The Real “Problem” with Facebook
Now I love Facebook. I love Facebook so much that I broke it. Maybe I maxed out the number of times my browser will go there(?) because I now get this error message on my computer saying it can’t open the page. Whether it’s user error, a glitch, or divine intervention, I’m ok with this bizarre restriction because it is forcing discipline in an area where I clearly had none. Besides, I can still access Facebook on my phone – phew! My mobile visit requires more intention than the knee jerk reaction to check it from my computer during work hours whenever I have a free moment (which inevitably evolves into a timesuck of many “free” moments.)
And isn’t that the problem with Facebook? When we use it without thinking? Granted, it is a powerful social tool that has allowed me to reconnect and go deep with an assortment of awesome people. When I am intentional about those relationships, Facebook is a beautiful thing. But the habitual toking on its drama-filled pipe can be detrimental to my wellbeing.
Facebook has been in trouble lately because it was used in psychological experiments testing mood manipulation. In January of 2012, 700,000 users were fed either a string of positive or negative posts to see how it affected the polarity of their own posts. That kinda ticks me off because, as a transplanted Californian on the East Coast, January is a tough month for me anyway. Christmas is over, a long winter awaits, and, just … brrrrrrr.
The Facebook experiment found, “Emotional states can be transferred to others via emotional contagion, leading people to experience the same emotions without their awareness.” You know what? I have my own version of this lesson, it’s called “Garbage in, garbage out.” If you fill your head with negativity, (especially in January!) you’re going to feel negative. And can we just address the idea of emotions, especially negative ones, as infectious microbes spreading to you via the internet? I’m a germophobe anyway, but that gives me a case of the creeps.
If you’re in the middle of a financial winter, the last thing you need is a case of money malady that you “caught” online. That’s why I walk my new coaching clients through an envisioning exercise to help them visualize a new path for the future. We actually find photos that symbolize where we are and where we are going. Does that sound a little touchy-feely for a financial solution? Well it is, and that’s because I believe we have to start with our emotions if we expect our behavior — financial, professional, social — to change.
So if you’re trying to alter your course, try intentionally searching for images that will represent a new future and dwell on those. Be deliberate about your internet activity, because research has proven social networks contain “emotional contagions.” Ew.
