I was just reading an interesting article about the relation between narcissism, introversion and Facebook. In a nutshell, the article showed how both narcissists and introverts gravitate towards Facebook.
Narcisissts do it for the thrill of having their own reality show and introverts do it to try and connect with others in a non-threatening environment.
The article went on to describe how introverts were not usually successful in garnering the attention they desired on Facebook because their posts tended to be negative and were therefore ignored by their Facebook friends.
I wondered how much this applied to people with social anxiety disorder. As a result, I devised a little poll for people who participate in Facebook.
This is a simple question about the type of Facebook status comments you post.
More controversial results were found in a study conducted at Stanford University by Alexander Jordan and reported on in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
The overall message of the Stanford study was that positive Facebook posts by others make us all feel lonelier and more depressed about our own lives. In other words, it seems like the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
In addition, the researchers found that people who underestimated how often others felt negative emotions were more likely to struggle themselves. Realizing that everyone presents their best face to the world can be a protective psychological factor, because it helps you to know that you are not the only one who doesn't feel happy all the time.
The question then becomes: What to post? The truth? The rose-colored glasses truth? A consistently positive image that might not jive with what you really feel?
It seems to me that everyone should follow two simple rules:
- Post what you are feeling whether it is positive or negative.
- Respond to what others post whether it is positive or negative.
By doing number one we can all realize that nobody lives a perfect life. By doing number two we can help to support each other when we are down.
What do you think?
Further Reading
- A Day in the Life of Someone with Social Anxiety Disorder
- Is Facebook Good for Social Anxiety?
- Breaking Up With Facebook
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