Feeling Lonely Or Depressed, Then Limit Social Media Time Per New Study
One of the ‘things’ that figuratively blows my mind is how anyone can spend so much time on social media networks, ostensibly interacting with once-removed humans! The lack of real, one-on-one personal interaction is missing, regardless of what social media addicts think.
More and more, younger generations apparently are devoid of real, in-person social interactions and may not realize the impact that form of communication has upon their mental health and overall wellbeing. Scientists, and others, are beginning to understand the ramifications of such behaviors as ‘not normal’ due to the unhappy, negative feelings social media participation apparently creates within certain individuals.
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Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania decided to study social media FOMO, “the fear of missing out” and published their findings/results in the December 2018 issue of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. Here’s the 18-page PDF for that study titled “NO MORE FOMO: LIMITING SOCIAL MEDIA DECREASES LONELINESS AND DEPRESSION,” which I’d like to encourage everyone to read and take seriously, since there are too many “triggers” inducing various forms of mental illness in today’s digital world.
As the Conclusion of the above article says,
[….] Our study is the first ecologically valid, experimental investigation that examines multiple social media platforms and tracks actual usage objectively. The results from our experiment strongly suggest that limiting social media usage does have a direct and positive impact on subjective well-being over time, especially with respect to decreasing loneliness and depression. That is, ours is the first study to establish a clear causal link between decreasing social media use, and improvements in loneliness and depression. It is ironic, but perhaps not surprising, that reducing social media, which promised to help us connect with others, actually helps people feel less lonely and depressed.
All 143 participants [108 women, 35 men] in the study were required to have the following social media contacts: Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat accounts, and to own an iPhone.
The subject pool consisted of students enrolled in psychology courses for which they could participate in studies to earn course credit.
All participants were observed for Interpersonal Support and Evaluation; Fear of Missing Out (FOMO); Loneliness; Anxiety; Depression; Self-esteem; and Autonomy and Self-acceptance.
For years medical science has realized a form of depression that results as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), an emotional reaction to lack of and decreased sunlight during winter months. Now, in the digital age, my opinion as a retired healthcare professional prompts me to rethink what medical science—and mental health services, in particular—need to consider: the impact of electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs/RFs) emitted in Gigahertz (GHz) bandwidths by the devices social media fans use to ‘connect’. Those frequencies can contribute to what’s medically called IEI (idiopathic environmental intolerance) or electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), which can include depression, brain fog and other symptoms.
Society, in general, and science in particular, may be awakening to the negative ramifications of what the smart, digital age being forced upon everyone by high tech corporations, governments and the One World Order cabal is doing to humans, not to exclude Nature, wildlife and the environment.
Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.
Catherine’s latest book, published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Don’t Know About Vaccines, available on Amazon.com.
Her 2012 book A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.
Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008)
