When I was young, there were no social media outlets. No, none at all. I certainly had a small social network, a few good friendships, but they were all deep. We weren't afraid to call each other at any time to tell each other our stories. We supported each other. We argued. And we made up. It was a small but effective network. A close-knit network. I felt like I belonged there. Today, social media has taken over all of our lives.
I get up, I look at my Facebook (or Insta J) news feed.
I work, but as soon as I have a break, I go back to social media. I wonder if I missed something important.
I'm on the bus. I barely notice the people around me. I look at my phone. I can't be bored and do nothing anymore.
I'm waiting in line. I'd rather look at my phone than start a conversation with a stranger or even someone I know (?!).
With social media, we are hyper-connected to lots of people, but these are most often superficial contacts, or even people we have never met.
However, it is precisely the quality of our social relationships in real life that has an impact on our mental health .
The need to socialize is fundamental. Unfortunately, this socialization is increasingly moving to the virtual world.
A race for the ideal
Social media exposes us to a lot of images showing people with vibrant lives and doing enjoyable activities. Perfect images that don't reflect reality. It's a race for success, performance, and the ideal, and if you don't fit into what society presents us with, you're likely to feel depressed. Sometimes we compare ourselves. We try to prove to ourselves that we have an equally interesting life by taking photos to show ourselves off.
Subscribers and likes
We often seek to have more subscribers. But let's ask ourselves, what does having 500 or 1,000 subscribers mean to us? One more or one less, what difference does it make to our lives?
Then there are likes. These tools allow us to calculate our popularity based on the number of people who like a post. We're always happy when we get more and more likes, but if it's the opposite, we shouldn't feel hurt. What does having 100 likes actually do for us?
The culture of the Self
Social media strongly encourages narcissism and the culture of the ego. Instead of being turned towards the other, in all their subtleties, we focus only on ourselves. We put ourselves on stage. Ourselves in our daily lives, ourselves in our bubble. Deep down, this denotes a deep feeling of loneliness. Yes, it's a way of connecting with others, but through a filter. We present an image of ourselves that doesn't necessarily correspond to reality. We want to please at all costs. This narcissism is detrimental to mental health because mental health requires truly connecting with others . Direct exchanges are what allow us to connect authentically, to feel an emotional connection with others (or not). The lack of direct exchanges doesn't allow us to lay our ideas bare, to debate on the spot. The bubble in which we take refuge allows us to see few or no other perspectives.
A decline in creativity
When we're constantly on social media, we tend to passively view content. Our brains are bombarded with images and text that scroll by at breakneck speed. Sure, we can like here and there or comment on a few posts, but this information overload prevents us from unleashing our creativity. In the arts, sciences, sports, and more.
Intellectual independence
Social media users are losing their intellectual independence. Algorithms are there to target user preferences and ensure that they are presented with as much content as possible that we know they will like, that they will click on, that they will want to share, and that they will want to consume. The user ends up receiving information from the algorithm that is constantly similar. Their perception of reality becomes based on content that is constantly filtered, which reinforces their own beliefs. Not being exposed to different perspectives, new points of view, different types of opinions, means that their ability to develop a critical sense becomes limited. Therefore, the user is not challenged in their perception of reality and has difficulty opening themselves to difference and debate.
Emotional support
But it's not all doom and gloom.
Social media also provides emotional support when users interact face-to-face. For example, someone who feels depressed but doesn't feel like a long phone conversation can certainly benefit from talking online with loved ones.
Digital consciousness
The arrival of social media also opens up a new awareness. Before, we were each in our own valley. Now, in real time, we are connected to the planet. We learn that there is a humanitarian catastrophe, we feel an emotion for it, we want to react, we want to denounce, we want to help. With social media, we increase our awareness of what is happening on a global scale. We can feel helpless, and even accustomed to these images. Moreover, at the same time as there is a trivialization, there is a growth of humanitarian organizations and blogs.
Conclusion
With social media, we have access to a much larger population, more awareness, more interaction, among other things, to better promote our services and products. So, ultimately, there are benefits. But on the other hand, their use can compromise our very sense of existence, that is, our ability to be here in the present moment and to have a quality of presence with the people who are most dear to us.
It goes without saying that those who resist, who do not participate in social networks, may be excluded from a large part of their interactions with their peers.
So what can we do to take our eyes off our phones and use social media healthily?
Of course, spending less time in front of our screens.
But beyond changing this habit, I believe governments should require web giants to develop a global ethic. This means that any actions taken by GAFA should be based on human rights. In other words, do the digital giant's actions place the well-being of individuals and communities before economic imperatives?
Sloe