Social Media Stress

Post Reply New Topic

I’m sick of trying to keep up with several hundred people...I need a break! Does anyone else find social media stressful?

This site is the only kind of "social media" I do, and even then, I take breaks from it for weeks at a time.
I can't see the point of keeping up this huge social media network people are apparently expected to do now. It's time consuming, and creepy.

I thinks its stressful too.

Studies have been done showing that
150 friends is about the limit
that a normal person can handle.

I've learned that if I "Like" or comment on other people's posts
and they can't be bothered with mine,
I stop Liking and commenting on their posts.

Also, if the only thing people can post are swear words, obscene pictures, or political rants,
I'm not afraid to unfollow or unfriend them.

And there's no law saying I need to check my Facebook page every single day.
If someone's a real friend, they can either call me on the phone or
we'll see each other in person.
Imagine that!

The only stress I get is that their algorithm is highly in favor of people who post memes, pictures, and imogees. So my wall is full of inane fluff, and any text of actual importance that is posted by me or anyone else may as well have been scribbled on the back of a McDonald's receipt and left in a wet parking lot.

I don't use other social media, so I basically just check FB to see if I have messages or events.

Humans haven’t yet evolved to cope with the extra layer of social complexity social media brings.

The tough will survive, and evolve with a thicker skin. It doesn’t make the issue any less concerning or sad with people who have been destroyed by social media. It’s certainly a lot more complicated socially these days for young people. It’s just another social scene where people are subject to severe bullying and self esteem issues.

I am forever grateful all I had to deal with as a kid was phone bullying, in person bullying and mean note writing. Kids these days, it’s a lot worse.

Long rant ahead! Haha. I hate social media so much! It gives me crazy anxiety and I feel better overall without it.

It's all just a big game and people "play" to win "likes" so they feel better about themselves or feel popular. They post "selfies" (often with abs or cleavage showing) just to get everyone to say "you're pretty". They whine about their lives to get sympathy. They also want to be quick to like or comment on other people's stuff so they can show off to everyone else how good of friends they are wth that person. They write personal messages to people publicly to show off their "relationship" and get public approval from the other person. People don't enjoy or experience things in real life because they're too busy bragging about it on social media and trying to get the perfect photo to post.

It's an addictive game and if you're not winning (ie. your photo doesn't get the attention someone else's did), it can and does send you into unnecessary depression. It's also really easy to get wrapped up in the whole thing and feel like it's such an important part of socialization when it's not.

500 people don't need to know that your cat died. The friends that you interact with or keep in touch with can know these personal details because you'll tell them and because they care. The whole world doesn't. Posting so much personal stuff just to earn attention and empty sympathy or compliments is such a cheap and fake way of satisfying yourself.

I have friends who have stopped sharing stuff with me about their lives, don't call me back because they're "busy" or because they didn't think it was important, so I've given up on trying to be a good friend and be in touch. Then when I see them, they act like i automatically know things about their life and it's because they put it in social media. I don't need to be someone's "fan" and read the internet news that is Facebook just to find out what's going on in their life. None of us need that.

People tell me that Facebook is easier because they just can't call everyone all the time to tell them things. Bingo. That's why we're humans. We're not meant to tell 1000 people everything all the time. That's why we have families and close friends who can understand us and know us deeply, share in our beliefs, know how to offer good advice and be supportive, and make our needs and feelings a priority. If you don't have relationships like this, then you should be focusing on finding them, not spending your time building a social media empire. It's also a very entitled and self centered attitude to think that so many people really need and want to know this personal information about you. People are mostly just nosy and like gossip, and they love to pretend like they are a part of your victories, but if you really were in need, none of them would make you a priority because they "like" and comment on 500 other "friends" statuses. They couldn't possibly make every one of those people a priority in real life!

I keep my Facebook for networking purposes related to my job and hobbies, to use messenger with acquaintances, and to interact in private groups. I update my photo or status once in a while to mark a big occasion like graduating from college, but I stay off besides that. It's so much more gratifying to talk to people in real life about life events, even if it's far less people and far less often than online.

Plus, I have found this to be true: the sacred human bonding that happens when you share an exclusive experience with one human only is so much more wonderful than the shallow satisfaction you would get from posting it publicly. 1 meaningful relationship is 100,000 times better than 500 shallow, lazy, ones that are all for show.

End rant.

^ You win

I don't like all the bragging. I'm not interested in their children's antidotes, activities, vacations etc. I don't post that crap either.

Yes and but not because of the 200 friends part, but the fact you can't tell anyone how you feel without them "Unfriending you" "Blocking you" or just plain showing their true colors.

No not really.
It's not like you have to check in on everyone.
I only really read what my family and a couple of close friends have got to say.

It stresses me out, but not because it's hard to keep up with. I have a hundred friends on Facebook right now (which kind of blows me away. I have a hard time believing that I know 100 people).
And I rarely say anything to any of them. I did meet all of them off the internet first.
The problem for me is more that it offers me a much more accessible platform through which to make social blunders.

And you can't unpress the send button!

At one point I had about 400 friends on Facebook. Most of them were people in my year group at school. My feed was constantly bombarded with selfies, 'relatable memes', clickbait links, backhanded status updates, LadBible reposts etc. It was getting that way where I couldn't see what I really wanted to see.
Dread to think how cluttered your feed would be if you had, like, 4000 friends as some people do.

Once I left school for good, I had a good clear out of my friends list and basically unfriended everyone except the people who I actually like and care about - about 40 people.
Now my feed's a lot tidier and more manageable