Why does social media trigger feelings of loneliness and inadequacy? Because instead of being real life, it is, for the most part, impression management, a way of marketing yourself, carefully choosing and filtering the pictures and words to put your best face forward.

        Online “friends” made through social media do not follow the normal psychological progression of an interpersonal relationship. You share neither physical time nor emotional conversations over the Internet. You simply communicate photographs and catchy posts to a diverse group of people whom you have “friended” or “followed” based on an accidental interaction. This is not to say that your social media friends can’t be real friends. They absolutely can, but the two are not synonymous. Generally speaking, there are no unfiltered comments or casually taken photos on our social media pages. And, rightfully so, because it wouldn’t feel safe to be completely authentic and vulnerable with some of our “friends” whom we don’t actually know or with whom trust has yet to be built.

        Social media can certainly be an escape from the daily grind, but we must be cautioned against the negative effects, such as addiction, on a person’s overall psychological well-being.

        As humans, we yearn for social connection. Scrolling (滚动) through pages of pictures and comments, however, does not provide the same degree of fulfillment as face to face interactions do. Also, we tend to idealize others’ lives and compare our downfalls to their greatest accomplishments, ending in feelings of loneliness and inadequacy.

        Social media can lead people on the unhealthy quest for perfection. Some people begin to attend certain events or travel to different places so that they can snap that “perfect” photo. They begin to seek validation through the number of people who “like” their posts. In order for it to play a psychologically healthy role in your social life, social media should supplement an already healthy social network. Pictures and posts should be byproducts of life’s treasured moments and fun times, not the planned and calculated image that one is putting out into cyberspace in an attempt to fill insecurities or unmet needs.

        Ultimately, social media has increased our ability to connect with various types of people all over the globe. It has opened doors for businesses and allowed us to stay connected to people whom we may not otherwise get to follow. However, social media should feel like a fun experience, not one that contributes to negative thoughts and feelings. If the latter is the case, increasing face to face time with trusted friends, and minimizing time scrolling online, will prove to be a reminder that your social network is much more rewarding than any “like”, “follow” or “share” can be.

解析：C。根据题干中的social media may do to our life可定位到第一段。第一段第一句提出问题：为什么社交媒体会引发孤独感和缺陷感？随后解释原因，这是因为社交媒体并非真实生活。也就是说，社交媒体确实会引发孤独感和缺陷感。C项内容与此相符，其中isolated对应第一段第一句中的loneliness，incompetent对应该句中的inadequacy，故C项为正确答案。

错项排除：A项利用第二段第一句中的interpersonal relationships（人际交往）设置干扰，但该句说的是在社交媒体上结交的“网友”并不遵循人际交往的正常心理发展规律，并没有说会促进我们的人际交往，故A项排除。B项利用第一段第二句中的filtering设置干扰，但文中说的是精心挑选发在网上的图片和文字，并不是过滤对他人的负面印象，故B项排除。D项利用第二段最后一句中的completely authentic and vulnerable设置干扰，但该句中说的是把自己完全真实而脆弱的一面展示在自己并不真正了解或有待建立信任的“朋友”面前，会让我们感到不安全，是人们使用社交媒体分享评论和图片前进行筛选的原因，不是对生活的影响，故D项排除。