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What is Depression?

If you tell an average person today that one of the more painful mental sicknesses that
exists is absence of feeling, I think there will be many people who will just not understand
it. In fact, there are many people who will say:

"But that is wonderful. That is perfect, if I don't feel anything. What the hell should I
feel? I want to be quiet. I dont want trouble."

They don't know the almost unbearable experience of a very different kind of state of
mind in which one cannot feel anything. To be depressed is NOT the same phenomenon as
being anxious or being sad. It is the feeling of total emptiness and the inability to feel
anything (either joy or sadness), which is akin to anaesthesia.

A depressed man/women is divorced from himself and his life, therefore, it could be said
that a depressed person would be happy if could feel sad. The depressed person tries to
fill the dread of emptiness by some sort of addiction, which never compensates for the
unfulfilled need.

What is Happiness?

Happiness is one of the forms in which intense living is expressed. The experience of
intense living, is identical with joy or with happiness, and on the other pole, you have
depression, which is essentially the absence of feeling. In intense living, you have pain as
well as joy, and they belong together because they are both outcomes of the intensity of
living. As the opposite end of both, you have depression, lack of intensity of feeling.

What are the symptoms of Social Media Depression (SMD)?

Lack of human intimacy Very often people, who experience lack of love, non-
judgement, unconditional acceptance and what could in general be called human
intimacy in their day-to-day interactions, end up seeking it on various platforms in
social media. If they dont get the expected number of likes, comments, it would
be natural for them to feel unwanted and undesirable.

Social Media OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) People with Social Media OCD
feel the urge to constantly check their Social Media for updates. This is really
exhausting and takes you away from other more important things you could or
should be doing. Engaging in activities of little or perhaps no meaning on social
media may give a feeling of time wasted that negatively influences mood.

Social Comparison and Conformity - Among the many factors involved in using
social media, apart from lack of human intimacy and obsession, the other chief
factor is "social comparison and conformity". People compare themselves to the
posts they see, and then feel small and inadequate. Exposure to highly idealized
representations of peers on social media elicits feelings of envy, self-pity and the
distorted belief that others lead happier, more successful lives.
Flashy and fancy self-image portrayal On social media, the loudest,
flashiest self-promoters grab the attention, not necessarily the most credible and
accomplished. This approach fragments our self-image and we increase the posts
that portray us in the image we like to be seen and decrease the posts that show
how wed rather not like be perceived.

Fear of Missing out (FOMO) There is fear of missing out (FOMO) in using social
media. The word FOMO was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary in the year
2013. When someone sees posts and photographs of friends and their ideal lives
engagements, parties, international holidays, weddings and babies or the ones
theyd want to show, it puts immense pressure on me to fit in and conform.

Fear of Cyber-bullying Spending more time on social media may increase the risk
of exposure to cyber-bullying and may also lead to sexual exposure at an early age.
Cyber bullies can join hands with other Social Media users to swarm you with
slander, and theres often no responsible adult who is monitoring it.

Mistaking social media for real life Constantly remind yourself that social
media is not a reflection of real life. For instance, while two people sharing a
gushing selfie may appear like the loveliest couple, you never know what is going
on behind closed doors, or outside of the computer screens. Also, social media is
making us increasingly more inhibited, cautious and less likely to express our real
views, on current affairs.

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