Best friends - but not online

2023 Author: Gabrielle Mercer | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 12:25

Friendship between Facebook & Co: Take a quick selfie at the meeting - for Karin part of her normal social media routine, friend Barbara can do little with it. the one internet savvy, the other old school - how does it work?

It's been ten years since Karin Turki, 37, registered on Facebook. The marketing manager has since added 814 friends to her network. And with them she shares professional and private highlights. This includes selfies with office colleagues, postings from company events, photos from their wedding and snapshots with daughter Lilly.

"When I wake up in bed, I first look at the latest stories on Instagram, at breakfast I usually do my first Instastory, and then at work I check Facebook," says the 37-year-old. "I am actually active there all day, also because I have to do with it professionally. As soon as a request comes in, I react. I use Instagram more in the morning, during breaks or in the evening. Then I click through the latest pictures of my favorite accounts."

Only 28% of digital friends are also in real life

With her digital behavior, the Viennese confirms the hype that social media is still triggering. 2.1 billion people are now registered on Facebook, 800 million on Instagram. A statistic shows the huge impact: On average, we spend about a year and seven months of our lives on Facebook. But there are also a few outliers - those who don't know what to do with social media.

FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM? I DO NOT NEED IT

Barbara Amon, 37, is one of them. She and Karin have been friends for 34 years: "We went to kindergarten together." Has social media changed their friendship? One always knows the latest apps, filters and online trends. The other one likes to leave her cell phone in her pocket all afternoon.

At first, Barbara Amon also fell for social media. Eight years ago she got herself a Facebook account: "I was just pregnant with my daughter and wanted to share special experiences. A few years later, however, my profile was hacked and it all became too much and too fast for me When our son was born, I posted a photo of him. That was the last time I was active. I now much prefer WhatsApp. It's more personal."

"I only found out in the eighth month that you were pregnant again because we had seen so little at the time," Karin says. "In contrast to people with whom I am also networked online, I hardly notice anything with Barbara if we have no contact for a long time. With others, you can occasionally see what's going on in postings." Then - anyway, it is clear - there will be liked and commented. But does that really increase our mood as well? Current studies suggest the opposite.

LOTS OF LIKES, BAD MOOD?

According to a Danish survey, not using social media should make people happier. Hundreds of people deactivated their profiles for a week. The result: They felt more concentrated, wasted less time and were more satisfied. Experts see the reason for this in one point, among other things: Envy and jealousy towards other users have disappeared. Because the constant comparison with friends stresses the psyche, even if online often only an embellished excerpt from life is presented. Offline meetings and personal social contacts, on the other hand, increase our well-being. Barbara also emphasizes this: "I feel more comfortable without social media. This constant post would be total stress for me. But I don't judge it if someone likes it. Everyone has to decide for themselves."

DIGITAL DETOX HELP

Nevertheless: When Karin and Barbara meet once a week for training, there is a mobile-free zone! "It's like speed dating," laughs Barbara. "We'll get up to speed quickly and tell you what happened in the past week." Karin ponders: "I definitely tell you a lot more than other friends because I know that you don't see it online. I can assume that the other people have already noticed certain experiences online."

On average, each user on Facebook has 338 friends

In general, Barbara is an inspiration for Karin to surf the net less herself: "I always take a few photo stops with another friend while running. But when Barbara and I are out, I don't really look at the cell phone. Otherwise, I am actually always available. Even after the birth of my daughter, I was online again relatively quickly."

To be available anytime and anywhere - for most of us this has become a matter of course. Anyone who isn't, is almost an exception. Barbara: "Sometimes I don't use my cell phone all afternoon. It has often happened that I forgot it at home and could only be reached on a landline in the office. That doesn't stress me." Karin shakes her head: "I would go home. A day without a cell phone - doesn't work at all!"