Social media is often blamed for taking people away from reality and causing depression. Psychotherapist Mark Sandomiersky believes otherwise: the “network” is good for mental health.
The Internet is most criticized for the fact that a person immersed in the Network becomes less sociable in real life. He develops a superficial, so-called «clip» thinking, his emotions are expressed differently than in «non-network» people. Finally, addiction can form on the Internet, as on gambling or psychotropic substances.
Yes, these are indeed cons. But there are also pluses. The brain of an enthusiastic Internet user switches to a special, «childish» state, which is also called altered — this is confirmed by various studies.
When an adult switches to a similar state, he returns the brain to plasticity, the ability to change, to imprint new information. In general, this gives increased learning ability, and at any age. And this is undoubtedly a huge plus of new technologies.
Increased creativity is accompanied by increased sociability, the ability to communicate and interact, albeit virtual. For example, Wikipedia was written by millions of adults gathered together, much like children gather in a sandbox and play games of their own making.
In my opinion, the positive effects of immersion in the network outweigh the negative ones. Critics point out that the rise in social media has coincided with an increase in depressive disorders. But I think that these phenomena may not be related to each other.
A person who feels lonely goes to the Internet for communication, but does not stop making friends in real life because of virtual connections. Of course, it must be admitted that the humanity of the future will become rather infantile. However, the Internet itself is hardly to blame.
Such a global trend has long been predicted by sociologists. The Internet, rather, compensates for the negative aspects of life, gives a new impetus to creativity and new opportunities for communication.
Of course, in part, the Internet robs a person, using not all the senses and not all the possibilities of the brain in the perception of information. But in recent years, communication via Skype, WhatsApp, and social networks has become public. And it is the best way to develop empathy — the ability to understand the emotions of another person and respond to them.
Mass communication on the Internet and social networks includes a mechanism of social interaction, which is practically not in demand in ordinary life. And I hope this will help humanity in the future to overcome the inevitable disunity offline, to be closer to each other and ultimately happier.