3 ms·
If you are perfectly content with your life, then Facebook probably won’t be an issue at all. But if you have _any_ area where you don’t feel fulfilled - like b
by manmal 9y ago
If you are perfectly content with your life, then Facebook probably won’t be an issue at all. But if you have _any_ area where you don’t feel fulfilled - like bad life/work balance, insufficient funds, loneliness, unfulfilled baby wish - then Facebook is going to rub it into your face, daily, that others have what you desire, and does it in a misleading way.
Let’s say you can’t have a baby and you have a colleague with 4 kids at work. In real life, you talk to them, get a grasp of their situation, and might realize the caveats - Eg they also had an unfulfilled baby wish at first (which gives you hope), or you can offset the perceived „unfairness“ with the areas they are lacking in (eg they often feel overwhelmed by the kids or are sick a lot). On Facebook, you have an army of super-happy baby making machines, posting Instagram filtered of happy smiles in the sunny park, kids cuddling with a dog, birthday candles... the bad moments are very rarely reported - and when they are, lots of people flock to the post and comment, making that person their center of attention (= socially important). But they won’t write next to that happy picture „right after, baby cried for 45 minutes and I almost had a nervous breakdown“ because you don’t appear to be in a favorable position when writing that.
[As a father of two, I was never directly affected by an unfulfilled baby wish, but a friend of ours was.]
- lsc 9y ago>If you are perfectly content with your life, then Facebook probably won’t be an issue at all. But if you have _any_ area where you don’t feel fulfilled - like bad life/work balance, insufficient funds, loneliness, unfulfilled baby wish - then Facebook is going to rub it into your face, daily, that others have what you desire, and does it in a misleading way. I am super amused that in the middle of a heated debate on the internet, a stranger is implying that I am a happy, well-balanced person with a full life :)
- manmal 9y agoInteresting argument :) Do you mean that a happy, well-balanced person would not engage in discussions on Hacker News?
- baud147258 9y ago> But if you have _any_ area where you don’t feel fulfilled then Facebook is going to rub it into your face, daily, that others have what you desire, and does it in a misleading way. Reading this, I'm very happy that I don't really use Facebook.
- err4nt 9y agoYour comments in here really resonate with me too, I think social media might be pouring gasoline on the fire of jealousy, but if you're not jealous to begin with all I think about is: "Oh wow, here's a photo of Kristy in mexico with a monkey, ha!" and that's it, no jealousy, no inner dialogue of "I wish I was there and not her" or anything. I could look at pictures like that all day and not be affected, but when it's someone I know personally I'm actually a little happy _for_ them.