{"id":35972,"date":"2013-02-11T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2013-02-11T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=35972"},"modified":"2013-02-11T09:38:46","modified_gmt":"2013-02-11T15:38:46","slug":"is-facebook-making-you-depressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/02\/is-facebook-making-you-depressed\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Facebook Making You Depressed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"images\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two-thirds of American adults are on Facebook. 69% of adults in this country find themselves updating their statuses, changing their profile pictures and adding photos and videos to share with family and friends. And according to the PEW Research Center<\/a>, between Feb. 2005 and August 2006 the use of social networking sites among adult internet users jumped from 9% to 49%, and continues to steadily increase.<\/p>\n

In another study featured in Time,<\/a> two German universities studied 600 participants who logged their time on social networks. After spending time sifting through those social networks, one in three felt\u00a0worse<\/strong> after visiting profiles of friends. The study concluded that “skimming through photos of friends’ life successes can trigger feelings of envy, misery, and loneliness.”<\/p>\n

Now, I can see how this happens. Facebook and Twitter are merely everyone\u2019s highlight reel \u2013 vacations, good news about that promotion, the nights spent with friends at fancy restaurants. Rarely do you see the rough times, the times the paycheck doesn\u2019t cover the bills, or the nights spent at home watching Netflix and going to sleep early on a Friday night.<\/p>\n

\"photo\"<\/p>\n

But nevertheless, it affects us.<\/p>\n

Arguments will eventually erupt on Facebook, Twitter spats go from friendly discourse to vicious, and trolls inevitably grab a hold of the most neutral blog content and turn your day upside down.<\/p>\n

Around this time last year I felt like I had no other option but to ban myself from social media for about a week. I received a rather nasty comment on one of my blog posts and didn’t know how else to deal with it. It was early on in blogging for ACNM (my second or third post) and I knew it was going to happen sooner-or-later and I thought I was prepared. I wasn’t. I wasn’t prepared for how easy it is to spew hatred and ugliness behind the anonymity of a QWERTY keyboard.<\/p>\n

But, the break did some good. It finally got my focus off who was updating their status, who was tweeting which photo and who checked in where and allowed me some distance from the situation. It was kind of refreshing, finding myself not connected in the craziness of online life 24\/7.<\/p>\n

Now, social media isn’t inherently bad. Look at how we use new media to evangelize. We have an opportunity to show people that as Catholics, we’re allowed to have fun, like popular culture and enjoy a movie or two. We can also share our witness to our faith and Jesus Christ through a platform that most of the world participates in.<\/p>\n

The season of Lent is approaching and some I know individuals choose to give up social media and that’s great. But, if you’re like me, and social media is a part of your job, maybe decide to make conscious effort to make sure your extra time online is meaningful and not just a time filler that you could spend other ways, perhaps in prayer or in reflection of the daily readings.<\/p>\n

What are some ways you balance social media in your life? Do you have times where social media is a no-go? Or how do you plan to change your social media usage during Lent?<\/p>\n

UPDATE: This morning, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will retire at the end of this month, for more visit ACNM’s article on his announcement.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two-thirds of American adults are on Facebook. 69% of adults in this country find themselves updating their statuses, changing their profile pictures and adding photos and videos to share with family and friends. And according to the PEW Research Center, between Feb. 2005 and August 2006 the use of social networking sites among adult internet… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32,91],"tags":[318,1408,1411,1409,285,361,1410],"class_list":["post-35972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-social-media","category-young-adult","tag-facebook","tag-is-facebook-making-you-depressed","tag-lenten-season","tag-pew-research","tag-social-media-2","tag-time","tag-twitter","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48782,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/struggling-instagram-envy\/","url_meta":{"origin":35972,"position":0},"title":"Struggling with Instagram Envy","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"June 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s easy to become convinced that many of your friends and acquaintances live more exciting lives when we see filtered and carefully selected shots from their life on social media. There is a growing trend with heavy users of social media that shows Instagram comparison causing and rooting envy in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Social Media and Tech"","block_context":{"text":"Social Media and Tech","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/social-media\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Struggling with Instagram Envy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/StrugglingWithInstagramEnvy.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":611,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2011\/03\/catholic-new-media-best-practices-volume-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":35972,"position":1},"title":"Catholic New Media Best Practices Volume 1","author":"Laura Gonzalez","date":"March 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Be Active in Promotions, Not Passive. It\u2019s easy for those of us who use New Media to be detached from our followers, to just put up information about an event and expect people to come of their own volition. Truth is, social media is passive and best when given to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16349,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/unliking-facebook\/","url_meta":{"origin":35972,"position":2},"title":"Unliking Facebook","author":"Brandon Kraft","date":"May 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Friendster, MySpace, Facebook? While the numbers on usage continue to impress, is Facebook on the decline? Facebook used to be the cool social network. Not only did you need an .edu e-mail address to sign-up, initially, you had to wait until your\u00a0school was cool enough to join the Facebook ranks.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38548,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/conclave-theres-an-app-for-that-and-twitter-email-etc\/","url_meta":{"origin":35972,"position":3},"title":"Conclave? There’s an app for that! (and Twitter, Email, etc)","author":"Elizabeth","date":"March 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The eight general congregation of the College of Cardinals announced last week that the conclave to select the next Pope will begin on tomorrow on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. The cardinals will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning and then enter into the conclave that afternoon. If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"header","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/header-630x124.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11059,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/social-media-and-the-full-impact-of-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":35972,"position":4},"title":"Social Media and the Full Impact of the Gospel","author":"Meghan James","date":"February 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Technology. The definition from the Dictionary (as cited from http:\/\/www.dictionary.com) tech\u00b7nol\u00b7o\u00b7gy [tek-nol-uh-jee] noun: 1. the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and\u00a0use of technical means and their interrelation with life,\u00a0society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects\u00a0as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science. Everywhere we look\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Youth"","block_context":{"text":"Youth","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/youth\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/filename.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":140580,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/08\/why-kids-are-pro-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":35972,"position":5},"title":"Why Kids Are Pro-Life","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"August 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday afternoon, while walking through HEB with my family, a hurried mom with her two little girls rushed by us in the coffee aisle. The mom didn't look at us or say anything as she moved past us, but one of her little girls (probably 4 or 5), stopped and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Boy in grass.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/1935908_10100122122716974_1428801_n1-143x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35972\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}