Social Media affecting my anxiety + not being active on Facebook for almost 48hrs!

[PsychedelicFur]

I haven't been on Facebook for almost 48 hours!

I was HEAVILY addicted to and reliant on Facebook, for my happiness. I would spend HOURS upon HOURS scrolling through my newsfeed. And a few days back I temporarily deactivated my profile for a variation of reasons.

One main reason was, I was CONSTANTLY comparing myself to others. It was not good for my self esteem or anxiety. 

I also would get jealous of others too. Jealousy is definitely one of my flaws, I'll be the first to admit. 

I don't know how long I will be off Facebook for BUT so far the days have been much more productive and fulfilling. 

My social media addiction was deeply affecting my sleeping pattern too. 

I read somewhere that IF you are NOT paying for the product then YOU ARE the product. And that overwhelms me. Not everyone should know about what I AM doing in my life.

Feeling confident in my decision. A social media addiction needs to be combatted. 

I have been sleeping better and not really comparing myself to others. I am worthy and I don't need external validation from others, on a website. 

PLUS how many of your Facebook friends are REAL friends? A lot of them are just associates or acquaintances, that's what I find.

[Croix]

Dear PsychadelicFur~

Welcome back, I hope you have been well. I realy like that quote:

IF you are NOT paying for the product then YOU ARE the product

That is exactly right. Facebook has no interest in your welfare, just profits from your patterns of behaviour.

Actually your whole post is spot on. Interacting on media is nothing like face to face. Even though words such as 'like' sound the same on line they can give rise to negative emotions (insecurity, jealously, betrayal etc) - so they are fundamentally different. It is so easy for media to become something you never intended, from simply occasionally keepng in touch wiht family or an interest group to something that consumes your life and plays havoc with your emotions..

As you mentioned you are reaping the benefits of keeping away from media, sleeping better, feelng happier about yourself and not having to doubt relationships. I guess it is also giving you perspective.

Even so media can be seductive and one can slip back easily into old habits. Do you have any strategies to prevent this happening? Maybe substitutes in real life to make you feel the lack of media less? Or if you do decide to use it in future strictly limit time, be aware of unhelpful emotions you start to experience, and the  drift way from the reason you intend to use it into much broader areas.

Croix

[David35]

I found the same thing with Facebook. Social media is a giant popularity contest in which people only portray their good side. So it's not reality. You are comparing your entire life to only a portion of theirs, so it's not a true comparison. It's heavily based on the fear of missing out (syndrome). We fear being left out of the lastest fad, topic, circle of friends, etc.

My own experience was that looking at the successes of past friends only made me feel inadequate and miserable because I hadn't attained those same milestones in life yet. But in the big picture, who cares! If I have to publish my life online for everyone to see, there must be something seriously lacking. Just my 2c worth.

I certainly don't miss using it.