Anxiety and "the machine"

You’ve just sewn a new skirt.
You learned how to make Baked Alaska.
Your car just got a tune up.

What do you do next?

The response for these situations will likely be the same as if you have a smart phone and a bathroom mirror – you’re going to photograph and document it on social media.  Why?  Because you can, and even though you're not likely a seamstress, a chef, or a mechanic (respectively) someone, somewhere is going to ‘like’ your photo and/or new status and that feels good because then you'll feel validated.

While this scenario is fiction there are enough contemporary accounts of similar happenings all over the U.S. that aren't.  All of this created a phenomenon that nobody could foresee, and therefore, prepare for.  It wasn't long before what followed the explosion in social media output was a a direct correlation in the number of cases of anxiety and stress.  I see the irony in posting this on a social media site but my hope (whether anyone ‘likes’ it or not) is that it may shed some light on our behaviors and the connection it has to why so many more people report having anxiety than ever before.

I realize that this may come across as a gross overgeneralization to some but there is enough truth to it that the exceptions to it will be few, and the facts presented here came from a professional in the mental health field.  I wish I had recorded the presentation but I think it’s fair to say that for most cases, the information fits.  Also remember that much of this is from memory, educated guesses from the stuff I can’t remember, and the pictures I took from the Powerpoint presentation.  After attending it I made a silent promise to myself that I would reduce my social online presence (not eliminate – but reduce).

The pitfalls of electronic social networking include:

Overdependence on a peer group:
These don’t even have to be friends we know face-to-face.  Our facebook peer group likely consists of friends of friends, and possibly groups we belong to.  We begin taking advice from people we don’t even know.  This has a tendency to lead to…

A lack of independent decision making:
Rather than do our own research, we ask these same people what decisions we should make.  The majority usually wins.

A decline in written language skills:
I know I’ve mentioned this before somewhere, but with the rise of texting and social media, articulate and correctly spelled sentences are becoming an endangered species.

Declining social skills:
If all the above are happening, it means face-to-face interaction has become secondary to electronic ones and our skills and abilities to navigate being social with one another without involving a screen have taken a nosedive.  The only thing left is...

Social Isolation:
‘Likes’ carry weight with our psyche, and they tend to be more immediate than when you are with friends and loved ones.  They are tangible, right there, and you know whose reaction they are.  Face to face doesn’t always offer that.  We don’t typically say, “I like that thing you said” so our dopamine release is now triggered from a source that didn’t exist before February 2004.  Since that time our social interactions in the flesh have only decreased.  I’m not saying this is the cause but it is definitely a factor.

Now couple that with the cultural factors:

Electronic / Virtual socialization:
We kinda just covered this.

Shifting from intrinsic to extrinsic goals:
Our self worth comes from outside sources so we tailor our goals to match.

Paradox of choice:
Some may remember when televisions only had three or four channels and we had to get up to change it.  Now there are a couple hundred channels or more depending on your cable / dish package.  Clothes, phones, homes, cars - There are so many choices that we’ve become paralyzed with an overabundance of them and we rely on those on the other side of the screen to help us.

Lack of cardiovascular / Exercise / fitness activities:
Duh

Bad nutrition
Duh pt. II

Alcohol and drug abuse:
This is not necessarily cause and effect but if we’re talking about anxiety and / or depression, drugs and alcohol ore often in the mix.

Change in family and social dynamics:
The more time we spend away from actual people, the more our circle of people that we actually interact with will shrink.

I tend to wonder if, upon gaining a new patient with anxiety, one of the first questions asked is, “How much time do you spend on social media”?  How many prescriptions include going out and being social with actual people?  How many would prescribe taking a course in grammar or creative writing?

I stole this from a friend's wall because I think it bears repeating (there is a grammar issue early on which is a bit confusing but you'll get the idea).

"Our young ladies and gentlemen are growing up in a society where it seems the expectation is to disparage yourself and then get validation from the group. I see and hear my kids talk themselves down almost daily. Then the social media post comes to validate them Don't want to discourage friends bolstering each other and dispelling their friends incorrect notions of themselves. However I see a pattern where kids say they are worthless and then need the positive comments to be the source of theri worth. Today, the group is determining their value.

To me this is a means to control people and a worrisome trend. Groupthink is perilous

When you speak poorly of yourself, particularly on social media and use the group - even through positive affirmation to bolster your worth you are surrendering yourself to the group.

Advice for today - don't allow the group to be the one to determine your value. If the group determines your value they can determine you are worthless. AND YOU WILL BELIEVE IT!

Only 2 should people should matter for your self worth. God and you. Know your value, speak your worth and walk tall.

Extend this perspective to others and kindness naturally follows."