It's estimated that nearly 400 million people worldwide
belong to either Facebook or MySpace. But doctors are now finding social
Websites can lead to depression.
"I mean a lot of drama that goes on there. And people talking bad about each other," says Bryan Forsberg, talking about online social networks.
"I mean a lot of drama that goes on there. And people talking bad about each other," says Bryan Forsberg, talking about online social networks.
Whether
it's a break up, rejection, or envy, cyberspace can feel real; even causing
depression.
With both MySpace and Facebook, you have to request friends and then wait to be accepted. Normally, you get an email; but if it doesn't come, you can feel alone.
Porsha Kelly is familiar with the online world. She says, "It's easy for anybody to get caught up in it and just basically become isolated."
On social Websites, the number of friends on your page also matters. Social networker Mohammed Gol says, "If someone has more friends than you do, then you think that he's more popular or that people like him more."
You may have less than 20 friends, while someone else has over 700. It can cause depression even though what seems real actually is not.
"As simplistic as it sounds, turn it off." That's what U.T. Southwestern's Dr. Thomas Van Hoose says. Dr. Van Hoose also says if you mix isolation with feelings of negative self-worth, then you've got the recipe for depression.
"They may assume that one, 'They don't like me,' 'There's something wrong with me,' 'I'm not good enough,' just like they would in a real peer group."
Doctors say it is never healthy to constantly compare yourself to someone else; they also say it's healthy to step away from the computer sometimes and get out.
Psychologists say there's nothing wrong with social Websites, but they were never meant to replace real life. You have to have a balance.
As Mohammed Gol says, "Just go out and have a social life somewhere real."
With both MySpace and Facebook, you have to request friends and then wait to be accepted. Normally, you get an email; but if it doesn't come, you can feel alone.
Porsha Kelly is familiar with the online world. She says, "It's easy for anybody to get caught up in it and just basically become isolated."
On social Websites, the number of friends on your page also matters. Social networker Mohammed Gol says, "If someone has more friends than you do, then you think that he's more popular or that people like him more."
You may have less than 20 friends, while someone else has over 700. It can cause depression even though what seems real actually is not.
"As simplistic as it sounds, turn it off." That's what U.T. Southwestern's Dr. Thomas Van Hoose says. Dr. Van Hoose also says if you mix isolation with feelings of negative self-worth, then you've got the recipe for depression.
"They may assume that one, 'They don't like me,' 'There's something wrong with me,' 'I'm not good enough,' just like they would in a real peer group."
Doctors say it is never healthy to constantly compare yourself to someone else; they also say it's healthy to step away from the computer sometimes and get out.
Psychologists say there's nothing wrong with social Websites, but they were never meant to replace real life. You have to have a balance.
As Mohammed Gol says, "Just go out and have a social life somewhere real."
The link to the article is: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-health-social-network-depression,0,5533082.story.
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