One of the dangerous fall-outs of Facebook is, it makes each of us more and more fake by the day. It makes a mockery of our emotions. Everyone who wants to limit the time they spend on social media hardly reads posts fully; mostly we just skim and scatter emojis like chaff in the wind—like, love, care, laugh, sad, angry. So, in the space of a single minute, we have lurched through the full gamut of emojis. Responded to someone’s wedding (Shaadi mubarak! Party kab hogi?), to someone whose father passed away following a heart attack (Heartfelt sympathies. May his soul rest in peace), to your school friend whose daughter just graduated in the US (Congratulations to Neha and family, we’re proud of you!), to a friend whose mother has Alzheimer’s and when she brings lunch, asks, “Who are you? Why are you poisoning me?” (too complicated for words, sad emoji lagao, chalo what’s next?), to someone swimming with their dog on Juhu beach (Cuuutie!), to some filmmaker ecstatic because his film got selected at the Indian Film Festival of Srebenica or some such (heart emoji). A friend has tagged you seeking a ‘furrever home’ for a darling rescued kitten that’s “dewormed, vaccinated, fun and she loves to talk” (heart emoji). Uff! The moment you ‘love’ it, those greedy algorithms waiting in the wings shove in your face the video of the inseparable friendship between a kitten and a pup—and fusss! Two hours have gone by just looking at cat and dog videos.

Not only do Facebook and social media disrupt your sleep, but when you’re up at really weird hours of the morning, liking, loving, laughing at others’ posts, the reply comes in an instant—thank you, or a return care emoji. Bloody hell, they are all up and active on Facebook too. And before you know it, the night is gone. Of course, we all know that disrupted sleep patterns play havoc with our physical and mental health, emotional stability, concentration and memory. Facebookitis is possibly the most widespread disease after COVID-19 or perhaps even surpassing it, but because it is a silent, under-monitored disease, creating an exponentially growing generation of living dead zombies, few have paid attention to its treatment, rehabilitation, ‘vaccines’ and digital detox, as it deserves. Is there any adult left on the planet who is daily fast asleep by 10 pm?

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Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. 

Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com