It’s only when Facebook users lose themselves on Facebook that they discover the negative effect it has on them.
The only thing worse than being bored is to discover all the things friends are doing that you are not.
As a result, when friends and strangers alike on Facebook showcase their life adventures with photos, they unwittingly, or wittingly, hurt the self-esteem of others.
It’s one of the reasons I deactivated my Facebook account a few months back.
After years of scrolling down the newsfeed through endless decadent photos of friends basking under the Hawaii sun and drinking Pina Coladas, or of others demonstrating their fearless free-fall jumps from a high altitude plane, the narcissism becomes excessive.
As appealing as the depictions were of their good time, it made me question if my life was boring or banal.
The saturation of photos then became sickening and depressing, and it seemed these users had nothing better to do than to boast about themselves.
What started off in the beginning as an exciting planetary exploration of like-minds on Facebook became a world of pure vanity.
For someone on Facebook there’s nothing more frightening than logging on and finding no likes, no notifications, no love from friends in their inbox.
When they fail to stir up the activity that makes them feel special, they post again and again until someone responds.
Their vain attempts at feeling special turn them into frenzied cyber freaks.
It’s especially brutal for those attention-seekers that take their time on Facebook very seriously, and seek validation from their friends and strangers.
If their strong and well-crafted posts fail in the vast community of Facebook, they befall to disillusion, and disillusion well leads to a dead-end feeling of wasted effort.
In turn, feedback communicates to users if what they posted was funny, witty, important, inspiring, or rebellious to others.
It gives users purpose. It gives a sense of connection among a vast world of like minds.
There is, however, an underlying catch, probably thought of as frivolous from the offset, until later on in the experience: the yen for feedback.
With each login the hunger for feedback grows and grows to insatiable degrees.
At that point, when the amount of feedback fails to meet expectations, satisfaction collapses on itself, no doubt feeling neglected.
The dregs of society have a hold on Facebook alike. It’s rife with narcissism with in as much potential to negatively spike self esteems.
Peer pressures and social anxieties can be reduced by looking elsewhere from Facebook and other social media as a source of entertainment.
Next time you Facebook users feel the urge to write on a friend’s wall or post them pictures, call them.
Your friends will appreciate more to hear your real voice.