LOVE LETTERS TO TANZANIA: Does social media make us miserable?

2017 has been exhausting so far – has it not, dear reader? Times are tough and jobs threatened.

Economists express concern. Politicians are confused about alliances. Austerity measures are biting.

Global citizens worry about their safety and the survival of their democracies in the face of corruption, billionaires’ interference in politics and the shrinking space for independent media.

My working hours were never longer and I never indulged in more self-pity than in 2017. Maybe it is my age, maybe I should stop always biting off just a little more than I can chew. The finish line over which one has to drag oneself to reach a few well-earned days of recreation never seemed further away than this year.

Sounds familiar? If your job is anything like mine, chances are you also shoved a heap of unfinished work into “guilt bags”, to deal with while on holidays, even promised to be “contactable” while away from your desk. Instead of truly relaxing, you swear you hear your guilt bags whisper: “Ignore us, and chaos will await you when you return to work!”

But you work to live, not live to work, thus procrastinate by scrolling through social media updates on your phone. Others are clearly enjoying themselves while you are still wondering if you can afford to get out of town for a couple of days. You see photographs of family reunions, beach trips, lavish celebrations and the milestone your colleague’s son reached. Contacts purchased new cars, met a celebrity by chance, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, celebrated their niece’s graduation and travelled overseas.

Your followers and “likes” have not increased. You find a motivational celebrity quote, promising that great things come to those who persevere. You wonder how many years until these great things find you.A video re-iterates the ten steps to happiness, but for you, they never worked. A clip “liked” by friends urges you to do what you truly love. You always liked growing vegetables. If you quit your job, you would have time to start on a small scale. You remember your children’s school fees and decide to keep working. Feeling less and less satisfied, wishing that you could have the life of your happy online contacts, rest assured that you are not alone.

According to a University of Michigan study, however, it may be neither your work-life imbalance nor life’s numerous pressures which depress you, but your frequent use of social media. The more the study’s participants used a particular social networking platform, the more their life satisfaction levels declined. All participants became less happy, whether socially well connected in real life or not, whether prone to depression or not.

Behavioural scientists suspect that constant social comparisons are responsible, and these are magnified online. We become unhappy because our lives seem less fulfilling than our online contacts’, and our declining sense of well-being not only affects our current mood but also our health and longevity.

Remember the days before your eminence was measured by counting followers and “likes”? When you enjoyed face-to-face moments without scrolling through your phone to see what is happening elsewhere? Real social interactions provided support and lifted your mood.

What if you chose to temporarily shun social media platforms and embraced reality; updated your status to “reconnecting with real people”? You would miss breaking news and remote acquaintances’ social updates. You could not “like” your colleague’s new suit until later. You could not “dislike” the latest political proposal until after others lost interest. Would it be tragic?

Whatever crisis befalls your country, your democratically elected representatives will address it. You may miss earthquakes, floods or military coups across the world. But, unless you were planning on joining or fighting the rebels, your awareness can wait. You can still donate to emergency aid after your social media break.

I have decided to enjoy my break, trusting that the world will keep turning if I am not contactable for a while.