The Link Between Social Media and Depression

I started to notice that the more time I spent browsing through my feed on Facebook or scrolling through my friends' Snapchat stories, the sadder and more depressed I began to feel. Why was everyone else constantly getting to have fun and go on vacations, cruises, and get to smile and be happy all the time but I wasn't? I began to feel like I was constantly missing out on some positive aspect of life. Where was this world where people were always in a constant state of joy and always getting to be surrounded by people they love, always going to all of these cool events, and getting to experience so much awesome stuff (concerts, festivals, parties, etc)? When and how do I get to this place? It seemed all my life consisted of was working and being able to support myself and barely having any free time. I had allowed myself to be tricked by this false reality into thinking this way. I wish I had become aware of this fact so much sooner, as I could have saved myself so much frustration and mental stress. Social Media is not reality.

Lets picture a scenario. You've had a really rough week, you've had to work 40+ hours all week, your car broke down one day and you had to take it to the mechanic and pay $600 for a repair (so you're now stressed about this financial expense), you've had to fight tons traffic, perhaps your girlfried/boyfriend/spouse just decided to break up with you recently. Basically, it's just been a really miserable time for you. So that night, you take out your phone and start going through Instagram posts, and you come across a picture of a friend on a gorgeous beach in Mexico, maybe he's got his arms around his girlfriend, they're both smiling in perfect harmony, holding pina coladas, and it just seems as if they don't have a care in the world. FALSE. They do, you're just not seeing it IN THAT MOMENT. Chances are, if you're prone to depression, you're instantly going to feel a little wave of sadness, jealousy, or even resentfulness that they got to enjoy a nice vacation and relax all week, while you had to go through your whole train-wreck of a week. You might think to yourself "Must be nice" upon seeing this image. Here's my two cents on this subject: Don't fall for that. No matter how happy people may appear when you see them on Social Media, they are not in a constant state of happiness. Now this is not to say, that the joyful expressions seen on their faces during these captured moments are not genuine, they more than likely are. However, both the situation itself and the emotions felt by these two are temporary, just as they are with you during your more upbeat moments in life. These people suffer from their own issues, their own struggles, and more or less face (or have faced) the same obstacles and challenges that you do in life. What makes you believe that it is not so, is that you're only getting to see are the "good times." That is why as a person who is prone to periods of deep depression, I make it a point to stay off of social medias as much as I can or at least limit my time spent on it. There have been several studies made within the last few years that have even shown a direct connection between people with more stress and depression in their lives, and how much time they spend browsing these sites. Remember, steps have to put into action in order for these memories to even get made in the first place.An idea has to be brought up, somebody has to reach out and connect with someone else, etc. Think about the time you could be spending making things happen rather than looking at something that makes you feel as if you're missing out.

The joy and fun is all around you, go out and experience it first-hand and make your own good times. Don't allow this facade to trick you into feeling all gloomy and down in the dumps. It's understandably a very easy trap for those with depression to fall into, but ultimately a very foolish one. At the end of the day, the choice is up to you, so why not step out of thought and into reality? Stop thinking and start experiencing.