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humans inclined to do可定位到第四段第三句。该句指出，我们还总会将他人的生活理想化，并把我们的失败与他们最大的成就作比较，这最终会给我们带来孤独感和缺陷感。C项内容与此相符，其中a rosy picture of other people’s lives对应定位句中的idealize others’ lives（将他人的生活理想化），故C项正确。

错项排除：A项和D项利用第四段第三句中的accomplishments和downfalls设置干扰，但原文中指的是我们会把我们的失败与他人最大的成就作比较，并没有提到会夸大自己生活中的成就，也没有提到会从他人的失败中吸取教训，故A、D两项排除。B项利用第五段第一句中的quest for perfection设置干扰，但原文中说的是社交媒体会导致人们对完美的病态追求，而这种“完美”都是为了做给他人看，因此这并不等同于不计代价地努力做到完美，故B项排除。