5 ms·

I don’t get why Facebook is so often singled out in these types of studies. What about other activities like dating or school or going to church? I bet those ca

I don’t get why Facebook is so often singled out in these types of studies. What about other activities like dating or school or going to church? I bet those can be shown to increase anxiety and be bad for mental health

burlesona 4y ago
Most in-person social activity is good for your mental health. Studies show this includes church: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776270553/hidden-brain-does-going-to-church-improve-your-mental-health https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776270553/hidden-brain-does-g... Facebook is singled out because they are the largest practitioner of surveillance capitalism. The entire idea of “optimizing for engagement,” where Facebook has been a pioneer and the largest player, is increasingly being shown to be a primary driver of political polarization, anxiety, bigotry, and hate crimes. Thus Facebook is the new Big Tobacco.
- isodev 4y ago
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    Have you actually been to a church? The options are wide and vast.
  - Taywee 4y ago
    Depends on the church in question. I know gay people who are accepted by their congregation, and churches that don't have issues with gay people at all. The biggest LGBT youth group in my city is organized by and hosted in a Christian church.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - txsoftwaredev 4y ago
    I've broken plenty of rules in the Bible but still always welcomed in a church with open arms.
  - AlexandrB 4y ago
    The Unitarian church ordained their first gay minister in 1979 and conducted its first same sex marriage ceremony in 1984: https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-unitarian-universalist-association https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issu... Not that I'm advocating for UUA, I'm atheist myself, but from what I've heard it sounds like a hippie commune focused around the bible.
    - hotpotamus 4y ago
      I'm not super in the know here, but I think it's possible you're mixing up Unitarianism with Unitarian Universalism.
  - hestefisk 4y ago
    Well said.
  - Minor49er 4y ago
    It's a safe place for your spiritual health
  - retrac 4y ago
    That's probably why some LGBT folks went and founded the MCC back in the 1970s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Community_Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Community_Church The institution of traditional religion played a social role in Western societies that has not been adequately patched over by anything else yet. Even as a non-religious person, I do take seriously the hypothesis that the decline in regular church attendance accounts for some of the social isolation crisis. (That is of course, hardly the whole picture. A similar argument can be made about union meetings or youth clubs, both of which have also declined significantly in regular attendance over the last half century.)
- afandian 4y ago
  It never occurred to me before, but the Roman Catholic Church, with confession[0], is surely the largest historical "surveillance capitalism" out there. I wonder if Facebook has hockey-sticked them yet. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_(religion)#Catholicism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_(religion)#Catholic...
sidcool 4y ago
One of those is not like the rest.
mensetmanusman 4y ago
https://medium.com/catholic-way-home/the-only-group-to-see-mental-health-improve-during-the-pandemic-2497bcfe273 https://medium.com/catholic-way-home/the-only-group-to-see-m... Heh. The religious were the only group to see improved mental health during 2020. Also, you are right that it should be social media. Nothing special about Facebook.
randomdata 4y ago
Probably because it is the place most likely to be where you watch your friends live their apparently perfect lives without also being able to see their failings. Facebook is not the only place that provides that type of thing, but brand recognition in the headline draws attention. Real life isn't without its own flaws, but the research shows an increase in mental health issues when social media is a factor. That increase is interesting, and worth studying, even if it is not the only place one can develop mental health issues.
svachalek 4y ago
In addition to other replies here, Facebook is also the only one of these that is deliberately trying to hurt your mental health. They have internal studies showing these results and they actually optimize for them, since angry and depressed users are known to increase their engagement with the platform.
JohnFen 4y ago
> I bet those can be shown to increase anxiety and be bad for mental health Numerous studies over a long period of time indicate the opposite.

burlesona 4y ago

Most in-person social activity is good for your mental health. Studies show this includes church: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776270553/hidden-brain-does-going-to-church-improve-your-mental-health https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776270553/hidden-brain-does-g... Facebook is singled out because they are the largest practitioner of surveillance capitalism. The entire idea of “optimizing for engagement,” where Facebook has been a pioneer and the largest player, is increasingly being shown to be a primary driver of political polarization, anxiety, bigotry, and hate crimes. Thus Facebook is the new Big Tobacco.

isodev 4y ago
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  Have you actually been to a church? The options are wide and vast.
- Taywee 4y ago
  Depends on the church in question. I know gay people who are accepted by their congregation, and churches that don't have issues with gay people at all. The biggest LGBT youth group in my city is organized by and hosted in a Christian church.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- txsoftwaredev 4y ago
  I've broken plenty of rules in the Bible but still always welcomed in a church with open arms.
- AlexandrB 4y ago
  The Unitarian church ordained their first gay minister in 1979 and conducted its first same sex marriage ceremony in 1984: https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-unitarian-universalist-association https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issu... Not that I'm advocating for UUA, I'm atheist myself, but from what I've heard it sounds like a hippie commune focused around the bible.
  - hotpotamus 4y ago
    I'm not super in the know here, but I think it's possible you're mixing up Unitarianism with Unitarian Universalism.
- hestefisk 4y ago
  Well said.
- Minor49er 4y ago
  It's a safe place for your spiritual health
- retrac 4y ago
  That's probably why some LGBT folks went and founded the MCC back in the 1970s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Community_Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Community_Church The institution of traditional religion played a social role in Western societies that has not been adequately patched over by anything else yet. Even as a non-religious person, I do take seriously the hypothesis that the decline in regular church attendance accounts for some of the social isolation crisis. (That is of course, hardly the whole picture. A similar argument can be made about union meetings or youth clubs, both of which have also declined significantly in regular attendance over the last half century.)
afandian 4y ago
It never occurred to me before, but the Roman Catholic Church, with confession[0], is surely the largest historical "surveillance capitalism" out there. I wonder if Facebook has hockey-sticked them yet. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_(religion)#Catholicism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_(religion)#Catholic...

sidcool 4y ago

One of those is not like the rest.

mensetmanusman 4y ago

https://medium.com/catholic-way-home/the-only-group-to-see-mental-health-improve-during-the-pandemic-2497bcfe273 https://medium.com/catholic-way-home/the-only-group-to-see-m... Heh. The religious were the only group to see improved mental health during 2020. Also, you are right that it should be social media. Nothing special about Facebook.

randomdata 4y ago

Probably because it is the place most likely to be where you watch your friends live their apparently perfect lives without also being able to see their failings. Facebook is not the only place that provides that type of thing, but brand recognition in the headline draws attention. Real life isn't without its own flaws, but the research shows an increase in mental health issues when social media is a factor. That increase is interesting, and worth studying, even if it is not the only place one can develop mental health issues.

svachalek 4y ago

In addition to other replies here, Facebook is also the only one of these that is deliberately trying to hurt your mental health. They have internal studies showing these results and they actually optimize for them, since angry and depressed users are known to increase their engagement with the platform.

JohnFen 4y ago

> I bet those can be shown to increase anxiety and be bad for mental health Numerous studies over a long period of time indicate the opposite.