Facebook, Instagram… And The Summer You’re Missing
Photos of instagram taken on the beaches of Formentera incredible images from holidays spent in London, some selfies taken at fashionable macro festivals…
Let’s face it: the interest is not so much in the beauty of what is seen as in the fact of being able to say: “I’ve been there! ”. We use social networks as if they were an extension of our body and, as such, we project ourselves on them trying to offer the best possible image. The problem often comes when you see that what others teach is more attractive than what you can teach. Could it be that Instagram and Facebook are boosting the feeling of envy?
It was talked about in the article on FOMO Syndrome: new technologies and the digital age They lead to a generalized fear of not living life intensely as (it seems) others do However, on vacation, this can become more acute.
You just have to see the degree to which photographs of the most expensive destinations and the most exclusive locations go viral. Let’s add another ingredient to this cocktail: the most famous and richest people are the ones who have the most followers on social networks. But even Twitter or Instagram suggests that we follow them when we haven’t even launched our new user account yet!
Although it may seem strange, this may mean that being subjected to a continuous burst of ideal summer images make us feel the pressure to achieve experiences comparable to those we see… precisely when those images usually convey fun, relaxation and freedom to do what we want.
In part, this is what means that we are accompanied by more and more technological supports that allow us to take photographs anywhere and in almost any condition: smartphones with good built-in cameras, underwater cameras, selfie sticks, etc. A moment not immortalized through a photograph is like a moment not lived, because it cannot be shared massively on social networks.
But the problem with this is not only that we lack a camera at the right time: is that we need those moments to occur in the desired quantity and in the required quantities It is not enough to experience pleasant sensations and situations: in addition, those experiences we live have to be able to be photographed and must be recognized by others as something to envy. People will be more impressed with Iguazú Falls than with photos taken in an Antarctic massif, even if the latter is your favorite destination for this vacation.
Facebook and envy
To what extent is it true that seeing how good others are having it through social networks makes us feel bad? Certainly, it is a somewhat diffuse topic and not too easy to address scientifically, but there is some evidence that reinforces this idea.
For example, a study published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Generalshows in its results that passively use Facebook for a few minutes (scroll vertically to see the posts that others are posting) enhances the feeling of envy and, with it, causes a decrease in emotional well-being
Other research published in PLOS ONE reached similar results, and added another interesting fact: face-to-face interactions did not have the same effects on subjective well-being as interactions via Facebook. In fact, they made the participants in the experiment feel better, the opposite of what happened with the use of the social network.
Therefore, this would serve to reject the hypothesis that people feel bad about any form of social interaction. The envy and relative discomfort that the use of Facebook seems to have would be part of the consequences of exposing oneself to images and messages that others have filtered to offer a desirable image of themselves.
And, in fact, there is a very negative part in the use of networks: “Depersonalization and (in)communication on social networks”
The doses of Instagram and Facebook, with awareness and in the right measure
Solutions to avoid going through this? The binomial Facebook – envy It could have deep roots considering the power we have when it comes to shaping the image of ourselves that we want to give on the Internet. Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be much research on the matter, making it difficult to know what the best strategy is to deal with this.
However, the probable and most intuitive solution is in take the use of Instagram, Twitter and other digital platforms philosophically On the one hand, we can remind ourselves that to believe that what we are seeing is representative of the lives of others would be to fall into delusion. On the other hand, we could, for example, also take a “vacation” from social networks. In this way, it is likely that many more stimulating experiences will come our way, even without looking for them.
