Pop Psychology: Warning for the 'Recovering'
I get a lot of inspirations and ideas for my blog entries from social media posts. I see the world is a tough place to live in: With modernization and advances in technology, it may have become more difficult than ever to set up clear personal boundaries. Modernization theorists in the 1960s and 1970s argued that with socioeconomic development, separation and psychological independence from families would increase (Kagitcibasi, 2002), while technology has made social support and platform for self-expression readily accessible. I feel that the widespread use of social media would lead to significant social change, as discussed by Barker (2012) or Konnikova (2013), for example. We are living in the time in which we can easily separate ourselves from the unpleasant while seeking comfort from afar - often without physical or even emotional proximity. I think this would affect our sense of who we are and what we need, and without knowing these, how could we find life satisfaction?
And here we are, surrounded by the pop psych self-help books, available in the store and online. A renowned researcher Dr. John C. Norcross stated, "Ninety-five percent of self-help books are published without any scientific evidence to support that they work as self-help" (Meyers, 2008, para. 6). As a former avid user of various self-help books, I can recall some of the seemingly popular beliefs/statements/claims to boost one's self-esteem, emotional stability, etc., including:
"If someone doesn't accept you for who you are, it is their problem."
"Do whatever you want, and stop caring about what others think of you."
"Screw everyone; this is me."
etc., etc.....
These are powerful statements that may be helpful for people who do not see the worth in themselves, or those who let others treat them like 'doormats.' Aren't they, however, destructive at the same time?
We have the need for autonomy and independence, which are important factors for personal growth, especially in Western cultures, but when I hear these statements, I cannot help but to be concerned about unhealthy separation of self from others and sense of entitlement. To put it differently, we should be able to respect our autonomy without condemning others' or bashing others. Could we be more interdependent on others without threatening our sense of autonomy? Absolutely. If being who we are requires rejecting the autonomy of others, I would think it is pretty sad (just in my opinion), because no matter what we do for a living or have done in the past, we would need other people, as evidenced in social media posts and our general online behavior (and Barkers' report mentioned earlier). Kagitcibasi should also agree (not that it would matter to everyone...).
Additionally, a bit of sensationalization should be expected in the commercialized books for the general public, even if they were written by someone with a Ph.D. or M.D.. Publishers need to sell their books, and often, books with only facts and objective observations are too 'dry' for their readership. Not many people enjoy reading technical journal articles, right?
I will not completely dismiss the efficacy of self-help books, but I will not vindicate for them, either. Please use them with caution and moderation, whether you are recovering or not, but especially if you are recovering from difficult life situations.
Peace.
References
Barker, E. (2012, November 13). Posting too much on Facebook is a sign of emotional instability. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-people-post-so-many-annoying-personal-status-updates-2012-11
Kagitcibasi, C. (2002). A model of family change in cultural context. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds.), Online readings in psychology and culture (Unit 13, Chapter 1). Bellingham, WA: Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University.
Konnikova, M. (2013, October 23). The psychology of online comments. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-psychology-of-online-comments
Meyers, L. (2008). Recommended readings: Psychologists share the contents of their self-help books. Monitor on Psychology, 39(1), 26. Available online at: http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan08/recommended.aspx