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Negatives of Social Media

Rational Agnostic

Well-Known Member
While I am not going to delete all of my social media accounts, I have decided to cut down on my usage of social media due to the following personal observations of the following negatives of social media usage.

1. It creates a false sense of accomplishment.

Getting likes and followers feels like an accomplishment, when in reality, it is meaningless and childish to be proud of something so petty.

2. It is an instantaneous way to receive artificial pleasure without actually working for anything.

Healthy sources of pleasure include the satisfaction of accomplishing a task after many hours of hard work, or the satisfaction of having a good face-to-face conversation with someone. Getting a "like" or a "follow back" trains the brain to expect instant gratification and become impatient.

3. It ruins real social skills.

People are meant to interact in real life and not behind a computer or phone screen. This is why starting a conversation with a stranger is so awkward in the 21st century. If you even say "hi" to a stranger walking by in real life, you are looked at as being weird and possibly even mentally ill. Yet it is perfectly acceptable to become online "friends" with a complete stranger. Building a real connection with someone using face-to-face conversations is becoming increasingly rare.

4. It rewards narcissists and people who put on a facade to mask their problems in life.

The people who get the most followers on social media are nearly always self-absorbed narcissists and/or insecure people who pretend that their life is better than it actually is. This leads others to believe that everyone is happy while they are not, and hence social media use can lead to depression, which may partially explain an increase in depression and suicide rates.

Also, since shallow narcissists are being rewarded, good, honest, intelligent people with important and helpful things to say are often being suppressed.


There are likely some advantages to social media use in moderation. However, the disadvantages are significant and often overlooked. I am not arguing that a small amount of social media usage is bad. However, excessive usage certainly is.
 

Road Less Traveled

Active Member
While I am not going to delete all of my social media accounts, I have decided to cut down on my usage of social media due to the following personal observations of the following negatives of social media usage.

1. It creates a false sense of accomplishment.

Getting likes and followers feels like an accomplishment, when in reality, it is meaningless and childish to be proud of something so petty.

2. It is an instantaneous way to receive artificial pleasure without actually working for anything.

Healthy sources of pleasure include the satisfaction of accomplishing a task after many hours of hard work, or the satisfaction of having a good face-to-face conversation with someone. Getting a "like" or a "follow back" trains the brain to expect instant gratification and become impatient.

3. It ruins real social skills.

People are meant to interact in real life and not behind a computer or phone screen. This is why starting a conversation with a stranger is so awkward in the 21st century. If you even say "hi" to a stranger walking by in real life, you are looked at as being weird and possibly even mentally ill. Yet it is perfectly acceptable to become online "friends" with a complete stranger. Building a real connection with someone using face-to-face conversations is becoming increasingly rare.

4. It rewards narcissists and people who put on a facade to mask their problems in life.

The people who get the most followers on social media are nearly always self-absorbed narcissists and/or insecure people who pretend that their life is better than it actually is. This leads others to believe that everyone is happy while they are not, and hence social media use can lead to depression, which may partially explain an increase in depression and suicide rates.

Also, since shallow narcissists are being rewarded, good, honest, intelligent people with important and helpful things to say are often being suppressed.


There are likely some advantages to social media use in moderation. However, the disadvantages are significant and often overlooked. I am not arguing that a small amount of social media usage is bad. However, excessive usage certainly is.

Well said. Lots of vanity. Humans are funny. On Twitter also it’s usually I’ll only follow you if you follow me for most. I have known people that spend 30 min. per day sifting through their following lists to make sure nobody stopped following them. Lots of stalking. It’s just a lot of madness.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Well said. Lots of vanity. Humans are funny. On Twitter also it’s usually I’ll only follow you if you follow me for most. I have known people that spend 30 min. per day sifting through their following lists to make sure nobody stopped following them. Lots of stalking. It’s just a lot of madness.
Like anything else, it can take over life and become an obsession.
 

viole

Ontological Naturalist
Premium Member
I am not following things and stuff...
Are there any a-social media? I would be happy to join those, but I did not find any.

Ciao

- viole
 

Erebus

Well-Known Member
There are likely some advantages to social media use in moderation. However, the disadvantages are significant and often overlooked. I am not arguing that a small amount of social media usage is bad. However, excessive usage certainly is.

That's pretty much my take.

I deleted my twitter a long time ago. I'd sent about six tweets over three years and almost never checked the damn thing so no great loss there. I find facebook more useful since it makes organising a meetup with multiple friends pretty easy and there are a few groups I actually want to see content from. Even so, I don't access it from my phone because the constant notifications drive me insane. Also my profile is completely blank. No personal details beyond my name, no pictures and nobody can post on my timeline. It's something I've restricted to existing only as a means of contact/browsing painting groups and then only when I choose to check on it.

I genuinely do think social media can be a useful tool. It's when it starts dominating a person's life that it becomes an issue.
 

Ellen Brown

Well-Known Member
I've reduced my use of Facebook about 90% and have unfriended until I have 20 friends. I never used the other sites. Especially in the Election, Facebook was not trustworthy in their handling of the news about the events. By choice, I do not have TV. I have only internet and do not know if that is better? Network TV was such a time waster with constant ads. I'm embarrassed to admit it but years ago, before 2000, I favored FOX networks.

I've never understood network portrayal of the LGBT issues, though condemn no one. That is not my job, according to God.

Social Media 'seems' very pro LGBT to me to the point it makes me uncomfortable. I wish they'd just have the policy of "Be what you are, but it is not a big issue to anyone but you".

Lots of people think I am part of that but now I am just hoping for my clock to run out.
 
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