Sept 15th, 2020: An Anti-Social Outcome of Social Media
I have had to deal with increasing numbers of depression and suicide. There
are many reasons for this fact. Isolation is not healthy for us in
general because God created us for relationships and community.
Isolation sometimes can also give us too much time to listen to the lies
in our heads. One of the causes of depression is our addiction to
social media.
The nature of social
comparison: everyone else seems to look so happy in Facebook, and their
lives are so more exciting than ours. The nature of envy is creeping in,
and we don't even know it. We are not even aware of what we see. It
works within our subconsciousness. We are wondering what is wrong with
us and why our life is not exciting. If we combine that with whatever
existed before the age of social media, life is not something fun to go
through. That very feeling happens too many times on the same day. It is
emotionally exhausting.
Our fear of
falling behind: by asking what others have that we don't, it is the
first acknowledgment that we are falling behind others. Some of us don't
come from a healthy and supportive family, so we already feel missing
out. This fear will continue to dismantle the goodness within us, and we
are left to fight against our unworthy self. Because of isolation and
shutdown, we don't have anyone else to do things with, so we spend more
time with Facebook and other platforms of social media. Physical
isolation now creates emotional and mental isolation because we can't
deal with the anguish of facing ourselves.
The
lack of sleep: the more time off we have, the less time we sleep. Go
figure. The lack of a routine seems to create some challenges for some
of us. We stay up later, watch TV, play with our phones, eat, drink, and
more. Sleep deprivation can be one of the causes of depression. Somehow
we don't think straight. We cannot make decisions. WE feel overwhelmed
and that will accelerate our depression.
When
we take time and think about this seriously, the teaching of moderation
makes a lot of sense. To be moderate is to use our common sense to make
meaningful decisions, one at a time. Social media gives us the means to
keep in touch with family, friends, and many others who are close to
us.
1 Corinthians 10: 23
"All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up."
1 Peter 5: 8
"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
