Is Facebook bad for your mental health?

[FiftyShadesOfGreen4205]

I've read lots of pieces that state Facebook use is detrimental to mental health- some have said it causes depression, feelings of worthlessness and insecurity. That's aside from the usual privacy concerns and the mining of information for commercial use.

I know from personal experience, that I am susceptible to social comparisons and Facebook really does rub my nose in some of the apparently gloriously exciting lives my friends lead. Though I don't really internalise it too much. However recently, a friend from university has seen her career go stratospheric, and while most of me thinks 'good on her', another small part thinks 'stop fucking bragging on Facebook'. This is clearly not a healthy emotion!

As a result I have not logged on in six weeks and I am starting to enjoy life without it. I wasn't a heavy user- I'd log on every evening after DD went to sleep for a short while. Clearly it was affecting me more than I would like to admit.

So I would be really interested to hear what other people think on this subject, and if anyone got rid of Facebook and have found themselves mentally healthier as a result.

This is one such pop psych article: m.psychologytoday.com/blog/sex-murder-and-the-meaning-life/201404/7-ways-facebook-is-bad-your-mental-health

I love Facebook. I only have people I like on there and I like hearing about their lives. I lived in London through my 20s and all my friends from then are scattered round the world now with families. I'd never get to see their photos or keep in touch beyond a Xmas card if it wasn't for fb. I also use it to meet up with local friends or get recommendations of good things to do or places to go so it improves my real life social life too.
I have honestly never felt bad about myself because of Facebook. I am not arrogant or perfect but I just don't get the whole idea of feeling down cause someone else posts a photo of something nice.

It does t do me any good if I'm feeling weak, unstable or vulnerable

It depends how you use it & who you have as friends. I only have real friend friends ( no acquaintances) & close family. I use it to keep in touch - esp with those far away

fred I'm like that too. Is that because you're comparing your life unfavourably to your friends?

At the moment I'm really miserable in my job and going nowhere. But because I'm p/t it's not so easy to find something new on the same £. Therefore my friend doing so well was getting to me because she posts a lot about it and how amazing it is. This is a ridiculous feeling for a 34 year old woman to harbour, frankly!

I do see the benefits to Facebook but I think for some people it can get too much for them, especially if going through a difficult time and having low self esteem.

I've just got rid of Facebook it makes me depressed, I got rid of it for a month last time and I found who actually gave a shit about me. Stupidly I went back on and the depression and loneliness is back so bye bye facefuckers

Depends on who you allow as friends on it (bitter experience).
My mistake was to have work colleagues on it, as they are not/weren't my friends.

One of them bullied me for ages, then got one of her friends (ex colleague to us both) to do the same through messenger, knowing full well that at the time, my dh was undergoing an op for testicular cancer.

She got her friend to find out whether or not my dh really did have cancer !! Hurt and livid was how I felt, and blocked them both.
Allow only who you know and trust as friends
Then you should be ok

I know this is an old thread but I have been thinking about what OP mentioned. I am seeing all this stuff on Facebook where everyone seems to be out all the time having fun, going on holidays and looking lovely and its making me depressed and highlighting that I'm really quite lonely, old, frumpy and boring. I will have to stop looking at it and comparing.

It can cause depression as people only use it to share their happiness. Most people seldom share that they are feeling blue, anxious, fed up or having problems. So Facebook doesn't show an accurate reflection of real life. Once I recognised that I felt rather immune to the negativity from it

I came off Facebook around 7 mths ago, because my life is really not that exciting, not enough to report about everyday!!!! That reason & because I was fed up of all the 'braggers' - it was just 'Oh I had to drive the brand new 4x4 today as hubby took off early with brand Merc' - or the endless selfies of the same person, 100 shots, just a slightly different angle!

Not one person realised I'd come off it, not even my oldest & dearest best friend, not until I mentioned it in a text in conversation. FB, imo, for some people, is just a bragging platform, I could be a millionaire & I wouldn't be so stupid or shallow to post pictures of my lastest purchase.

Yes it does! I gave mine up like three days ago now. Making me feel like a shit mum. Shit gf shit housewife. Worried my partner would cheat. Body insecurities the lot been so much better but as if I've had a come down from not having it! 😂😂

Old thread- but I haven't had facebook for around 3 years now. Only being 22 myself everyone is shocked but my life is so much happier. My DH still has his facebook so I do pop on there to keep up to date with family, can't see myself ever going back to Facebook. 🙌🏼

Just found this ... I love Facebook itself, its messenger I struggle will - read receipts when not getting responses, knowing when someone's online etc

Quite the opposite.

I have depression, get tired, don't go out much and work weird hours.

FB is a good way to be social without actually having to be social.

It totally depends on how you use it. As a pp said, only have people you know in RL on there and would speak happily to in the street.
Also, remember it's completely pointless comparing yourselves to others on there - you do realise that people only share the good stuff going on right?
Perfectly posing kids have only been bribed to sit still and smile without gurning/making the other cry; lovely arty pictures of craft things etc have had all the shit kicked out of the way of the camera so you can't see it, and all those "love my partner, he's so awesome" are probably the John and Mary type Father Ted characters to the Facebook world....

It's inherently narcissistic as all social media is.

I find it full of self pity and attention seekers. And when families start bickering amongst each other on it, its really embarrassing.

What I find is that Facebook is a distraction from more interesting, edifying or important things. For me, I log on far too often then become aware that I could be reading a real book, the news, exercising or organising myself for work. It's a time suck.

New to MN & just come across this thread. I came off FB about 4 years as it was making me miserable as my life felt boring in comparison to everyone elses. I'm normally a very private person but let myself be drawn into posting stuff just to look like I had a busier life than I did. It would also make me feel paranoid if I posted something & got no likes or comments. My MIL would also like & comment against my BIL posts but would not acknowledge mine & DH post which would annoy me. Coming off FB was the best thing I ever did & if at any point I decided to go back on I would only be friends will people I actually like & feel like me. Not old school friends, colleagues etc just close family.

I’ve also done away with Facebook. In my case it was to make a point with DD about spending less time on phones, so I took the app off my phone along with Instagram in an attempt to lead by example.

It hasn’t worked quite as well for DD, but since I left, I’ve noticed how much it was affected my real life friendships with people. We’d meet up and have sod all to talk about, and actually much of the time I felt no need to meet up at all because it felt like I’d ‘seen’ them already. I realised I was becoming bored of everyone I knew, and then realised how bored everyone must be with me!

In some cases I became so blind to certain friends that I would mindlessly scroll past them like spam emails because they posted so frequently. Actually I had a night out with one of these ‘spam’ friends and the entire evening she was checking her phone, taking photos, editing them, posting them, checking for likes and comments, showing us the likes and comments. I wanted to ‘hide’ her with a swipe of the finger there and then! It was a real eye opener as to how addicted she had become to it! She used to be fun in real life, now she’s boring as fuck.

I think it definitely has some kind of effect on mental health regardless of whether you love it or hate it.

Don’t get me wrong, I used Facebook actively for about 10 years - I understand the thrill of that little thumbs up - but now I’m like an annoying ex-smoker and can’t stand to be around it!

I know this is an old thread, But...yeah FB IMO can really mess with your head. Ive just gone through some really shitty days, after breaking up with BF, All i have done is check his profile to see what he is up to. who hes with, checking his family etc, Ive now de-activated it, its been 1 and a half days, and its made me feel slightly better. FB is great for most, for those who are strong, happy, and can confidently say they are happy with what they have, for everyone else, it sucks!