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

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.

This is so very true.

[uCallHimDrJ0NES]

This is true. Facebookers are lonely. That's why I spend my quality time with my real friends: the Slashdot forum community. The warmth, understanding, and charitable attitudes I find on Slashdot help me make it through the day, and always lead me to an accurate assessment of the tech news.

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.