Why does Facebook make me feel depressed?

[Jim A]

I have been using facebook on/off for the past four years. Ever since high school, I would constantly use facebook and add friends. I enjoyed reading their status updates and viewing the pictures that they posted. However, I am not a very sociable guy so I would feel depressed when people would post pictures with their friends and family because I was not experiencing any of that.

I stopped using facebook but then I started again and felt upset when people started to delete me or unfriend me. If I logged on and noticed that I had one less friend than before, I would get very paranoid and wonder who deleted me. I would also ponder the reasons as to why they deleted me. It made me feel upset. Even when I log on for a short period of time and deactivate my account people still delete me.

I have heard so many stories of friendships rebuilding after long periods of time after facebook as well as people hailing it to be the best way to make friends and connect with people. However, why do I feel depressed and anxious when using a social networking site that is supposed to bring people together?

[Mr. Real Deal]

Maybe just get off of facebook already? Meet people in real life.

[Four Eyes]

I think you just answered your own question - it is depressing seeing people having fun when you are not, as it is when people are no longer your friends. All you can do is try to change that by meeting new people and enjoying life, and trust me I know that is easier said than done but you owe it to yourself to at least try to be happy.

[straightboy989]

I sort of know how you feel because I'm also a really shy person.... So shy that I don't even have friends on Face Book.

You sort of answered your own question because you said it made you feel depressed when people would post pictures with their friends and family when you didn't have that. I think you should post pictures of you with your family at a special occasion like Christmas and if you have pets well... People love pets so...

Plus, people will be able to like your photos and ask you about your family, pets, what you're doing, etc and it will make you feel good and you will be very involved in the conversation. Even if they are just really ordinary pics, I'm sure you will get to chat with at least one person about them.

Also, instead of just reading someone's post, try and get the courage to make comments. They don't have to be long comments, just little ones to show that you're interested as well as liking things.

As for people deleting you, they may just do it because they think that your not very close. I know that I sometimes delete contacts if we never answer each other's questions and if they hardly ever go on here. It's not that I don't like them anymore, I just don't really see the point. I know I could just leave them in my contacts list but still...

Hope this helps a bit

[theREDdragon]

Facebook is a data-mining operation created by the CIA. It's used to study how people behave and what kind of people use Facebook. You will notice that social networks are magnets for "extroverts", which is another name for narcissists. Sociopaths use it to play mind games and bully people. I noticed a pattern with social networking. I attract the sociopathic and narcissistic types almost all of the time. The few normal introverts I found live very far away, and they have the same problem. Introverts don't mix with extroverts because extroverts want attention constantly. You'll notice that the popular or most liked people on social networks are the ones that have lots of photos and are physically attractive. Famous people also get a lot of attention. People deny this reality because it's such a subtle conspiracy. These narcissists don't live in reality. They live in social networks uploading photos of themselves and their lives constantly. They will do whatever it takes to get attention. They have no idea what is going on around the world. To them there is no conspiracy because they can't think like a healthy human introvert can. I left social networks because I got tired of meeting these freaks and seeing the same old photos of them all the time. These freaks think of friends as just a person you met. They don't know what friendship is at all. I set up my account to be deleted. Be mindful of activities that attract certain kind of people. If managers and psychologists consider social networks to be healthy then they are narcissists, sociopaths or it's a conspiracy to make everyone into mindless narcissists.

[loudsofa655]

The guy above me is absolutely correct. Facebook is nothing more than one big invasion of privacy. I honestly don't care at all about what people do on an hourly basis. Also, like you said, people often post pictures of relationships and friends, and since I have neither, it would really depress me to see people having fun with other people.

Facebook is a huge waste of time, and has divided us as a society from communicating person-to-person. Before long, we'll never leave our homes, we'll just have holograms that go everywhere.

Personally, I tell everyone I know to get off of Facebook while they still can. Unless you want to keep up with your relatives a thousand miles away, it is best to stay off.

[answerme]

Because social media is evil, people were never ment to sit behind a 15 inch screen adding people as their "friends" you are supposod to meet people in real life, people like to brag about their lives on the internet.