Why social media may be increasing your depression?

If you are alive in this world then you are probably familiar with using social media to interact with other people. Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Twitter and others have finally given us the opportunity to stay connected with as many people as we want. However, many researchers are speculating that perhaps constantly staying on social networks like Facebook, may not be the best thing for your stress and overall mental health. Many people at this point may not understand why anyone could come to this conclusion. But there is a valid point to why many believe that interacting on the computer with other people could turn into a health hazard.

While there are multiple reasons why this could become a problem for a person (if they allow it), becoming depressed or more stressed out after the use of social media can occur basically for one main reason. People see others as having a better life than themselves. If you were to take a poll and ask an individual to rate their lives in comparison to their friends on Facebook, if they were honest, their personal rating would be much lower. This all boils down to the deadly "comparison" disease. Most people compare their lives with everyone they see on social media and assume that their friends or "associates" lives are much better then theirs.

The truth is, that this is a complete fallacy. 100% of all users of social media have problems and issues within their lives, they just choose not to disclose any of them openly on Facebook. And if they do share their current adversity, you can bet the ranch that they are going to act like everything is still great. The bottom line is that social media can be used as a great tool, however, if you are one to constantly buy into the common fallacy that everyone online is having the time of their lives, you may need to take a vacation from using social media until you get your thinking in order. Here are the top truths of social media:

Many people are dishonest about their happiness or quality of life.
You are not alone in feeling this way, your fellow friends are probably envying your life.
Most of the "friends" you have are purely numbers.
It is easy for people to "pretend" if they are at a distance from you.
A picture is just a picture. A smile in front of the camera has nothing to do with the quality of someones life.
Anyone who is constantly saying their life is perfect...is lying.

All of these factors are based on human nature. Now that you are aware, it is time to take the steps to change the way you think about social media. Use it for what it is worth, but don't believe everything you read...

"I have told you these things, so in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."

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