Social Depression, Loneliness, and Depression
"...man cannot live without attachment to some object which transcends and survives him...he is too little...we have no other object than ourselves we cannot avoid the thought that our efforts will finally end in nothingness, since we ourselves disappear" (Durkheim 210).
- Emile Durkheim
Sociologist Emile Durkheim (April 15, 1858 - November 15, 1917) is one of the originators of modern sociology. One of Durkheim's most famous works is "Suicide" in which he describes his four theories of suicide: egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic suicide. Durkheim's theory of egoistic suicide, as described in the quote above, explains the cause of depression due to social isolation and loneliness. This theory says that too little integration with society or a community leads to suicide. There are no goals set outside the self, and people feel that life is meaningless; there is nothing greater than themselves to live for. For example, Durkheim compared widowed people with children and widowed people without children. He found that widowed people with children are more protected against suicide than their counterparts because they have something greater than themselves to live for, their children. When you have something you’re obligated to outside yourself (i.e. a network of friends or family), you’re more protected from depression and suicide. Social integration provides goals and meanings for people to live for. For someone who is depressed, there is little to no meaning left in life. Everyday activities, such as eating and exercising seem meaningless. They are constantly mourning on their own dead inner selves.
Social Isolation, loneliness, and depression are all interrelated. Studies have shown that the more time spent on the Internet leads to social isolation and loneliness, which in turn leads to depression. Even though online communities and instant messaging allows a person to stay connected with their friends and family as well as expanding their social network, the more time spent socializing online is time spent away socializing in the real world.
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Online Communities
In a survey I conducted with 500 people, ages ranging from 18-25, the results showed that forty six percent of the subjects have spent three or more hours browsing through people’s pages on the various online communities. This study shows that people spend hours in a virtual world where the people of the pages they are browsing through may not even know of them. Just reading about other people and their lives already takes time away from actual socializing with your friends. By browsing these pages, people become so absorbed into a virtual world that they become disconnected from reality.
They feel like they are getting to know someone without actually knowing them. The friends on one's friends list may not even be a friend. They could be acquintances or people you just met. However, many people consider these as "friends," however, many do not even see or talk to them after adding them. People try to gather the most friends on their list to look popular. The physical contact and presence of being with a friend thus fades and one slowly becomes disconnected with reality.
As the chart below shows (taken from a Stanford Study), there is a correlation between the number of hours used on online social networks and one's social isolation. The more hours spent leads to an increase social isolation in all three categories: usage of the phone, time spent with family, and social events.
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Instant Messaging
Instant messaging also causes social isolation and disembodiment because you are simply having conversations that are not real. You start losing social skills in the real world as you master your social skills chatting behind a computer screen.
Online communities correlates to instant messaging and further add to the impediment of one’s social life. Since you can browse other people’s pages and find out their interests, it makes it easy to find people with similar interests as you. You can then message them and ask for the screen names, and start chatting online. From there, you start building a virtual friendship with the other, comfortable to talk to a complete stranger because you are protected by the space between your computer and the stranger’s computer.
As this process repeats itself (finding people with common interests as you), people find this more convenient than finding someone in the real world with such interests as you. People then become comfortable to this process and are likely to socialize in the virtual world rather than with real people. As well, a person can easily alter their identity behind the computer screen. When put in real social situations, the person that has been accustomed to the online social life will not know how to behave and act around other people and will likely find it difficult to socialize with others. This, in turn, will lead to social awkwardness and furthers the desire to comfortably socialize on the Internet. As this social awkwardness strengthens in the real world, people more and more desires the comfort of the ease to chat online that they soon become disembodied from reality, and therefore, isolates themselves from the world.
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