What do modern social networking users have in common with US soldiers who have decided not to return to the United States after being kept as prisoners of war in North Korea? More than you think, according to a teacher.
We are all potential victims of mental control, according to Rebecca Lemov, Harvard University historian and author of the new book “The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persionion.”
American soldiers underwent brainwashing so as not to want to return home through tactics that included isolation, social bond wear and sleep deprivation, Lemov said. And she argues that the same things happen to many users of social applications, and this is terrible for their mental health.
After decades studying brainwashing in situations that include prisoners of war, cults and torture, she concluded that “this is something we are all susceptible, and that we consistently underestimate our malleability.” But while social networks can manipulate our emotions, we can take steps to protect ourselves, based on the lessons of your research.
Ask yourself how social media affect you
Social networks affect users differently, Lemov noted, comparing them to the experiences of some people in cults.
“What is a service for one person may not necessarily have the same effect on another,” he noted. When a recruited person decides to surrender completely, another “can get certain things, but do not decide to deliver their economies or the like.”
She said social networks work the same way. They affect different people in different ways, perhaps in part due to past experiences. Therefore, when we consume online content, it is wise to pay attention to how we are feeling.
“Social networks really put you a lot inside your head,” she said. “It’s almost like you were an entity without a body.” What to do about this: Lemov pays attention to his own reactions meditating every day, which gives him a way to tune in with the sensations in his body and how they change.
What to do about it?
Lemov pay attention to his own reactions meditating every day, which gives him a way to tune the sensations in his body and how they change. If a particular type of content makes someone anxious or upset, this is a useful sign for consuming less of it and even blocking those who create this type of work online.
Social networks can manipulate us
It’s not just like different types of social networks influence our emotions. Lemov said social networks can actively manipulate us.
In 2014, Facebook revealed that it had conducted an experiment without the knowledge of users, showing that it could influence their moods. The platform showed some users more positive content and more negative content, then examined the emotions that these users broadcast on their later posts. Those who saw more positive posts seemed happier, and those who saw more negative posts seemed less happy.
“It was almost like a proud ad (from Facebook executives that they) have the ability to… adjust emotions as if we had a volume control,” Lemov said, noting that the social network received a lot of criticism after its announcement.
Choose a real social life instead of the social network
Spending time on social networks can isolate people and, unlike war prisoners, is apparently by choice.
“The longer it is spent on social networks, the less time is spent on social groups,” Lemov said, referring to clubs and bowling alloys that were more popular in the past. As a result, she said, people may lose development of social skills.
Lemov said he believes that spending more time on social networks can explain why so many people are lonely. It is a dead end: people who are lonely tend to use more social networks, according to a 2016 study. And continued use of social networks can make them even more lonely.
Being alone is terrible for a person’s mental health. A study conducted during Covid-19 lockdowns found that loneliness was strongly associated with greater suicide depression and thoughts.
What to do about it?
To combat what the former US general surgeon Vivek Murthy called the loneliness epidemic, Lemov recommended to challenge herself to participate in groups that are in person to socialize, be a book club, a walk, a card night, Ultimate Frisbee (or any fun activity of his choice).
It doesn’t always have to be something so organized. I often remember my students that they can store their phones and talk to people next to them on the bus, during lunch and at social events. Thus, they will have the opportunity to start conversations and sometimes true friendships.
Sleep a little
People who use more social networks may also lose hours of sleep – another essential element for our mental health. Research has found that young people who use more social networks tend to sleep later. Using smartphones at dawn can also interfere with sleep.
Not sleeping enough is terrible for mental and physical health. Studies have found that sleep deprivation is associated with much higher levels of anxiety and depression.
What to do about it?
Lemov recommended that social networking users work on what is called good sleep hygiene. I recommend that my students leave the phones out of bedrooms when they go to sleep. So it is easier to resist the temptation to continue rolling the screen after bedtime or check the phone upon waking in the middle of the night, as the device is not within reach.
Using more social applications can mean that we spend less time socializing in real life and sleeping – both essential to our mental health. By ensuring that we realize how social networks use us, spend time socializing offline and sleeping enough, we can keep control of our lives instead of letting social networks control us.
See also: More than 26% of Brazilians have anxiety, according to Covitel
Popular in networks, “rejection therapy” can aggravate mental health
Was this content originally published in what social networking users have in common with prisoners of war? on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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