Not being active on Facebook has been life-changing for me. I used to post my thoughts, upload pictures of my adventures regularly, probably two or thrice a day. I admit though, I feel like those likes and comments were really boosting my ego, that I have to check my feed every now and then to see if I have new comments or likes. But this was all just a temporary high...
Sometimes, I will just mindlessly scroll through my feed, and I can’t help but compare myself with my Facebook friends. Seeing all those posts about their current job promotion, the places they have traveled to, their new things and all the other glorious portray of people’s lives just make me feel bad about myself.
It has been a great tool to stay in touch with friends, especially the ones I've met in my travels. But sometimes, if you don't know how to take control, its bad effects will take over your life.
Do you think that society’s most addictive substances are cigarettes, coffee, and alcohol? Think again. Social Media has become the new addiction nowadays. Facebook addiction has attracted attention from popular media, that lead to the creation of a Facebook addiction scale. The goal is to explore the seriousness of this addiction. The study revealed that social media use was craved even more than alcohol and cigarettes.
Facebook comes with its invisible psychological costs. There has been a study where people on Facebook lost their subjective well-being in time. Here are some of the reasons why Facebook may be bad for your mental heatlh.
You can’t help but feel envious of other people’s lives
Aside from making you feel like you are not part of your friends happiness, it can also make you feel envious of their seemingly happy lives. Seeing those appearances, successes and travels of your friends can leave you feeling envious. Those feeling of envy coming from skimming through your newsfeed drives the negative psychological impact.
Life is not fair on Facebook
People are naturally engaged in social comparison, that sometimes people need to answer the question if they are better or worse by checking out other people. Now, social comparison becomes effortless, thanks to Facebook. People on facebook think that they are not living happy lives by comparing themselves with their facebook friends, making them believe that life is not fair.
Facebook makes the forgettable unforgettable
There are times when you just want to move on and forget some people. So you block them and all. But facebook still keeps the data and everything, you will even see the blocked names, making you still remember these people. Facebook stalking has made it even harder to forget past relationships. Facebook users who are visiting their ex’s page experienced higher levels of distress and a disturbed post-breakup emotional recovery.
Facebook can make you jealous of your partner
Facebook stalking is not only about sniffing gossip, and finding reason to talk about other people’s relationships. There has been a lot of concerns in relationship that come from Facebook use. Checking up on your partner’s feed can lead to unresoanable suspicion and jealousy. It is recommended that you talk with your partner about Facebook behaviors that are considered safe and trustworthy, it might also help to set boundaries.
Personal Information are revealed to potential employers
It has been easy for employers to just check on their potential hires by going through their social media page. However, you felt like there are some personal things that you do not want to share with potential employers. If you’re job hunting, make sure to restrict the privacy settings to “Friends Only”, this is very easy but many people forget. Always remember that your posts are not safe from prying eyes.