How Social Media, Online Dating, Web Porn Are Essentially One & Same?
“The Psychology of Social Media, Online Dating, and Web Porn” If you find the terms “Social Media, Online Dating, and Web Porn” all in one sentence controversial or offensive, think again. In fact, what is more controversial here is the very term “Psychology”, but that will have to wait for another article to unravel its mystery.Essentially, and from a mental health perspective “Social Media, Online Dating, and Web Porn” are very much one and same!!! “BY 2030, DEPRESSION IS PREDICTED TO BE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH. SOCIAL MEDIA IS ALREADY CATCHING UP TO BE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEPRESSION” — NIDAL SAKR HOW SO? Think about it!! SOCIAL MEDIA, ONLINE DATING, AND WEB PORN ARE MADE OF: PLATFORMCan be anything from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Tinder, PornHub, or any of the endless platforms, dating apps, or porn sites. SOCIAL INFLUENCERCan be YouTuber, account holder, TikTok or Instagram content creator, porn performer or sex worker, and in the case of online dating it would be the profile holder. CONTENTCan be video or post content, porn act or material or sex act, profile content in the case of online dating, or even singer, singer wannabe, or lip syncing on TikTok. Just like a YouTuber and TikTok content creator very much impersonates a public persona that intends to create the highest views, likes, shares, subscribers and followers, so do porn performers offering porn act or sexual content, and the online dating account holder “making up” a profile with images and content to attract most matches, regardless to how truthful or realistic that content may be. In essence, all the three are very much actors and actresses performing certain acts and offering certain content, on some platforms that will allow them to reach largest audience. Although there may not be well known studies on the subject, it is highly likely that entertainers and actors do have mental health disorders at higher rates than the public. I say “highly likely” because even if the argument that such cases receive more attention and publicity because of notoriety of celebrity status, if we take public and celebrity mental health disorders in proportion to respective populations, that ratio will still be significantly higher among public persona celebrities. SCHIZOPHRENIA AND LIVING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S IMAGE: We all hear the term “Schizophrenia”, a psychological and psychiatrist diagnosis meaning: “a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.”¹ What is alarming is that “Schizophrenia” falls not only under “mental health disorders”, but also under “clinically diagnosed diseases” as well. In other words is not merely a behavioral disorder rather a diagnosed disease that may go beyond the physical. Over the years, I have personally worked with increasing number of “Social Influencers” virtually in each and every one of the three categories I mentioned. I have closely monitored mental health and well-being of those performers over the years. I have yet to find one single performer who did not grow more damaged and damaging to themselves and others. Having very much lived in very close proximity to those individuals, I virtually lost count of the mishaps and damages to those “influencers” lives.² Every time I tried to make influencers grow aware of the damage they’re doing to themselves and to others, I found many growing defensive as if not capable of facing reality and the guilt of their “ill doing.” It is established that mental health disorders are at least as contagious as physical diseases. When you have social influencers with a host of mental health disorders you would also expect their followers to fall prey to their diseases. As influencers spiral down mentally so do their followers spreading pandemic at much faster rate. Considering that most influencers have thousands and millions of followers, one can only imagine how much damage one “unhealthy” influencer can cause. If we add other diseases spread through other web categories such as gaming or hacking, the picture looks even bleaker. Couple of years ago, the world was shocked by the gruesome murder of a journalist at the consulate of his country. The body was allegedly dismembered and disposed of in most barbaric fashion. Little did we know that the entire crime was ordered and masterminded by the victim’s country’s leader who grew up an addict to online gaming. While about one third of the population of that oil rich country are considered below poverty line, that murderer heir was wasting billions of dollars of his country’s wealth on online gaming investments. IS SOCIAL MEDIA ALL BAD? In all fairness, it would be wrong to claim all social media is bad and has no benefit. Nonetheless, it is widely predicted that “Depression” is the leading cause of death in 2030. In 202, social media is already identified as the leading cause of depression. The astronomical rise in mental health crisis and depression in social media users just goes beyond any doubt, both as influencers or their audience alike. Further, addiction to social media being legal, surpasses in terms of magnitude and degree of damage any controlled substance, illegal drug, or opioid.³ CONCLUSION: In conclusion, I must stress: Given the exceptionally high rates of suicides, bullying, mass shootings, divorces, social and familial dysfunctionalities, good part of Social Media and addiction to social media may very well be health hazards Although much of the debate over social media lingers around constitutional rights and freedom of expression, the adverse effects of social media to public health, and big social media giants manipulation of algorithms and influence over users may very well fall under threatening public safety much like big tobacco were found to be. Finally, in now way am I advocating curtailing freedoms and liberties. But we are all for responsible public discourse, and the service of humanity’s best interest, even if that came at
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