It is also called SNS depression and complains of relative deprivation when looking at the happiness of others.
What is “caffeine depression”? When you first hear it, it’s easy to think about the side effects caused by excessive caffeine intake, but it’s “caffeine,” which stands for Kakao Story, Facebook, and Instagram. It is a new disease that causes a feeling of relative deprivation and depression when viewing other people’s SNS (social media). In particular, there are many patients in the MZ generation who are active on social media. The number of people complaining of depression in the ‘Flex’ culture, which spends large sums of money as if to flaunt their wealth, is rapidly increasing.
Recently, a joint research group from the University of Arkansas, Oregon State University, and the University of Alabama published a study on the correlation between social media and depression in the International Journal of Affective Disorder Reports. The research team followed the association between the time of SNS use and depression for approximately 1,000 adults between 18 and 30 years of age for 6 months.
As a result, 26.9% of participants who used SNS for more than 300 minutes per day and 32.3% of participants who used SNS for less than 196-300 minutes per day experienced depression. Furthermore, people with high “neuroticism” who are sensitive to negative emotions and have large emotional changes were twice as likely to suffer from depression if they used the SNS for more than 300 minutes a day than those who did not. The research team said: ‘Social confrontation can increase negative emotions about oneself and others and the longer the SNS time, the fewer the opportunities to meet and interact or engage in activities outside the home,’ the team said. of research.
In 2014, a research group from the University of Innsbruck, Austria published a study that showed that the more time you spend on Facebook, the easier it is to feel depressed and lower your self-esteem. Another study found that stopping social media increases happiness. According to a research team led by Dr Jeffrey Lambert, Professor of Health and Exercise Psychology at the University of Bath, UK, published in the international journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, the group that discontinued the SNS happiness increased for a week, but depression and anxiety scores also improved significantly.
Caffeine depression is relatively easy to spot. ▲ If you don’t connect to social media for a long time, you will feel anxious.
▲ Check SNS from time to time during work or personal meetings. ▲ If there is no response to a post such as a comment or like, it is shocking. ▲ When visiting a high-end restaurant or purchasing a luxury product, a certified shot is important. ▲ Negative emotions like jealousy or envy come from seeing other people’s posts. ▲ My image for those who communicate with me on social media is more important than my family and friends. If the above symptoms appear, SNS addiction and caffeine depression should be suspected.
To get rid of caffeine depression, it is essential to reduce the use of social media. It is better to set a time limit for using SNS and reading e-books, articles and columns rather than browsing the SNS using public transport. It is also effective to “detox” by not using SNS for a day by setting a vacation. Additionally, you need to find and cultivate hobbies that can relieve stress and focus deeply and maintain physical and mental health through regular exercise.
The most important thing is to realize that the SNS is just a window from which to grasp and communicate with bits and pieces, not life itself, and strive to find happiness in the real world.
