In last week’s ASTU class we had a midterm based on an essay that mainly focused on the role of social media. The essay really struck a note with me. It (somehow) had never occurred to me that we are basing a large part of our thoughts and feelings on what we see or receive through our cellphones and computers. The essay brought forth the term “culture of connectivity” which is all too true. We are constantly connected to a intangible world. This hollow and bias digital world that shapes our thoughts and feelings. As I sit here trying to write my blog, I am constantly distracted by multiple forms of social media bombarding me on my cell phone (ie. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat). We are not victims, but rather culprits. We allow ourselves to believe what we see on social media. We allow ourselves to be deceived. Someone can be anything behind the security of a screen.
I read an article recently about how it was now a proven fact that Facebook causes “FOMO” or Fear Of Missing Out. We see photos of other people having fun and it can lead to actual depression. “We are a community plagued by the fear of missing out and being in love with our smartphones doesn’t help at all.” (Cornell Sun, 2014) On every platform of social media we are falsely connected to people. For instance, I have 800 people on Facebook but I only talk to about 20 of them. But within this vast group of “friends” I witness other people having seemingly more interesting lives. Such as traveling the world, meeting celebrities or becoming a model.
It truly bothers me that our society has succumbed to this level. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a part of it. I am no stranger to the feeling of sadness when I see a photo of friends having fun without me. Or (I admit this out of shame) posting a photo to make other’s jealous. For example “Haha I’m Hawaii and you’re in school!” Yes, I have done that. And, of course, we’ve all seen the post-breakup posts about how they’re “So much better off” and “Single and loving it!” Like, c’mon, we all know you’re sitting at home with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s watch Friends reruns. Or maybe that’s just me…
The midterm essay may have focused on how social media alters our memories but it made be realize other issues it causes. Along with FOMO, social media does a lot of harm. We use the anonymity of digital networks to be someone we are not. We are basing our beliefs in lies. But how can we change this?
News article about Facebook “FOMO” : http://cornellsun.com/blog/2014/10/09/milian-say-no-no-to-fomo/
Prior to reading your blog post, I surprisingly had no knowledge the acronym “FOMO” existed. I am certainly well acquainted with the “feeling of missing out”, but reducing it to a simple acronym makes that much more tangible. Doubting if anything scholarly on the issue existed on the UBC library website, I typed FOMO into summon. I was surprised to say the least; there was certainly more than enough available. Although I do not have as many as 800 Facebook friends, I definitely could relate when you said, “But within this vast group of friends I witness other people having seemingly more interesting lives.” In my search to find some more information on FOMO, I read a very interesting essay written by Larry Dosey, titled “FOMO, Digital Dementia, and Our Dangerous Experiment”. In the essay Larry investigates the concept, its connection to brain damage, mental well-being and even fatalities. Dosey references the work of American sociologist, Martha Beck who says that “practically every image you see on practically any screen is likely misleading. Whether the images were created by individuals or by professionals, they tend to capture moments of artificial jollity.” I think that selectively sharing certain aspects of our lives with the online world is not necessarily negative; it is however when we forget that what we are seeing is not the whole picture and use it as a basis for personal comparison. Beck asserts “the human experience depicted by the media is never the whole truth — and often an outright lie.” Which affirms your notion that, “we are basing our beliefs in lies.”
– Dina Devenish