I have written quite a few times about the Covid-19 pandemic for this column. In some of those, I mentioned the mental toll of the pandemic, because people were confined to their homes with nowhere to go. Many, including this writer, Worked From Home (WFH) almost 18 hours a day during the pandemic, which in itself was very taxing on body and soul. In fact, there were many reports of mental breakdowns during Covid-19.
The focus of this article, however, is not the Covid-induced depression. Mental agony and depression can be caused by the tech-driven lives we lead. Many of us immediately switch to a panic mode if we cannot locate our smartphone for just five minutes. Nothing important will really happen in those five minutes, but we fear missing out on the notifications bar and the Facebook newsfeed. They have become an integral part of our lives to the extent that we cannot help glancing at the phone or the smartwatch every time it beeps. If it does not beep and there are no new notifications, we get disappointed.
Human nature
Craving the company of others is part of human nature. Paradoxically, technology has helped us to connect with people and also get more distant from them, almost at the same time. Today, we can chat for hours on end with someone on the other side of the world. Thanks to Facebook, we know what our relatives and friends are up to, even to the extent of knowing what they are having for lunch. I get dozens of invites per week on WhatsApp, where I am also on several family and friends’ groups. I occasionally look up Instagram and X to see what’s going on in the circles I am familiar with.
But technology can also drive people apart. I recently went to a friend’s house for dinner, somewhat unfortunately at the exact time when their favourite teledrama came on. Every member of the family grabbed a little bit of dinner, chose their preferred set and watched the television without making a sound. This, I believe, is a phenomenon that happens in a lot of households. Where, then, is the time for family banter and laughter?
Worse, I have often seen people dining at posh restaurants, with everyone busy looking at their phones, whereas the whole point of having a meal in a restaurant is free-flowing conversation. Surely, the newsfeed can wait?
One of my friends liked to boast that he had 500 “friends” on Facebook, some of whom he did not even know properly. No one can have 500 friends in real life – perhaps 20 is the most one can have, though there will be professional colleagues and other acquaintances as well. It is time that we value face-to-face interactions and relationships more than virtual friendships. This is in fact one of the reasons for the recent worldwide Return to Office (RTO) mandates. I have often championed WFH, but it cannot provide that close-quarter interaction and collaborative environment.
Negative connotations
There are many negative connotations associated with the likes of Facebook. Some are known to take and post an excessive number of selfies on social media platforms including Facebook. There is actually a term for this condition – “Selfitis”. Now recognised as a genuine mental condition, Selfitis is a term used to describe an obsessive need to take and post selfies. It has been linked to narcissism and a lack of consideration for others. How is selfitis defined? Taking selfies multiple times a day, posting selfies on social media, Feeling compelled to take selfies, and feeling detached from friends when not taking selfies are all part of the disease. While celebrities fill their Facebook and Instagram feeds with selfies to get even more popular, there is no reason why ordinary people should follow suit. Reality television star Kim Kardashian West became such a selfie pro that she published “Selfish,” a bestselling book packed with her self-portraits.
Granted, a good photograph of yourself appreciated by others can give you a mental boost, especially in teen and youth years. With all of the filters and photo enhancement tools available, it is possible to portray your “ideal” self. A flattering photograph will make you feel good and the number of “likes” and good emojis you get makes you feel even better. That creates a mental boost which can make you addicted to the cycle.
Of course, it can work against you ultimately. In addition to being an indication that you are looking for love and attention in all the wrong ways, posting an avalanche of selfies might actually be annoying to your friends, according to a recent study from the United Kingdom.
There is another aspect of social media use that has been dubbed “Facebook Envy”. I have experienced it myself on several occasions. Once I was in the office, working past 10 p.m. and a series of pictures taken by one of my friends popped up on the Facebook feed of my iPad. He was enjoying a vacation in Japan with his family. Even though I have been to Japan many times, I could not help being envious because he was having a good time, while I was working.
If you see many such posts during the week, it can lead to feelings of jealousy, resentment, and dissatisfaction with your own life. You may try to compare your life to theirs, especially if they seem to have a better life than you. You may feel envious of their talents, jobs, or social status. You may feel jealous, frustrated, angry, or resentful. In the worst-case scenario, increased feelings of envy have been linked to increased symptoms of depression.
Facebook Envy is just not worth it. The best remedy is reducing the time spent on Facebook and Instagram or else leaving it altogether, as I have done. This may be a disadvantage in some ways for a journalist, but there are plenty of other ways to get my news fix. And one more thing – as a general rule, never put family pictures on Facebook – remember, no one else is interested in what your family is up to. Also, never advertise your journeys on Facebook because tech-savvy burglars are known to do a little Breaking and Entering (B&E) in your absence.
Facebook and other social media sites can also be damaging in some other ways. Schoolchildren and teens are often bullied online (cyberbullying), which has led some to take their own lives. Fat shaming is another frequent occurrence on social media. Remember, no one is perfect and some of the pictures posted on social media sites are not even those of the person mentioned. So mentioned previously, many people use enhanced photographs to look their best on social media. This is completely phony, but some people fall for it and rue that they do not look that good. This can lead to low self-esteem.
There is another phenomenon that has shaken the Internet – revenge porn. In this case, jilted lovers may try to expose real or deepfake intimate moments of their former partners and even try their hand at blackmail. This may have horrific consequences for those affected and their families. In fact, deepfake audios and videos compiled with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have affected everyone from politicians to actors, not to mention ordinary people who may have separated from partners or family. The threat posed by AI generated content is going to increase as AI gets even more sophisticated over the next few years.
Sleep deprivation
Many people I know are addicted to social media despite the dangers associated with it. They look at the social media newsfeeds all the time and even stay up till about 1 or 2 a.m. browsing through these sites and making comments on them. This is distinctly unhealthy as sleep deprivation is a cause for any number of illnesses, physical and mental. To make matters worse, some Internet service Providers (ISPs) give free data at night, which is an unhealthy incentive in every possible way, especially in the case of youngsters. Actually, social media can even lead to social isolation, where some people lead exclusively online lives, without really facing the wider society. It can also drive people away from more active hobbies such as walking, hiking, painting, gardening, travelling and cycling.
Social media has become a breeding ground for spreading false information. With fake news, fake videos and rumours easily shared across various social media platforms, people are often misguided, leading to confusion, distrust, and chaos.
The spread of misinformation can also harm democratic processes and public trust in Government and private institutions. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw how millions swayed by false narratives on the vaccines stayed away from the needle, leading to many unnecessary deaths. A social media campaign on “plastic rice” turned out to be completely false, given that cultivating actual rice is much cheaper than manufacturing “rice” from plastics.
This brings us to another observation associated with social media. Sometimes we believe the “facts” outlined in social posts to such an extent that we disregard even the plain truth out there. Indeed, scientists say that social media algorithms reinforce existing biases and create “echo chambers,” where people only see content that confirms their existing beliefs. This can lead to polarisation at society level and a lack of open-mindedness, ultimately leading to a mentally unhealthy society.
There are, of course, many beneficial aspects of social media which we might discuss in a future article. But right now, we must address the many pitfalls of this corner of the Internet. The key to a healthy society – and a healthy future – may lie in confronting this challenge head on.
