A Modern Life Disease — The Fear of Not Being Successful

Internet — the place where you can be anything and anyone you want.

  1. The Correlation Between Internet And Depression
  2. The Rise of Social Media — A Blessing or a Curse?
  3. Cigarettes, Drugs, Alcohol, and Social Media
  4. Find Your Own Long-Term Happiness

The ultimate network, and infinite space of possibilities. Despite its somewhat modest and gradual beginnings during the last few decades, over time, the internet became the main platform for information and communication. And it didn’t stop here.

Nowadays the internet is so much more than this. This virtual space has become our second home, where we lead our separate lives. Better, happier, and much more fulfilled lives. Or at least that’s how we like to portray ourselves.

With the upsurge of social media, this feeling of inferiority has grown and moved the boundaries of our virtual lives even further in the depths of constant lies and delusions. The internet has become a great substitute for so many activities, including basic face-to-face human interaction. As a matter of fact, there is a direct correlation between this and your well-being.

Have you noticed how your body and mind react when you pointlessly scroll through Facebook without stopping? You see happy couples, people traveling around the world, going to nice fancy restaurants, or simply doing the things that you never had the courage or the opportunity to do. You start feeling bad about yourself or even become envious.

There is a direct bond between your life satisfaction and your internet addiction. The more time you spend over the internet, the more depressed you feel. And no, I am not exaggerating or using this term in vain. Too much internet can eventually lead to depression. Usually, you won’t even notice this until it’s too late.

And as this problem continues to grow, the need for a solution only deepens.


The Correlation Between Internet And Depression

Source: www.froot.nl

A 2010 study has shown that people who spend more time on the web, are more likely to suffer from depression.

Considering just how lower internet consumption was back in 2010, needless to say, nowadays this risk is certainly higher.

According to the research, it was unclear whether the internet causes depression or simply depressive people are more drawn to it. In more recent years, the first theory has been many times confirmed.

In conclusion, internet addiction leads to stress, anxiety, and depression directly.

It’s that constant need to show the world that we are equally if not more successful, happy, or fulfilled in our lives. That’s what drags people down. We see others, and immediately want to own the things they have, or to do the things they do.

Instead of focusing on becoming better for ourselves, we try to do this for others.

The problem is even bigger considering all of those famous bloggers and/or vloggers that constantly show off on the internet, whether it’s how successful they are, or just how perfect their life is. So you keep asking yourself — why them, and not me?

There is no reasonable answer to this question, however, there is an undeniable truth.

No one is sincere on Facebook or Instagram. We build our lives around the idea that we can become like them, without realizing that there is no “them”. Their lives revolve around a fake identity used as a clever marketing strategy.

On the other hand, depression is very real, and unless we do something about this, it’s going to grow even more.

As a matter of fact, there are many internet-related factors that cause depression including the information overload, or comparing ourselves on social media. Sometimes, our minds can’t cope with so much information and this can easily lead us to the “internet-related depression”.

This is a real problem and should be treated as such. Moreover, our excessive internet usage has replaced real socialization with a virtual one, creating many mental health disorders along the way. Besides, spending so much time on the internet makes some factors inevitable. One of them is our constant need of comparing with others. And it kind of makes sense.

When we see someone overexaggerating his or her real-life on social media, we forget that everyone has good and bad days. Instead, we put pressure on ourselves to always feel good, and lead a fulfilling life. In reality, this is hardly possible. And that’s where depression kicks in.


The Rise of Social Media — A Blessing or a Curse?

Source: www.johnholcroft.com

You can’t mention the internet, without mentioning social media.

And although Facebook is currently the most popular network, before Facebook emerged there were many others.

Thankfully, I was from a generation that somehow managed to avoid this trend.

Social Media was an unknown term for me in my early years. Instead of posting selfies, I and my friends used to play outside for hours.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I am not obsessed with proving myself to others. I didn’t grow up with the need that I had to have as many followers as possible, in order to fit somewhere or to prove a point. Even now, I use social media mostly because of its business potential.

I mostly share content here on my publication — The Logician. And yes, I do share my successes which might seem as if my life is perfectly aligned, but if you follow me long enough, you will see that I constantly share my mistakes and failures as well.

Living the life you always wanted to requires sacrifice and hard work. Nothing ever comes easy as many people like to portray it.

So, from one point of view, Social Media and the internet overall are a real blessing. You can find everything you need there, you can promote your business, learn and teach, even make money off of it.

But on the other hand, there is also a huge negative side. Considering everything that was mentioned above, the internet without a doubt has had a bad effect on us and the way we live our lives. Instead of being our unique selves, we often copy celebrities, bloggers, and influencers.

But let’s do a reality check

Do you really think that celebrities live perfect lives? Or that they always look flawless. Of course not. As a matter of fact, for them this is work.

Sometimes a large amount of time and energy is invested in these pictures, in order for them to look “perfect”. And it doesn’t come as a surprise, especially when you take into consideration just how much money they make from it.

Bloggers and influencers get from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands from a single picture. Some celebrities get up to $300,000 per post, such as Kendall Jenner or Cara Delevingne. And Kylie Jenner’s posts are estimated at one million dollars each, Independent reports.

It’s a money race. From a business point of view, this is one of the best strategies to grow your income and your business. But at what cost? Unfortunately, consciously or not, we are all a part of this scheme, in which we lose the things that really matter.


Cigarettes, Drugs, Alcohol, and Social Media

Source: www.johnholcroft.com

Social media addiction is a real problem and an even more real addiction.

A study done by Nottingham Trent University shows that Facebook addiction might be a very real thing.

It applied the addiction criteria, especially in the behavioral part.

Another study showed that internet and social media users undergo a type of withdrawal when they decide to quit on social media. And not just this, but people also undergo some psychological changes, such as anxiety.

The more we use social media, the unhappier we are. The reason behind this is probably in the fact that using Facebook and similar networks lead to social isolation. No matter how many friends we have online.

And to think that more than one-third of the entire population is using social media, for two hours per day on average. Currently, Facebook is the leader of all of these networks, with more than 1.8 billion monthly active users. And with each minute that passes, according to statistics, around half a million tweets and Snapchat photos are being shared.

This imposes a very important question — is the virtual world taking over our lives? Do we live for other people, or for ourselves?

Sometimes I think that there is a very thin line between our reality and the life we try to force on social media for other people. And after this thin line is crossed, people usually lose themselves in likes, followers, virtual friends.

Quitting social media, according to many people who tried to do it, was not easy. But it eventually pays off. Just imagine how much free time you will have at your disposal to do the things that you never have the time to but really wanted to do.

Instead of Facebook, why don’t you take the time to learn another language? Or maybe take a hike or a simple walk in nature. Stop procrastinating and start using all of your brain’s potential. You’ll be thankful as soon as you start feeling all of the benefits.


Find Your Own Long-Term Happiness

Source: www.johnholcroft.com

Sometimes I even wonder what happiness really is. It’s ironic actually.

People are often happy when they convince others that they are happy.

When they post the perfect selfie and get many likes.

When they post a vacation picture or a picture with their significant other. Even though their relationship is falling apart.

Is this the way it should be? Probably not.

After all, life is a bumpy road that we have to walk. The end goal is the same, but the paths we take determine us throughout our lives. Being constantly happy is not possible.

So instead of tricking ourselves into thinking that we are happy thanks to social media, we need to open our eyes and search for true happiness. One that cannot be found in front of our computer screens.

I found happiness in my work. And you’ve probably heard this one before, but I found after I realized my potential. After I stopped depending on other people, and their achievements. Fact is, there is always going to be someone better than you, but instead of being envious you should try to use this to your advantage.

Instead of trying to be better than others, always strive to be a better version of yourself. Make sure that you are using your potential for the things that matter. Work on your own ideas, not someone else’s. No matter if you are a part of the entrepreneurial world or not, it’s very important to work on your creativity and cherish your every idea.

Bottom line, use the internet as wisely as you possibly can.

Don’t allow yourself to become an addict or to live a fake life. Instead, make sure that you see the potential it holds and always use it to your advantage.

I once ran into a great tweet by Eric Qualman. It said:

“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the choice is how well we do it”

So how well can you do it?


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The Logician

The Official Publication of The Logician

Bruno (HE) Mirchevski

Written by

The Logician (Dreamer) 👁️ Don’t follow me. I am lost too!😎 Founder of HE Group - www.hegroup.info (Investor) 📈

The Logician

The Official Publication of The Logician

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