When was the last time you enjoyed something and considered that this actually might be detrimental to your mental wellbeing in the long run? Allright.. that question is a bit random. Read on, it makes sense in the end.
Earlier this week I read a free national newspaper, much like the free Metro newspaper found around the globe.
It featured an article about Facebook. It feature 13 bulletpoints on pro's and cons about the social media site, and as such 6 were favorable points, and 7 pretty much told about the bad Facebook does. All of it was based on research in some way or another
Here?s a rundown;
Pro?s
* A similar study conducted in 2008 when they used Myspace instead however has shown that people tend develop narcissistic tendencies
Cons
Now reading some of these conclusions makes me cringe a bit. Some research contradicts eachother.
But, and this is actually what made me think, and the reason I wanted to write this? it?s not all about facebook. It?s about any type of media exposure to people. Scrap that; it?s just new inventions at all. New developments for the modern society.
Let?s look at it this way; Could they have known what the results might have been, especially the bad side-effects? Probably. Did they research it? Hardly. Cause if they did, they figured social media are not the best thing ever. If social media evokes narcicism, antisocial personaility traits, substance abuse and all that, and even if it?s only a part of the users, that is a cause for concern. Even if it also makes people more productive; either result makes it a big opposition of two extremes. Middle ground is fading somewhat.
My concern is this; Should we as humanity throw out and about anything we can come up with? And should we do this without having extensive studies done. It reminds me of the use of radium much. They had no clue it was radioactive, but it looked so fancy on those watches so you could see in the dark. Because it was handpainted (anyone painting ever arranged the bristles to a tip again in your mouth?), people at some point ended up with radiation poisoning because of the radium. Did they know? No. Could they have known? Yeah? maybe research it before you claim ?it can?t be that harmful?.
Facebook and other social media aren?t different. And on a related note; we?re still argueing what the effects of videogame-violence are on children, teens and adults. We don?t have anything conclusive about that even. We?re eager to blame game and movie violence, but is it conclusive? No.
What worries me is that people will at some point be more messed up because they tried X and it had an ill effect on them. Do we need more narcicism in the world? I mean, the general populous is becoming more unstable mentally. More people than ever report in sick from their jobs, drop out of school, can?t deal with the pressure, others shoot up a mall, a school, themselves, etc. Waiting lists for therapists surpass those for physical damage already.
Mental issues are clearly here to stay, and most of them aren?t problems they were born with (like for instance; a neurological disorder like autism). It?s problems they actually developed. I?m no psychiatrist, but I?m just guessing that some part of it can be attributed to people ending up with ?information? (be it movies, books, ideas, etc.) that their mind just is not ready for. Or maybe just never will. A really, really simple example to illustrate would be movieratings. Over here in The netherlands, we have age categories, which might be a bit more black and white than the PG, R and NC ratings in the US. If a movie is rated age 6 and up, should I assume that every child that is 6 or up can process this the same way? Yes, I should assume this... but actually I can't. Maybe my 6 year old (if I had a child) isn't developed in the exact same way (exact.same.way) like the other kids. Let alone the testing audience of 6+ year olds.
A while ago I was listening to a podcast and they were discussing videogames and their narrative. One of the people on the podcast even claimed to suffer from short term depression because the game-ending was so sad. I mean, it?s perfectly fine to feel sad or cry after a movie (or game), but it?s slightly dangerous when this turns into a pathological state of being of sorts. Being depressed for 2 weeks because of a media experience actually is troublesome if you ask me. If this will affect your job and family life or you need meds all kinds of bells go off in my head. Is it excellently written? Supposedly so. Can this in turn be a problem, since we?re not even fully there in that development on media? Clearly, especially since we don?t even understand the human brain and how it processes things. We have a rough idea... but that's the same rough idea how I should handle a baby (and I think it's a bad idea to trust me with that baby and hope it turns out fine).
And I?m not even touching the entire notion how an autistic brain for instance processes all these things. I?m heavily convinced that there?s some (depending on perspective) ?information misprocessing? in the autistic brain.
The funniest thing I read in a while, and I was honestly wondering if this was real or just a hoax of sorts, was that it might be cause for concern if people are NOT on facebook. Those might be signs of antisocial behavior and psychopathy brewing.To be found here
I really wonder if humanity can wield the powers and abilities they have been given. To me it sometimes comes across as if Prometheus could wield fire and the first thing he said was ?let?s light up some people? rather than handle it with care and see where this goes. For any visual thinkers that were amongst the mtv generation in the mid-90's; I can totally see Prometheus being split in 2, one being Beavis, one being Butt-head while bickering over what they should destroy next while watching music videos.
Any tools we have now are great things, but I think one should handle them responsible. But in this day and age it?s not responsibility that?s a big important matter. Money is. When money is involved who cares if it?s responsible. Let?s have all the fun in the world and not care about tomorrow (and future generations).
Earlier this week I read a free national newspaper, much like the free Metro newspaper found around the globe.
It featured an article about Facebook. It feature 13 bulletpoints on pro's and cons about the social media site, and as such 6 were favorable points, and 7 pretty much told about the bad Facebook does. All of it was based on research in some way or another
Here?s a rundown;
Pro?s
- You?re more aware of what?s happening in the world. A study shows that about 60% thought they were more aware because of Facebook. (IBM global student study; March 2013)
- It?s good a memory excersize. The way facebook presents information it seems easier to retain for all ages. (University of Toronto; March 2013)
- It activates people to vote for elections (University of San Diego; November 2012)
- It can be used as a tool to predict a succesfull career. By assessing someones profile Human Resource specialists were spot on, in identifying if someone was ?the right person?. (various US universities; Februari 2012)
- It stimulates creativity and productivity; Employees on facebook apparently are more productive than their non-facebooking counterparts. It also lead to more creative and innovative thoughts by employees (TNS Nipo; May 2011)
- It boosts confidence*. Sharing your life with others gives people confidence so it seems (University of Georgia; June 2012)
* A similar study conducted in 2008 when they used Myspace instead however has shown that people tend develop narcissistic tendencies
Cons
- It makes people more jealous and envious. Some people that spend a lot of time on facebook in fact end up looking up ex-girlfriends and their new partners. (University of Guelph; august 2009)
- It is detrimental for youth/teens. Research has shown that teens on facebook have increased risk of healthissues (though I?m inclined mental; like the earlier mentioned narcissism) as well as subpar performance in school. Use of social media can, according to a researcher, lead to insomnia, inability to concentrate and even alcoholism (and probably any other substance abuse). (Domingues Hills University California; August 2011)
- It keeps you from doing your job. About 25% of all employees admits to check facebook at least 5 times a day. (Nationale Vacaturebank/Dutch national jobboard; August 2011)
- Facebook is bad for confidence. People tend to measure themselves up to their friends whom they think are more successful. Especially people with a lot of vague contacts on said network are more prone to this kind of new low in self-esteem, which one might call a ?facebook-depression?. (Utah Valley University; April 2012)
- It can get you fired. It?s not even unheard of nowadays for employers to check on facebook about their potential employee (Legal advisor Araq; May 2012)
- It can lead to retaliation and other violence. More recently facebook is being used as a tool to identify perpetrators (of street crime). It?s not unheard of to expose them with full name and even address. It can and will lead to civilians playing for judge, jury and executioner. (varying news and media outputs; January 2013)
- It makes people fat. Apparently there was research that has shown people that use social media a lot have a higher BMI. The reason? Much like the self-esteem case. Measure yourself with friends, feel bad you?re not as successful and you?ll result in grabbing comfort food a lot. (Journal of consumer research; February 2013)
Now reading some of these conclusions makes me cringe a bit. Some research contradicts eachother.
But, and this is actually what made me think, and the reason I wanted to write this? it?s not all about facebook. It?s about any type of media exposure to people. Scrap that; it?s just new inventions at all. New developments for the modern society.
Let?s look at it this way; Could they have known what the results might have been, especially the bad side-effects? Probably. Did they research it? Hardly. Cause if they did, they figured social media are not the best thing ever. If social media evokes narcicism, antisocial personaility traits, substance abuse and all that, and even if it?s only a part of the users, that is a cause for concern. Even if it also makes people more productive; either result makes it a big opposition of two extremes. Middle ground is fading somewhat.
My concern is this; Should we as humanity throw out and about anything we can come up with? And should we do this without having extensive studies done. It reminds me of the use of radium much. They had no clue it was radioactive, but it looked so fancy on those watches so you could see in the dark. Because it was handpainted (anyone painting ever arranged the bristles to a tip again in your mouth?), people at some point ended up with radiation poisoning because of the radium. Did they know? No. Could they have known? Yeah? maybe research it before you claim ?it can?t be that harmful?.
Facebook and other social media aren?t different. And on a related note; we?re still argueing what the effects of videogame-violence are on children, teens and adults. We don?t have anything conclusive about that even. We?re eager to blame game and movie violence, but is it conclusive? No.
What worries me is that people will at some point be more messed up because they tried X and it had an ill effect on them. Do we need more narcicism in the world? I mean, the general populous is becoming more unstable mentally. More people than ever report in sick from their jobs, drop out of school, can?t deal with the pressure, others shoot up a mall, a school, themselves, etc. Waiting lists for therapists surpass those for physical damage already.
Mental issues are clearly here to stay, and most of them aren?t problems they were born with (like for instance; a neurological disorder like autism). It?s problems they actually developed. I?m no psychiatrist, but I?m just guessing that some part of it can be attributed to people ending up with ?information? (be it movies, books, ideas, etc.) that their mind just is not ready for. Or maybe just never will. A really, really simple example to illustrate would be movieratings. Over here in The netherlands, we have age categories, which might be a bit more black and white than the PG, R and NC ratings in the US. If a movie is rated age 6 and up, should I assume that every child that is 6 or up can process this the same way? Yes, I should assume this... but actually I can't. Maybe my 6 year old (if I had a child) isn't developed in the exact same way (exact.same.way) like the other kids. Let alone the testing audience of 6+ year olds.
A while ago I was listening to a podcast and they were discussing videogames and their narrative. One of the people on the podcast even claimed to suffer from short term depression because the game-ending was so sad. I mean, it?s perfectly fine to feel sad or cry after a movie (or game), but it?s slightly dangerous when this turns into a pathological state of being of sorts. Being depressed for 2 weeks because of a media experience actually is troublesome if you ask me. If this will affect your job and family life or you need meds all kinds of bells go off in my head. Is it excellently written? Supposedly so. Can this in turn be a problem, since we?re not even fully there in that development on media? Clearly, especially since we don?t even understand the human brain and how it processes things. We have a rough idea... but that's the same rough idea how I should handle a baby (and I think it's a bad idea to trust me with that baby and hope it turns out fine).
And I?m not even touching the entire notion how an autistic brain for instance processes all these things. I?m heavily convinced that there?s some (depending on perspective) ?information misprocessing? in the autistic brain.
The funniest thing I read in a while, and I was honestly wondering if this was real or just a hoax of sorts, was that it might be cause for concern if people are NOT on facebook. Those might be signs of antisocial behavior and psychopathy brewing.To be found here
I really wonder if humanity can wield the powers and abilities they have been given. To me it sometimes comes across as if Prometheus could wield fire and the first thing he said was ?let?s light up some people? rather than handle it with care and see where this goes. For any visual thinkers that were amongst the mtv generation in the mid-90's; I can totally see Prometheus being split in 2, one being Beavis, one being Butt-head while bickering over what they should destroy next while watching music videos.
Any tools we have now are great things, but I think one should handle them responsible. But in this day and age it?s not responsibility that?s a big important matter. Money is. When money is involved who cares if it?s responsible. Let?s have all the fun in the world and not care about tomorrow (and future generations).
