"I Want to Organize My Relationships" Young People Doing 'Inmaek Diet' [Heo Midam's Youth Report]

9 out of 10 Adults Say "I Want to Cut Unnecessary Relationships"
Some Practice 'Inmaek Diet'
Experts Warn "SNS-Expanded Relationships May Actually Increase Loneliness"

A citizen is looking at a smartphone. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] [Editor's Note] How is your youth remembered? From teenagers to college students and office workers, we deliver the joys and sorrows unique to 'youth.'

"Keeping in touch with acquaintances feels like a chore." "I have many contacts, but no one to rely on."

Recently, more young people have been complaining about stress caused by managing their social networks. As unwanted connections are added as friends through social networking services (SNS), they express fatigue. This phenomenon is pointed out to arise from having complex human relationships in the so-called 'connected society' while lacking someone reliable to lean on.

As a result, more people are voluntarily engaging in so-called 'social network dieting,' such as deleting SNS accounts or blocking followers to organize their relationships. There is a tendency to judge that maintaining deep relationships with a few acquaintances is more appropriate than keeping shallow relationships with many people.

Kim (27), an office worker who revealed that he deleted his SNS account a few months ago, said, "When I was a college student, I liked meeting people and attended various gatherings without fail. But as time went by, I felt it was all meaningless." He added, "Now, I keep in touch with about 10 people."

He continued, "I used to care about increasing the number of followers on my SNS accounts. But I felt self-disgust over this, so I eventually deleted all my Facebook and Instagram accounts." He said, "Rather, I am happier now that I have organized my social network."

Like Kim, it has been found that more young people are doing 'social network dieting' to reduce the fatigue from human relationships. According to a survey conducted by Job Korea and Albamon targeting 1,409 adult men and women, 87.1% of respondents answered that 'social network dieting is necessary' to organize unnecessary human relationships. The most common reason was "I want to focus time and energy on precious people (51.2%)."

Following that were reasons such as ▲thinking there are too many unnecessary human relationships (46.5%) ▲feeling skeptical about human relationships (30.5%) ▲preferring to be alone rather than meeting many people (23.2%).

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Methods of 'social network dieting' include unfollowing acquaintances' SNS accounts (cutting off friend relationships on SNS) or deleting their contact information. It also includes changing one's phone number or deleting SNS accounts.

Kim (28), a job seeker, recently changed his phone number. He said, "In the past, I had over 300 saved contacts. But it was hollow to realize that there was not a single person I could really contact when I was tired and struggling." He added, "I ended up changing my phone number and organizing all my contacts. Now, I have about 30 saved contacts."

He continued, "All my acquaintances succeeded in getting jobs, but I did not. There was no one to share these worries with, and since my acquaintances who became office workers had different interests, talking with them actually caused stress."

Some people prefer 'one-time' connections. The purpose is to minimize the burden of human relationships while alleviating loneliness.

Another office worker Kim (28) said, "I am interested in environmental issues, so I attend related gatherings." He added, "I only attend when I want to, so there is no big burden from the meetings." He also said, "Above all, I like that I can meet people who share my interests."

Experts analyze that young people feel skepticism and fatigue toward the complex human relationships formed through SNS, eventually preferring narrow but highly intimate relationships.

Professor Kwak Geumju of the Department of Psychology at Seoul National University said, "The network of human relationships has expanded as people can talk with strangers through SNS. This allows young people to feel richness in relationships." She added, "However, these relationships can only be maintained shallowly. Especially when one is in a difficult situation and cannot rely on acquaintances, they feel skepticism."

She continued, "Another reason for 'social network dieting' is fatigue caused by SNS. People tend to post things they want to brag about on SNS. Continuously seeing this eventually causes relative deprivation and other feelings."