FB conditions youth to think in terms of binaries, say psychologists

“Social media is constantly prompting us to ‘like or scroll past and ‘share or scroll past’. There is no room for any intermediate opinions. So, our minds are tailored to choose between two options. Today, youngsters think how social media ‘influences’ them to think. They often take a binary approach to decision-making, and that leaves them feeling distraught,” said ME Vijayalakshmi, psychologist and founder of Thitpam, a counselling firm.

Such portals are now turning into placeholders for relationships. Monica Emmanuel, 27, was in a seven-year long relationship before it ended recently. “I was more concerned about what would people would think my online identity, rather than the time andemotional investment I put into the relationship.”

“At one point, I even considered pursuing my ex to rekindle the relationship just so I wouldn’t have to take down the images! It struck me only later that it was a bigger decision than that, that my life and another person’s happiness was on the line here. I deleted all my accounts and disconnected with him completely. Now, I’m in a much healthier space. I doubt I will log on to social media platformsagain,” she said.

The barrage of one-sided views is also responsible for the echo chamber. Aditya Balaji, 25, former journalist, now a brand strategist said, “When you ‘like’ a topic or a point of view on social media, similar posts are thrown up on your feed so you end up consuming the same perspectives repeatedly. This is called an echo chamber.”

“Unlike magazines and newspapers, which follow certain codes like presenting opposing views to the consumer, social media only shows you what you sided with in the past,” he added.

Psychologist Nethra Balasubramaniam believes, “When you have a real conversation, people share positives and negatives in their lives. But when you spend time on social media, you find people only sharing the highs. This filtered world affects impressionable young adults, whose self-images are still in theformative stages.”