I’ve chosen a picture which I believe capture the perspective of the vast majority of individuals within the health-care system. To include all the surroundings of the photo, on the phone screen, is a deliberate choice. In the context of receiving treatment, or other interactions within the health care system, the element of waiting is quite often present. Often for a long time. An easily accessible strategy to tackle of the boredom of waiting is often found in our pocket; the smartphone. And more specifically, at least for millennial generation, varius social media platforms. For better or worse, SoMe (red. social media) has become an integral part of our society, it’s the platforms where we expose tidbits from our own life, but also receive exposure from what our friends are doing. We receive a sense of being connected through social media, but I’d like to raise the argument that this feeling of connection is falsified. Numerous studies in the fields of social science and psychology are pointing out that rather than facilitating social well-being and connection to our peers, SoMe is paradoxically doing the opposite. Rather than inter-connecting people, it can create a greater gap between individuals in a society and serve as an object of loneliness and depression (Hunt et al., 2018).
I find the concept of social media especially interesting when discussing individuals who either are admitted to long-term treatment or those who have received the discouriging verdict that they will never fully recover. Taking in account recent SoMe-trends (ill get back to this in a bit), I believe the question bares a lot of relevance, and is an element in patients daily life that can either facilitate treatment in a good way, or serve as a incredible demotivating factor that is detrimental to treatment outcome. For those who’s outlook is full recovery the content on social media might serve as motivation to work hard to achieve full function again, but for those who can’t recover due to severe injury, I think exposure to SoMe might be a factor that additionally halts the recovery process.
The SoMe trend I’m referring to is in particular the one concerned with posting pictures of hiking trips, skiiing trips or anything else related to physical activity and being outdoors. DN, NRK and other credible newsoutlets have in recent years written articles about this new phenomena. Common for these articles is their shared belief as to why people have such an urge to post pictures of their outdoor activities: It boosts social status (Baglo, 2018). It’s a cheap way of fooling your followers into believing that these kind of activities is the very essence of your life. The daily grind. Now my question is; How does a trend like this affect those that are hospitalized? Knowing very well that there’s a lot of downtime when your in rehabilitation or other more general hospitalization, much of that downtime is likely going to be spent browsing through social media on your phone. Being exposed to all these activities that you can’t do yourself, maybe ever again, must be a crushing message and a harsh reminder of what your going through at this moment, and what you’ll potentially be missing out on in the future.
If one also takes into account the motivation behind posting pictures of various outdoor activities (boosting social status) the argument can be made that SoMe is in fact a polorizing force between healthy individuals and those who suffer physical limitations. In social science one uses a analytical framework called intersectionality, the analytical framework attemps to identify how interlocking systems impact those who are marginalized in society. If the very reason behind SoMe is to boost social status, then it might impact those who involuntarily opt out in a negative manner. I imagine it must be difficult to be admitted to long term hospitalization, and be compelled to watch this self-realization unfold on SoMe, while they themselves, I imagine, can be left with a feeling of backtracking while everyone else is (seemingly) moving forward.
A study from Swansea University has also identified that excessive sharing of photos on SoMe correlates with a subsequent increase in narcissism (Swansea University, 2018). I think everyone can agree that we should cultivate altruism rather than narcissism. Maybe we have to rethink why we share excessivly from our personal lives? And what the actual gain of doing so is weighed up against the potential? A short burst of dopamin and seratonin sure, but that’s transitory. I realize that this took a dark and pessimistic turn, but it’s wise to reflect upon the impact of SoMe, and especially on those who view our content. Seeing seemingly happy, healthy, social, beautiful, musculuar etc. people, might be the last thing someone who struggles needs. If your having a hard time, it can be difficult to remember that social media is merely a fasade, not an accurate representation of someones life. I feel that this can be especially hard to remember, if the very things you are exposed to on SoMe are things you are not physically capable of doing anymore, i.e hiking or skiing. Naturally, the patient has responsibility themselves to avoid exposure to things that will ultimately harm their mental health, but I think the notion to stay connected and see what all your friends are doing (on SoMe) is much greater when you’re unable to participate in said activities, because of injury.
One thought on “Trygve Berge – SoMe, a double edged sword”
Your article was very interesting to read and provided me with good insight on the affects social media actually has on patients however not on the health care system as a whole. The picture ties in very well with the text as it is an actual example of what patients view while being on social media. I however failed to understand how this linked to the health care system in Oslo or what a patient may experience in a health care setting in Oslo. It does however make me think differently about my approach in using social media in a setting such as a hospital. Your claims are well supported with references and it is correctly formatted. You made a good attempt however try to incorporate the Oslo health care system more and focus less on the effects of social media as a sole topic.