Privacy fatigue: mental health damaged by social networking sites

Lack of privacy on the Internet can be a cause of discomfort for many people.

It is estimated that, in 2017, there were more than 2.7 billion people making use of social networks. This means that no more and no less than 37% of the world's population feels some interest in sharing their tastes, hobbies and private life with the rest of humanity.

Although everyone is free to publish whatever they want, the possibility of sharing daily experiences through social networks makes the line between public and private life become too narrow, even causing a new mental health condition known as privacy fatigue..

What is privacy fatigue?

Privacy fatigue is emerging as a new psychological disorder that, although it is not yet included in any manual for is not currently included in any assessment and diagnostic manual, it has been observed and manifests itself in a large number of people.has been observed and manifests itself in a large number of people.

A research group composed of psychologists from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea has evaluated the way in which social network users deal with the thin line that divides the private from the public.

After a long time of research and evaluation they noticed that a large number of users experienced symptoms similar to those of psychological fatigue caused by excessive and constant worry about the threats and risks posed by lack of privacy on networks.

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

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

This constant "state of alertness" can lead to the aforementioned privacy fatigue, which, in addition, causes people themselves to let their guard down due to fatigue and generates a feeling of frustration.

Some situations that may exemplify this type of privacy fatigue are those moments in which we are not sure whether to post a photo or publication on the networks or not, since we do not know how to clearly draw the line between public and private. not knowing how to clearly draw the line between what is public and what is privateWe feel uneasy or worried because we think that we are not exposing too much.

What have the studies discovered?

Thanks to the research carried out by the group of psychologists from Ulsan, 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 overly exposed but possess the necessary coping skills so they do not feel fatigued and tend not to disseminate 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 sufficient tools to differentiate between what information is considered personal or public, so they end up losing the will to control this separation.

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

The privacy paradox

As a consequence of this fatigue, a phenomenon known as the "privacy paradox" occurs. This concept refers to the fact that users of social networks maintain a high level of privacy in their private lives. the habit of publishing personal information in spite of privacy concerns.

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

Traditionally, privacy has been understood as a zone or area of each person's intimate life, which takes place in a private and usually confidential space. However, this notion of privacy has changed over the years and with the emergence of social networks.

A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to publish a photograph of us in the privacy of our home. But with the rise of social networksprivate life has become a tool for exposure to the world, through which to show how we feel or how proud we are of doing any kind of activity.

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

What are the symptoms?

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 constant preoccupation progresses.

Initially, the symptomatology appears in the same way as it does in other types of fatigue. The person becomes so overburdened by the demands of his or her own privacy concerns that he or she becomes eventually leads to a continuous psychological exhaustion..

This feeling of permanent psychological exhaustion gradually increases until it turns into frustration, hopelessness or it develops into frustration, hopelessness or disillusionment.. The person experiences a feeling similar to learned helplessness, as he or she feels that nothing he or she does will be able to avoid being exposed through social networks.

Therefore, as with the process of helplessness, the person stops struggling to maintain this privacy, which means that he or she stops worrying about what content posted on social networks can be considered public or, on the contrary, too private.

Is there any kind of treatment?

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