Social Media and Our Well-Being

Social media is or becoming a large part of our lives. It is affecting how we are, how we connect with people, and how we find information. With such a powerful tool at our disposal, the constant need to want to check in daily (whether by participating or passively grazing) is affecting our well-being. I remember a couple of years ago I decided to take a couple months off of using Facebook. To touch on a point in the article “Will Facebook Make You Sad? Depends On How You Use it,” I passively used the site, which entails “…just browsing through photographs of other people’s happy moments, reading people’s conversations, and not contributing anything.” By not actively participating, I felt this pressure of comparing myself more to other people. I wasn’t posting much, and I didn’t receive any feedback, which meant I wasn’t able to feel validated on how I was living my life. So, I deactivated Facebook for a summer and did some “soul-searching.” My time away from this time-consuming site led me to enjoy life more. I wasn’t so focused on wanting to know every little thing about people’s lives. I learned to just live out my life without having to worry about comparing myself to others (online that is). I eventually came back to Facebook, but with a different perspective. In reality, there isn’t a perfect idea of success or happiness. Everyone will achieve these ideals in their own ways, and it’s not necessary for me to compare my progress down this path to others. 

Also, I do know a person who overshares and I just want to pull my hair out every time they post, but I’m unwilling to unfollow them. Maybe it’s because there’s a feeling of not wanting to miss out on information or a social connection with someone. Like the article “The Problem Isn’t Over-Sharing. It’s Over-Following” says, I would rather complain about their actions than to completely unfollow them. Until I’m willing to lose a connection with someone, I will continue to cringe as they constantly update about their "exciting life" in my newsfeed.