Not to belabor this point, (cough! cough! BuzzFeed‘s Benny Johnson), but selfies and status updates may be harmful to your mental health. Not that The Mirror is saying he has a mental problem, but just for the sake of his well-being and those who love him, maybe he should glance at Arianna Huffington‘s penetrating GPS for the Soul section today in HuffPost.
They’re reporting that a selfie dependence problem can kill you. As it apparently nearly did in the case of UK resident Danny Bowman, who tried to commit suicide “after being obsessed with selfies.” It’s hard to believe that Danny isn’t having a few more problems than his love of selfies.
But just in case, pssst…Benny, put your iPhone down, and listen up!
The story wonders, “It’s no question that we are developing a dependence on the technological advance that unifies billions of people, but are we addicted?” The author, Emma Stein, goes on to say, “For some, social media is addictive and can be absolutely lethal.”
Stone goes on to cite four “leaders in the field.” One talks about how excessive internet use leads to drug abuse. Another says social media amps up peer pressure.
Facebook is absolute shit, too. A study declared that after participants used it, they were less content with their lives. Harvard also weighed in with a study, saying there is a “psychological reward” when you dish about yourself.
Um, have you seen Benny Johnson’s Halloween special?
But Johnson isn’t the only one at risk. There’s President Obama, who has been known to take a selfie or two, Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies, who selfied his way through WHCD weekend, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is perpetually on Twitter, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who published a goofball selfie with schoolchildren (as pictured above), and Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.), who recently released an entire selfie video set to electronic dance music.