为什么社交媒体让人情绪低落
Why Social Media Causes Depression
王淑怡 供稿
A study published in Depression and Anxiety found that social media users are more likely to be depressed. But how does social media make you depressed when spending time on social media can be a fun way to pass time? Well, here are a few reasons and what you can do about it.
《抑郁与焦虑》杂志的一项研究发现，社交媒体用户更容易抑郁。社交媒体本来是一个很有趣的打发时间的方式，为什么它会让人如此不开心呢？以下是社交媒体使人情绪低落的原因，以及我们该如何应对。
Social media encourages social comparison
社交媒体会引发社交攀比
There have been many studies linking social media to depression. A study in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology shows we feel depressed because we’re comparing our own lives to others’ highlight reels. Most people like to portray an idealized image of their lives, personal traits, and appearance on sites like Facebook and Instagram. If you confuse this idealized image with reality, you may be under the false impression that everyone is better than you which can crush your self-esteem and lead to depression. This is especially true for teens and young adults who are more likely to compare themselves to others. If you already suffer from low self-esteem, the illusion that everyone has it better off than you will just make you feel worse.
许多研究显示，使用社交媒体容易让人抑郁。《社会与临床心理学》杂志中的一项研究表明，我们之所以会感到抑郁，是因为我们总是拿自己的日常和他人的高光时刻做比较。大多数人喜欢在Facebook和Instagram等平台描绘自己生活、个人特征和外表的理想化形象，如果你混淆了这种理想化的形象和现实，你可能会产生一种错误的印象，认为每个人都比你优秀，这会摧毁你的自尊，导致抑郁。这对青少年和年轻人来说尤其如此，他们更有可能将自己与他人进行比较。如果你已经饱受自卑之苦，那种认为每个人都比你过得更好的错觉只会让你感觉更糟。
Social media may lead to information bombarding
社交媒体会带来信息轰炸
Picture this: you're between Zoom meetings, and scrolling through your social media newsfeed. Headlines like "Death toll continues to rise", "COVID-19 may cause long-term health implications" and "Health-care systems overwhelmed" flash across your screen. Your mood takes a dive, but you can't stop scrolling. Seeing these constant reminders causes you to feel more depressed than before. Research suggest that people have a tendency to seek out information during uncertain times and exposure to negative news is likely to be detrimental to our emotional wellbeing. For instance, one study conducted in March 2020 involving more than 6,000 Americans found that the more time participants spent consuming COVID news in a day, the unhappier they felt.
想象一下，你刚开完一个视频会议，趁着空闲翻阅一下社交媒体的推送新闻。屏幕上闪过的标题都是“死亡率继续上升”、“新冠病毒可能会对健康产生长期危害”、“医疗系统不堪重负”之类的。你的心情骤然间变得低落，但是你仍忍不住继续翻阅，看着不间断的消息提醒，你更焦虑了。研究表明，人们在充满不确定性的时期往往都会去寻找信息，而负面新闻不利于精神健康。例如，2020年3月开展的一项涵盖了6000多名美国人的研究发现，参与者在一天内用于浏览疫情新闻的时间越多，他们就越不开心。
So, what can we do to build a healthy relationship with social media?
所以，我们应该怎么做，才能和社交媒体建立良性健康的关系呢？
Spend real, meaningful time with your friends. Instead of trying to amass friends on social media, a best cure for depression might be spending time with those you're closest to.
多花点时间陪陪真正的朋友。与其试图在社交媒体上广交朋友，不如花点时间和最亲密的人在一起，这可能是避免情绪低落的最好方法。
Seek out content that makes you happy to balance out your newsfeed. This may be images of cute kittens, beautiful landscapes, drool-worthy food videos or something else. You could even follow a social media account dedicated to sharing only happy and positive news.
查阅推送信息时多看那些让你开心的内容，比如可爱的小猫、美丽的风景、令人垂涎欲滴的美食视频，甚至可以关注一个专门分享快乐积极新闻的社交媒体用户。
Consider removing apps from your phone. If it’s hard for you to limit or adjust the amount of time you spend on social media, consider deleting your apps from your phone. This’ll help to prevent that mindless scrolling you do at work, at the dinner table, and so on.
考虑从手机中删除某些社交软件。如果你做不到减少浏览社交媒体的时间，可以考虑直接从手机上删除这些社交软件。这将有助于避免你在工作时或在就餐等场合下意识地刷手机。
【VOCABULARY】
1.highlight reel 高能时刻，高光时刻
2.crush v. 破坏，毁坏（某人的信心或幸福）
3.self-esteem 自尊心
4.scroll v. 滚屏，滚动
5.take a dive 暴跌
6.amass v. （尤指大量）积累，积聚
7.newsfeed n. 新闻供应
8.drool-worthy adj. 令人垂涎欲滴的
(封面图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有）