"I tried to ease my anxiety, and I went to social media. It turned out that my anxiousness went out of control when the platform kept promoting content about research. I planned to spend ten minutes on it, but it was three hours later when I realized. I ended up doing nothing in the whole afternoon." It is a widespread comment on social media. As the most widely used communication tool, social media connects scholars from all over the world online. However, researchers have multiple types of stress, and the big data strategy of social media seems not only to bring a positive impact.
In the past two years, I have searched PhD programs on social media while observing PhD candidates and researchers on social media. Anxiety is a common condition for them. Even though researchers can use social media as a communication and entertainment tool, big data strategy worsens things. "I feel I have lost all the confidence and don't think I'm qualified to do a PhD." "Am I the only one with a nervous breakdown while researching?" "It's time to quit." "Being a researcher in academia is a horrible idea, and I don't suggest anyone to join." "I knew I was a loser when I saw the others' results and achievements." These posts were highly read, liked, and commented on when I searched "PhD program" on social media. The big data search engine exacerbates the situation. When users open a post that includes content like "anxiety, pressure, difficulties, problems, etc." the search engine will "assume" that the users like similar content and keep promoting related posts. It is like opening a Pandora's box; the users' page will soon be full of negative information.
In Chinese, people use "身边即世界" (Shēn biān jì shì jiè), which means "What I see is the whole world", to describe the phenomenon. As I mentioned above, when researchers are surrounded by negative moods on social media, spending time on this information is not only drowning in anxiety but also giving researchers an illusion that their work is worthless. Users' incidents, feelings, and experiences on social media are individual cases. Still, when similar information is repeated frequently and receives responses from others, it can easily be regarded as a widespread social phenomenon. This misconception can cause people who are already in adversity or confusion to focus too much on their anxiety rather than on the problem they need to solve. For the researchers, their ability and experience may be very organized to deal with the situation. In contrast, the panic caused by negative emotions prevents them from thinking calmly.
According to my observation, researchers' anxiety regularly includes:
1. Difficulties and failures in research
2. Conflicts with colleagues
3. Negative comments from supervisors
4. Competition in the industry
5. Publication
6. Downward trend in the labor market
7. Pressure from family
Big data allows them to find others with the same experience, but their difficulties still need to be solved. The minor feelings can spread quickly when many people get together and pour out their emotions. The era of big data has brought people closer together around the world. Still, it has also expanded the influence of individuals.
Besides, the security of personal privacy also deserves attention. Some researchers, unable to deal with difficulties or conflicts with colleagues, turn to social media anonymously for help. However, big data pushes posts to people the publisher may know based on IP addresses, registration information, etc. When the poster's privacy is exposed, it will bring them more trouble and even cyber violence.
Social media is an efficient tool for people to communicate and establish a network. However, we need to pay attention to the adverse mental effects. Researchers use social media platforms to contact each other, share academic news and research programs, and collect data. Still, their mental health situation should be a concern. Understanding the state of work and learning of scholars is an exciting topic, and we expect more researchers to join the discussion.
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