better than us, which decreases our complete satisfaction with life and also might also cause us anxiety.

Popularity Contest: The friendship paradox
There could be an additional issue underlying the discontentment and unhappiness that creates Facebook, the sensation that everyone is a lot more preferred than us. It is known as the "relationship mystery" because, generally, our pals tend to have even more friends than us.

This phenomenon results from a straightforward mathematical reason: if you're an introvert, there is a likelihood that among your friends there are lots of extroverted individuals, which consequently have numerous friends. It is a prejudice that ends up being a lot more apparent in social networks since with a glance at the account we can understand exactly how prominent our friends are.

This exploration might sadden lots of people making them assume that they are not worthwhile of focus or affection from their pals, and also this could trigger clinical depression.

What would happen if you stop using Facebook?
This inquiry is what some psycho therapists of the Happiness Research Study Institute of Copenhagen asked themselves, and to respond to it have recruited more than 1,000 customers of this social media. Half of them continued to utilize the net daily, the other half has actually stopped completely.

It is notable that after only one week, 88% of individuals who have actually quit making use of the social media network reported really feeling better, less mad, more thrilled, much less clinically depressed, and also more completely satisfied with their lives. Similarly, it was kept in mind that their anxiety degree has actually decreased by 55%.

These psychologists have also found that we tend to focus on what others have. The study revealed that 5 out of 10 individuals covet the remarkable experiences that post on the social media network, 1 out of 3 individuals covet the apparent joy of others, and 4 of 10 envy the noticeable success of others.

Of course, isn't Facebook that is reducing our satisfaction with life and makes us feel negative, yet our propensity to confront and the cognitive biases that show up during the procedure. However the fact remains that the way in which this network is structured considerably assists in such comparisons.

For that reason, the very best remedy is to focus on our real life, beyond the electronic accounts, and prevent comparisons that do not bring anything to us. We need to start to concentrate on what we really require, as opposed to on what others have.