“Everyone is Getting Married, Why Aren’t You?”

It seems like every time I get on Facebook one of my friends has gotten engaged. They post their pictures, with bright smiles while showing off their shiny new rings. My sister keeps telling me, soon all my friends will be posting massive amounts baby pictures. Does this make me depressed? Sometimes, however, I usually forget about it in the next two seconds when I scroll down and watch the latest cat video.

Surprisingly, after reading, John Bohannon’s article, “Will Facebook Make You Sad? Depends How You Use It,” I learned grazing over all these pictures may not be healthy. Bohannon’s argument states that depression grows when people passively use Facebook, “Just browsing through photographs of other people’s happy moments, reading people’s conversations, and not contributing anything.”

This makes sense, because, in all honesty, I’m probably only great friends with 10% of my friends on Facebook. Of course I’ll “like” and comment on my best friend’s engagement pictures or my brother’s awesome, new job. But, when a distant friend from high school, that I haven’t seen in 6 years, posts her wedding pictures, I probably won’t comment. Her getting married doesn’t affect me in anyway. Yet, her pictures have the ability to set a standard in my life.

Johann Hari’s and Julie Beck’s articles talk about the importance and power of human connection.

Hari claims, “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection.”

Beck claims “Your friends can protect you from depression and help you recover from it.”

Having real friends, who understand you, love you, and will stick with you under whatever circumstances is essential to living a healthy life. I share a connection with my real friends. However, when I look over a distant friend’s engagement pictures, it’s like looking through a life/fashion magazine. The headline reads, “Everyone is Getting Married, Why Aren’t You?” It’s a depressing reality. Maybe I should take Peggy Drexler’s suggestion and simply unfollow my “magazine friends.”