The popularity of social networks is a fact more than patent. The data corroborate this, some 3,000 million users connect daily , that is, more than 40% of the world’s population. The most used means to consult them is the mobile phone, above the computer and the tablet, and the daily average that we remain connected is one hour, according to statistics.
We have many social networks at our disposal, although in recent times Instagram has become the most popular, a reign that prevails especially among young people. Many of them upload photos daily to the network, trying to win the admiration of their followers. Today’s children no longer want to be firefighters, doctors or astronauts, they want to be youtubers or influencers , as the polls highlight . The fever for the digital world has reached such an extreme that it manages to generate all kinds of anxieties among users.
This phenomenon has even led to the creation of new words that help to understand it. This is the case of the expression FOMO ( Fear of Missing Out ) , this is how the syndrome is known that stands out for the fear of missing something, is present especially in young people under 30 years of age and stands out for the feeling of anxiety when fearing to stay outdated, while we see through the photographs of our contacts, how they do enjoy an exciting social life. It is characterized by the need to be connected, in real time, to everything that happens on our social networks at all times.
Narcissism and social media
Being continuously connected to the networks prevents us from enjoying the reality that surrounds us. Appearance, popularity, recognition have become an obsession. The current references are the celebrities that appear in our timeline , just look at the millions of likes they accumulate. To look like them, Instagrammers spend enormous effort and time taking the ideal photo, and even body and face retouching programs have proliferated. The purpose of this narcissistic tendency is to build a virtual life that seems perfect , that shows how well we are doing. This obsession reaches such an extent that many users decide to buy followers, or what is even worse, die for taking a selfie .
All this madness to like others and seek their recognition has caused the Royal Society Public Health to consider Instagram the worst valued network, due to the effect it has on the mental health of young people who try to achieve popularity and show a perfect facade towards others.
We do not know if this fact has had to do with the decision of the Zuckerberg company to eliminate the likes . A strategy, perhaps, aimed at calming the anxiety of those users who have stopped posting photos and have become mere passive subjects of the network, due to the anguish caused by having few “likes”, in order to encourage them to participate in a more active way.
Everything is fine in its fair measure, and social networks have proven to be a good tool in many respects, but we must not become slaves to them. Let’s stop pretending happiness in a world of props and look for it in the people around us and in those everyday moments that, although we don’t realize it now, will never come back.
