Privacy Fatigue: Mental Health Damaged by Social Media

It is estimated that, in 2017, there were more than 2.7 billion people who used social networks. This means that, neither more nor less, 37% of the world's population feels any interest in sharing their tastes, hobbies and private life with the rest of humanity.

Although each person is free to publish what he wants, the possibility of sharing daily experiences to through social networks makes the line between public and private life narrow too much, reaching cause a new mental health condition known as privacy fatigue.

• Related article: "Emotional fatigue: strategies to face and overcome it"

What is privacy fatigue?

Privacy fatigue is becoming a new psychological disorder that, although at the moment it is not included in any evaluation and diagnosis manual, has been observed and manifests in a large number of people.

A research group made up of psychologists from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea has evaluated the way in which users of social networks face the fine line that divides the private from the public.

After a long time of research and evaluation, they found that a large number of users were experiencing symptoms. similar to those of psychological fatigue caused by constant and excessive preoccupation with threats and risks what does it mean the lack of privacy in the networks.

This psychological state was given the name of privacy fatigue, characterized by cause a feeling of psychological fatigue related to the lack of skills of the person to effectively manage their privacy and intimate information on the Internet and social networks.

The main theory of these researchers is that, although it can vary in intensity, privacy fatigue affects the majority of people who are active users of social networks. The reason is that some users experience the obligation or need to constantly separate between the private information and that which may be public or shared with the rest of the world, in order to protect your privacy.

This constant "state of alert" can cause the aforementioned privacy fatigue, which also makes that people themselves end up lowering their guard due to fatigue and generates a feeling of frustration.

Some situations that can exemplify this type of privacy fatigue are those moments in which we are not clear whether to bring a photo or publication to light on the networks or not since, at the not knowing how to clearly draw the line between what is public and what is private, generates a feeling of concern or concern when we think that we are not exposing too much.

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What have studies found?

Thanks to research carried out by the Ulsan group of psychologists, it is hypothesized that there are two types of reactions to the privacy conflict.

On the one hand, it occurs in those who are concerned about being too exposed but have the necessary skills to face it so they do not feel fatigued and they tend not to spread certain types of personal information on the networks.

On the other hand, there are other types of social network users who, in addition to feeling concerned about putting their intimacy or privacy at risk, do not have enough tools to differentiate between what information is considered personal or public, so they end up losing the will to control said separation.

This psychological fatigue causes affected people to share personal content on social networks without thinking about its nature. The main cause is that privacy fatigue generates such psychological exhaustion that it causes people to forget the need to protect their privacy and privacy. the risks of excessive public exposure.

The paradox of privacy

As a consequence of this fatigue, a phenomenon known under the term "privacy paradox" occurs. This concept refers to the fact that social network users maintain the habit of posting personal information despite concerns for your privacy.

This paradox is not only related to privacy fatigue, but is based on many other factors or agents. internal psychological factors such as the need for self-assertion and the need to feel that you are part of a group of people or community.

Privacy has traditionally been understood as an area or area of ​​the intimate life of each person, which takes place in a private and usually confidential space. However, this notion of privacy has changed over the years and the emergence of social networks.

A few years ago it would be unthinkable to publish a photograph in which we are in the privacy of our home. But with the rise of social media, private life has become a tool of exposure to the world, through which to express how we feel or how proud we are to carry out any type of activity.

This means that the individual identity of each person is formed around a community identity, which reinforces (or sometimes punishes) said identity through the number of likes granted in a publication. As a consequence, it is increasingly difficult to establish a border between what is public and what is personal or private.

What symptoms does it present?

Finally, the research team that has proposed the term privacy fatigue has established a series of symptoms that develop as the fatigue caused by this concern progresses constant.

At first, the symptoms appear in the same way as it does in other types of fatigue. The person is so burdened by the demands of his own concern for privacy that ends up triggering continuous psychological exhaustion.

This feeling of permanent psychological exhaustion gradually increases until turns to frustration, hopelessness, or disappointment. The person experiences a sensation similar to the learned helplessness, since he feels that nothing he does will be able to avoid the fact of being exposed through social networks.

Therefore, as with the defenseless process, the person stops fighting to maintain this privacy, which entails stop worrying about what content published on social networks can be considered public or, on the contrary, too private.

Is there any type of treatment?

Because it is a psychological disorder yet to be determined, there are no specific treatment or intervention guidelines. However, it is recommended that all those who feel overwhelmed by this constant worry see a psychology professional for an assessment and possible individualized intervention.