Many people pretend to be happy on social media are they really happy? By- Kanishka Kwatra

 

So many people pretend to be happy but in real life they are depressed. Never judge today's generation life by their social media account. A social media account is generally like a stock market investment where people only talk about their profits and easily skip the losses. Everyone says I am positive, everyone says I don't care, everyone says I am happy all the time but you go home and see everyone will be depressed as hell  in their lives.

Social media have become the center of our lives. People post photos almost everywhere on social media. What do you think whoever post happy photos on social media is really happy in their life too?

Basically, the main aim of many people behind posting these photos is just to show others how happy they are with their lives. But I don't think that a smiling photo of a person refers to his real happiness. Many times it depends on a situation to be seem happy on social media.                      For example: I had this friend who had a breakup with her boyfriend. And her boyfriend has a new girlfriend now. So, my friend posts smiling photos on social media at least once a day just to make her ex realize that she's well off without him and happier too.                                     As I am well in contact with her in real life, I know how much this breakup has broke her in real life.

Expressivness is consider as a distance from the reality. Most people have no idea of real happiness or sadness until they actually feel it in their lives.                                                                      

For example:  If you are really happy then you don't find the need to show you are happy. On the other hand if you are unhappy, you want to show the world what a perfect life you have so that you wouldn't be judge.                                         Today's fact is nobody ever knows how much someone is actually hurt ...............Someone right next to you could be completely broken and you wouldn't know.

Social media use may be affect negatively:

According to the research, there is a link between social media and depression. Today's generation who spend the most of time on social media were shown to have a higher rate of reported depression ( around 66 percent) than those who spent the least time.                 

It's not a direct cause, there is little doubt on that social media platform which are especially image based like Instagram and snapchat is completely things. "It's definitely changing how we grow up and figuring out who you are." Teens are always having to manage the highlights reels of their life. That's really hard because they are trying to to think about people they don't even know. But it's worth a serious look at how social media could be affecting our generation negatively.

By the way, the rise in depressive symptoms correlates with smartphone adoption and smartphones were introduce in 2007.                      And by 2015 fully 92 percent of teens and young adults owned a smartphone.

How does social media affect?

Lack of social interaction:                              One of the biggest differences in the lives of current generation as compared to earlier generation is that they spend much less time connecting with their peers and more time connecting on social media.                      "The less you are connected with human beings the less you are really getting the benefits of a social interaction."

Loss of self-esteem:                                               Comparison of self with others usually to highly curated not depicting life as it is.          Loss of self-esteem especially in teenage girls when they compare themselves negatively with artfully curated image of those who appear prettier, thinner, more popular and richer.

Lack of concentration:                                         Another thing disrupted by social media is the process of doing homework and other tasks that require concentration. It's become common for current generation to engage with friends on social media at the time they are studying. Basically that multi-tasking cuts down on learning and performance.                                                There are many more type of affects.

Why people pretend to be happy on social media?

There are many reasons to pretend happy on social media but few are:

Need for social approval:                                       A acceptance of someone or something like trait, attribute, etc by a social group. It's may include compliments, praise and so on.

Contagious Happiness:                                            It means that happiness spread through social networks i.e. your happiness could influence the happiness of someone you've never even met.

Afraid of looking like failures:                             Social media network rewards different elements of human behavior, each gives rise to a different inferiority complex.

Obsession with competing with others:                People start to compare themselves to what they are seeing on social media, they can find themselves trying to meet unrealistic expectations. 

Crave for likes:                                                              Likes on social media are addictive because they affect your brain similar to taking a drugs. Basically likes symbolize a gain in reputation, causing you to constantly compare yourself to your peers.

 

Way to identify faking on social media: 

• You are sad or frustrated but you being joyful on social media.
• Increase posting more than the regular posting to show that you are happy.
• Constantly making excuses to push people away can be a sign that you are faking your happiness.
• People who don't have a perfect life are projecting their luxuries. 

Conclusion:

Now, conduct it as you read about the link between the social media and depression.        Social media is a great platform for all of us to connect, converse and collaborate. But on social media many try to tell they are perfect, popular, rich,intelligent and successful. Social media is like a pill that you take and makes you believe you are okay and the world is wonderful towards you but the truth is different.

Moreover, excessive fake happiness on social media can have negative impacts, especially on the youth. They might fall into a comparison trap or depression. I strongly suggest you go for a playing outside, intract with people physically, have fun and there is nothing better than having the person in front of you to connect, converse and collaborate.

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