For nearly six hours on Monday, the world experienced a forced break from Facebook’s social networking tools.
We lived to tell the tale. But how did we feel in the process?
Although relatively short, the Facebook outage showed “how reliant we are on social media in different ways to distract ourselves, to escape, to connect, to cope with anxiety and stress,” according to Ian Kerner, a marriage and family therapist.
When people can’t scroll and post as they usually do, Kerner said they can become bored and vulnerable to difficult emotions and stressors — sometimes without knowing how to cope with them.
“People find that they are alone with their own thoughts. And they’re a little bit of a stranger to themselves in a way. Prior to social media, I think we were much better at being on our own, finding ways to engage ourselves and remain curious,” Kerner added. (CNN)
For the reasons given above, shouldn’t we become independent people again, forbidding social media and some of its sinister messages from captivating our every waking moment?
If not today, when?
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