The relationship between SNS use and mental problems to this day remains controversial, and research on this issue is faced with numerous challenges. Other studies have presented opposite results in terms of positive impact of social networking on self-esteem. In addition, some authors have indicated that certain SNS activities might be associated with low self-esteem, especially in children and adolescents. Several studies have indicated that the prolonged use of social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook, may be related to signs and symptoms of depression. It is unclear, however, whether some of these changes may affect certain normal aspects of human behavior and cause psychiatric disorders. It turns out that a bit of time-wasting can lead you down unexpected and delightful paths.During the past decade, online social networking has caused profound changes in the way people communicate and interact. Any given scroll might uncover the genius of Takuya Nakamura playing trumpet over drum’n’bass, the writing of Chinelo Okparanta, or a Sylvanian Family drama. Since people are unpredictable, so is the content they throw up online. I also realised how much I had missed social media’s capacity to inspire. I had gamed the system to make my accounts a place of satisfaction. Soon the algorithm was feeding me only what I wanted. On Instagram I found my niche and I followed TikTok compilation accounts and food bloggers. I only followed friends, colleagues and people who made me laugh. There would be no more scrolling in bed, for instance, and I began muting or blocking Twitter accounts that made me feel stressed or angry. I placed restrictions on the time I would spend online and the ways in which I would use various platforms. I got my accounts back (minus Facebook, where I was still trying to verify my identity) and decided to engage in social media with greater intention. The silence of being offline was starting to feel oppressive.Īfter a month or so of abstinence, I capitulated. I missed being distracted from work by their chatter. I missed friendships that, at least in part, had come to exist online: the pal who works in cinema to whom I would always send inane bits of Twitter film “discourse”, or another friend with whom I would bat memes back and forth. Setting limits for yourself may give you an illusion of clarity, but life’s joys are often found in the unexpected connections and unplanned moments. I only followed people who made me laughīut I was getting bored. I decided to engage in social media with greater intention. I read more, focused on my work and tried harder to keep in touch with my friends. Once I got over my fear of missing out, I found I really did have more time on my hands. There was a world out there waiting for me – this would be, I told myself, my ticket to a newfound creativity a new means of engaging with life. I deleted the apps and immediately felt smug. Scrolling had been taking up most of my time, and now that the world had begun to reopen, I could go cold turkey. I took this development as a divine intervention. Unbeknown to me, I had two-factor authentication enabled on my Facebook account but now couldn’t get the code I needed to log in because I had to log in to get the code. I swiftly changed it and accepted my phone’s prompt to log me out of all my accounts, just to be safe. One morning, I woke up to a notification that one of my social media passwords had been compromised.
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