The obsession with our image on the Internet, how to stop it?
We live in an interconnected world where naturalness is disappearing, we are undergoing a transformation in the psychological field, where we are introducing problems that did not exist before, such as the obsession with the image and what others think about it. How to make the technological detox to put an end to "cyberproblems" as the OBSESSION for our image on the internet
The virtual reality It has offered us an easy world, since we can feel the same emotions and reactions that could be experienced in a real situation, but everything, without moving from home. In addition, it has provided a control and modification factor and many times is lacking in reality, offering the Possibility of exposure with the certainty of being seen without moving from home. Due to this, we find an evolution of these problems, the molding of a personality or mood based on the acceptance we receive from others with the image we want to convey.
Pathologies associated with the use of the Internet
These are the so-called pathologies associated with the use of the internet, uncontrolled obsessions, compulsions based on pleasure and the control of a reality, paranoia that leads to a lack of interest in real interaction and, in many cases, an escape from reality to forget the problems . According to the psychologist López Vallejo "they go into these media and little by little they create a fictious world and easier to manage than the real one, looking for a pleasure and satisfaction that their own real world does not give them ".
The problem becomes greater as they spend more and more time in this interaction that compensates for the shortcomings of those who flee seeking the acceptance of others with chats, tweets, photos, games, Facebook posts. They create a life tendency in relation to what others like.
One of the new problems is the lack of naturalness in the image that is transmitted with continuous filters and retouches in the photos that are published with a tendency to continually publish an unreal image in search of a "like" or a flattering comment.
The loop of the obsession with the image on the Internet
Consequently, people enter into a system of thoughts and actions that feed the problem. López Vallejo has classified them into three groups:
1. Control system: is the tendency to control what is published to achieve a goal, even going to spend hours retouching photos before the final publication. At that time you enter a toxic environment trying to control each photo to publish, asking others their opinion before uploading, obsessively viewing the image, expanding, retouching, to get the publication that will immediately take the liking.
2. Avoidance system: not only do these people control the image, they also avoid presenting publicly some part of their body that they do not like, what they know they will not like others hiding it, hiding it, retouching the image ...
3. Escape and escape system: These people suffer the maximum frustration and loss of control when what they publish does not receive the acceptance they seek, at that moment anxiety appears that leads to panic attacks.
When the obsession with our image on the Internet gets worse
The seriousness of the case becomes apparent when the following behaviors appear:
1. Dispersion: lack of attention in class, in the family, at work walking with the risks that entails, suspensions, job dismissals, traffic accidents ...
2. Constant anxiety: wanting to control what they publish and the social impact of their publication to the continuous expectation of the likes.
3. Constant repetitions of photos before hanging the final, entering an obsessive spiral of control of the gesture, makeup, hair, clothes or light ... in short, what others may like.
4. Need to be always connected to immediately receive the liking or the pleasant comment.
The addiction and / or obsession catches when the person abandons its obligations to dedicate all the time that they have to Internet and if it can not do it lives the symptoms of abstinence that takes them to a state of anguish and an anxiety that makes him moody, irritable, they even appear panic attacks, decreasing the capacity for concentration and action necessary to carry out their lives normally.
"The problem itself can be very varied, but with a common cause: They are types of people who suffer from psychological and behavioral disorders that must be treated, as they can become anxious, insecure, introverted people, afraid of rejection and social disapproval, developing a personality with low self-esteem, "says López Vallejo
It is usually the family that asks for help for this type of person, since they deny the existence of the problem.The intervention in search of the solution "consists of focusing on transforming the pleasure mechanism into an unpleasant experience, annulling the addictive ritual and simultaneously intervening on the personal and relationship difficulties that have facilitated the dependence. success in the results of overcoming the problem, more and more people suffer this pathology ", concludes López Vallejo.
Marina Berrio
Advice: Jorge López Pérez Vallejo. Psychologist of López Vallejo Psychology.
