The Psychology Thread

So I'm just wondering: has social media really helped people mentally and emotionally? Like, it's true that now people can learn more about what is going on in the world than they did years ago and can actually try to take action on any injustice in the world. However, has communication between people gotten worse? Like, anytime someone says something wrong, but tried to apologize for what they said, some people just come down harder on that person, even though that person apologized (although whether that apology is genuine or not remains to be seen). Or some people go overboard with another person, if said person doesn't agree on their opinions about a subject.

I'm pretty sure most studies show social media use is correlated with decreased mental health.

You mean that it decreased mental health issues or it increased mental health issues?

made them worse

its really an unusual and unnatural way for humans to interact with the world, and it's so new our societies haven't yet developed ways to handle it. we're just kind of testing it on everyone so at once. Its no wonder it's creating strange reactions and unexpected social development

Edited by Tremmor19 on Mar 31st 2024 at 4:00:22 AM

Yeah, it seems like social media only encouraged people to say what's on their minds, but without knowing how to filter what they are saying without insulting other people. Also, it seems like social media has made people's entitlement raise up even further because now that people can create content online that reflects their own personal views, some content creators (or even some fans) believe that their content is the only thing that's right and will get very defensive whenever someone else disagrees with their opinions.

i think the lack of direct interaction is a big part of it as well. We arent really equipped to deal with the environment of directly seeing hundreds of people's opinions without them being aimed at us. Forums like this are healthier in some ways, i suspect — its true that anyone could respond to this thread, so its not exactly private... but at the same time, if i make a post here it doesn't matter how many followers i have or if i the algorithm promotes it. it feels a lot more like having a conversation rather than shouting into the void

Edited by Tremmor19 on Mar 31st 2024 at 8:33:42 AM

One other issue that I've seen mentioned in the literature is that comparing everyone else's curated presentation of their life to your own uncurated, actual life isn't exactly healthy for the self esteem.

You mean how some people like to compare their lives to people with better lives?

No, it's about people comparing their lives, warts and all, to what is essentially someone else's highlight reel.

It's almost literally comparing yourself to an airbrushed, curated, photoshopped model.

Except instead of "only" body image, you're feeling insecure about your whole life.

Edited by M84 on Apr 2nd 2024 at 3:19:54 AM

Everybody posts about their trip to Italy. Nobody posts about the huge fight they had with their spouse over there.

And that's just the regular people. When you throw in the influencers it gets so much worse.

What I like about forum boards is that there is some moderation going on. If someone starts getting out of hand, then the moderators would jump in and warn that person to knock it off. However, when it comes to sites like Twitter, there's barely any moderation that would come in and try to prevent fights from breaking out between people whenever they have disagreements with each other. In a way, some forum boards make you feel a bit more comfortable in talking about anything without people threatening your lives or spreading your comments for the whole world to see.

Edited by Rabbitearsblog on Apr 2nd 2024 at 11:03:49 AM

" but at the same time, if i make a post here it doesn't matter how many followers i have or if i the algorithm promotes it. it feels a lot more like having a conversation rather than shouting into the void"

Because you are also limited to the person who actually give a shit on what is being said here, how many user have you actuallyt aking to any given time? it feel like a conversation with strange in a cafe and, not a caotic brawl in a marken like on tweeter

Yeah, the best thing about forums is that whenever you are trying to start up a conversation, it doesn't get lost in the crowd that easily, like it often happens on Twitter, since there are so many people using Twitter and the way that Twitter sets up its timelines by having the previous posts be shoved to the side whenever a new post pops up, makes it hard to stay with one conversation.

Right.

Edited by Keybreak on Apr 19th 2024 at 6:43:50 AM

This thread is not the place to seek advice like that.

Started reading: Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, a University Distinguished Professor of psychology at Northeastern University.

...Honestly, I decided to pick this book up mostly because among the unread books in my library, this is one of the shortest books.

Also, the last book I read gave me a massive headache by the time I was done with it. My head hurts, so hey, might as well as read a book about brains.

...I should also start reading Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Dr. Matthew Walker already. XP

I wonder how come many people like to see the worst in a person. Like, even if that person didn't do anything to them or that person is legitimately trying to change, but for some reason, people don't want to see that person change for the better and instead, want to keep bringing up their past mistakes, despite the fact that the person had changed for the better.

Could be a form of Tall Poppy Syndrome.

It's confirmation bias. Once we've decided that someone is evil, we will be cherry-picking and interpreting data in such a way as to paint them very negatively. The reverse happens to someone we decide is good.

Currently reading Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain and one third my way into the book. And in the very first few chapters the book already managed to shock me.

Wait...so the the whole reptilian brain - mammal brain - human brain thing was a total myth and have been discredited by neuroscientists for decades now...?

...Goddamn. I already knew that the whole "we use 10% of our brain" is a myth way back when I was an elementary schooler, and laughed at anyone who still seriously believes it.

Aaaaand it turns out that I wasn't the one to laugh. Damn it Carl Sagan, why'd you feed me such lies through your books!

Well, it's a vast over-simplification anyway. While it's true that the structures in the brain stem are generally less neurally dense that regions higher up, and are devoted to more basic life functions, interactions and information/influence exchange between the brain stem, the midbrain, and the cerebral cortex are so complex and inter-twinned that none of them can be said to operate independently.

That actually gets me to wonder if there's a term for..."Mammal Supremacy"? Basically, a bias to assume that mammals are intrinsically smarter, more emotional, or more empathic than other creatures.

that in itself hasn't been an established trope, but it has spawned tropes like Reptiles Are Abhorrent, Bugs Herald Evil, Atrocious Arthropods, and similar.