This weeks Shabbat Message. . . In advance of my last trip to AIPAC, I was encouraged to get more active on Facebook ow.ly/wqNaj I have noticed that Facebook largely mirrors life. It has a mix of important issues, opportunities for sympathy, off-colour remarks, and the totally banal comments posted about late night meal choices or entertainment options. What is new on Facebook is the scale of the enterprise. One gets more of the same mix that appears in a non-digital experience. Last week the Wall Street Journal highlighted one of the dangerous elements of Facebook’s enormous numeric scale: envy. Social comparison has always been part of the human experience. We start by comparing ourselves to siblings, and then compare ourselves to classmates, work colleagues etc. However, Facebook promotes a constant barrage of such comparisons. Two examples suffice: vacations and promotions/work achievements. We might compare our travel opportunities to those of a small circle of friends. Once they are gone, their trip can be out of mind. Now that everyone posts his or her Maui pictures, celebrity selfies and European landmark photos online, we have far more regular opportunity to be envious of the experiences of others. Similarly, when our colleagues post their work promotions, new achievements and business meetings through Facebook or Linkedin, we are given many more opportunities to compare our own success to the ones flashing through our notification stream. It is like an endless set of high school reunions. Consistent with this interpretation is the research that those who use social media more often are also more likely to be unhappy.
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 23:45:17 +0000
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