Social Media 'Increases Loneliness', Says Study (bbc.co.uk)

An anonymous reader shares a BBC report: Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest are causing more people to feel alone, according to US psychologists. A report suggests that more than two hours of social media use a day doubled the chances of a person experiencing social isolation. It claims exposure to idealised representations of other people's lives may cause feelings of envy. The study also looked at those using Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr. "We do not yet know which came first - the social media use or the perceived social isolation," co-author Elizabeth Miller, professor of paediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, said. "It's possible that young adults who initially felt socially isolated turned to social media. Or it could be that their increased use of social media somehow led to feeling isolated from the real world." Theories in the report suggest the more time a person spends online, the less time they have for real-world interactions.

Comments

It's less than a zero-sum game.

[BarbaraHudson]

Theories in the report suggest the more time a person spends online, the less time they have for real-world interactions.

If time spent on social media was worth as much as time spent in the real world, you could argue that it balances out. Unfortunately, time spent on social media is mostly time wasted on social media. The quality of interactions just isn't there. So in the final analysis, social media degrades the quality of the user's life.

Of course, that void then creates a hunger for contact, which the user tries to fill with still more social media use, because it's easy to do, rather than get off your butt and walk the dog, pick up the phone and call someone, or knock on your neighbor's door and ask them if they want to come over for coffee or tea.

Re:It's less than a zero-sum game.

[geekmux]

Theories in the report suggest the more time a person spends online, the less time they have for real-world interactions.

If time spent on social media was worth as much as time spent in the real world, you could argue that it balances out. Unfortunately, time spent on social media is mostly time wasted on social media. The quality of interactions just isn't there. So in the final analysis, social media degrades the quality of the user's life.

Of course, that void then creates a hunger for contact, which the user tries to fill with still more social media use , because it's easy to do, rather than get off your butt and walk the dog, pick up the phone and call someone, or knock on your neighbor's door and ask them if they want to come over for coffee or tea.

While accurate, you somehow avoided the most obvious descriptor in this entire narrative.

Addiction.

Yeah, I know. The truth hurts.

Great Concept, Poor Excecution

[adjustinthings]

My problem with facebook, and all social media, is that it doesn't level the playing field. Its all about popularity. Its about the amount of likes you get and the amount of friends you have and the most this and the most that. Its all about metrics for marketing. That's all they care about. From it, we get a lame experience. If you remove the popularity aspect of things from social media it would be a great place.

Not just "wasted"

[s.petry]

A huge issue with social media is that you are locked into your own beliefs, creating a cult like atmosphere. This is not just time being wasted, it's time being used to self destructive ends. A person can not grow intellectually living in an echo chamber surrounded by controlled thoughts. Companies know this, and cash in on it. This is "The Allegory of the Cave" in action.

Re:Not just "wasted"

[Kjella]

Well that may be true for intellectual development but for social development most of us get along best with people like us with common interests so that we can share experiences. It's not like we have to be carbon copies but friends are the people you want to hang out with.

Depends on how you interact

[Bigbutt]

Most of my issues with interacting with humans is I'm pretty quiet and introverted. Many times I can't come up with a response quickly enough when speaking. By the time I've thought of something to contribute, the conversation has moved on. And I have a problem with interrupting others when they're speaking that seems absent from others. I'm in a meeting, for example, and my contributions are minimal in part because the talking is non-stop and you can't get a word in edge-wise.

With BBS's back in the 80's, Usenet and EMail in the 80's and 90's, EMail lists and Discussion groups in the '00's, and Forums and Facebook now, I can read and respond at my leisure. I don't even like talking on the phone.

Even this post. I've rewritten bits of it several times, added words, changed structure, and even considered whether or not it would provide any valuable insights before posting it.

[John]

Real Cause of Lonliness

[zifn4b]

You basically have two options in the "advanced" society:

1) Accept your media programming to become irrational ravenous consumers that are only drawn to fake boobies, blinky lights, reality television and anything that projects if you just buy X you will live fantasy Y
2) Screw #1 and deal with reality with all its ups and downs, good, bad and indifferent things and just be thankful for having the opportunity to experience existence and admit you don't know a lot of shit

If you pick #2 you will be lonely because you will separate yourself from all the delusional morons in the #1 camp. If you pick #1 and you are actually somewhat intelligent, you will want to shoot yourself. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I don't use social media and I have no friends

[Pfhorrest]

I don't use social media and I have no friends. But that's because I put no effort into making any friends. A decade or two ago, after a mostly-friendless youth, I decided that I wanted to have a social life in my college years, and put effort into it. Then I had an enormous number of friends and social things to do every day of every weekend.

In time I realized I wasn't getting enough out of that to be worth the effort, so now I don't try, and besides weekends with my girlfriend (where we still don't socialize with anyone besides each other) the most socialization I get is saying "thank you" and "have a nice night" to the grocery store clerk.

But I'm not lonely. If I wanted to have more of a social life and couldn't, then I would be lonely. But just not having a social life because I can't be bothered isn't loneliness.

Maybe all the people on Facebook and Twitter see other people socializing and imagine that those people are happier than them and that it's because of the socialization, and that makes them want more social life than they have (whether because they're not good at making friends or just don't have the time for it), which makes them sad.

Like the Buddhists say, desire is the root of suffering. Stop wanting to be social, stop thinking it will make you happy, stop thinking those people on your FaceSpace pages are happier than you, because they're not, they're just trying to fill the void in themselves the same as you, but it doesn't really work. Stop wanting something that wouldn't make you happy anyway and you will stop suffering for the lack of it.