Is Social Media Making Us Sick?
In several countries, there are growing concerns on the effects of social media to mental health and self-esteem since people are spending more time there.
Many raised mental health repercussions from social media such as:
- Spending more time on social media than physical relational interactions
- Effects of counting likes
- Promotes social comparison
- Online bullying
You may have first hand experience and probably know people who to spend long hours on social media, posting and comparing with a plethora of people who are evidently better-looking, more successful, and more glamorous than them.
As a result, people (especially the young) can be left feeling inadequate and unworthy.
A research on teenagers reported that social media:
- makes them feel closer to friends (78%)
- more informed (49%)
- connected to family (42%)
- feeling pressure to always show the best versions of themselves (15%)
- overloaded with information (10%)
- overwhelmed (9%)
- "fear of missing out" (9%)
All these positive and negative reactions does create additional mental stress to individuals as they switch back and forth between these experiences throughout the day.
Instagram is running trials in some countries to remove "Likes."
What will be the "Next Normal" for social media?
Will "comments" replace "likes?"
Do you agree that Social Media is creating mental health challenges for us?
As affiliate marketers we get traffic from social media, therefore we are stakeholders too and it makes sense to understand this medium better.
"Humans are lamentably insecure creatures, and often they pick up their modern devices to alleviate that insecurity, in a subconscious attempt to receive some thrill and reward. And the longer we keep on practicing such habit, the more hooked we get to our devices, often to the point of losing our mental stability. So, devices that were mainly invented as means of communication have become weapons of mental devastation."
- Abhijit Naskar, The Gospel of Technology
Share your views in the discussion below.
Stay safe and take care,
Recent Comments
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Stanley - I've felt this way before this pandemic started, as I know individuals around me who would NEVER put their phones down long enough, away from facebook or instagram, to see how many "Likes" and comments they get on their latest post.
I turned off all of my alerts and notifications on these apps and just log in once in a while to see what's happening.
Thanks for the post!
Isaiah 😊
Social Media grew because people felt more connected, and at times it is fun seeing some of the silly stuff that people share to give you a laugh.
I think the real problem is that Social media eventually gives us a false sense of being connected and also we begin to believe everything that is shared as true.
Just thinking
Ray
To every action, there is a reaction. When we engage in social media, we are responsible for both.
I will give an example of a very positive use of Facebook: I have a lot of old friends, people I have actually known in person mostly plus a few internet friends, who come to my FB page often because I post interesting photos that I or my husband took in many different places and times. Some of them make comments, but in any case it's a pleasure to remain in touch with them.
Stanley,
I have long held that social as l media is just one big popularity CV contest and as such have approached it as such.
I do not post for like or hearts or whatever. I s iui imply post what's on my mind as a way of disseminating information that I find relevant.
I don't think that it is the fault of social media for making people feel a certain way or that it is their fault for causing problems among teens.
Like anything where children are concerned it is the duty to of the parents to monitor what their children are engaged in and act accordingly.
Unfortunately, many are hooked to “likes,” 👍🏼 And ❤️. Absolutely agree with you monitoring the young and vulnerable is a responsible thing to do.
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As with all technology, there is pros/cons. Having grown up without social media (thankfully), I can see where our young kids are really missing out on real offline friendships. I believe there is more bullying too. In "my" day, there was bullying but today it's easier for someone to sit behind a computer screen and say awful things to/about a person. It's harder when to do in someone's face.
Another thing is how young people post such intimate details of their lives then wait for the "likes". Not only is that dangerous because of so many weirdos out there but they get depressed if they don't get as many "likes" as someone else.
I don't know what the answer is except if I was raising kids right now, I'd make sure they had a good balance of technology and real social interactions.
~Debbi
Debbi, you are spot on. I guess the answer is in the people to take control of their lives and their use of technology or the technology respond by making changes. Another solution is of course, intervention by Gov.
We can be mindful on how we use these technology and understand the pros and cons and addictive nature.
I've had to raise my son in this SM age, and he was not allowed on anything but Discord (a gaming network).
He had to earn time, through chores, to get online for any entertainment.
Every website had to run through us first. We periodically would have him bring his laptop out of his room, and my husband would go deep into it, to see if he was doing unacceptable things.
He stayed true to our rules! HalleluYah!
To this day, he has no interest in any of those social networks.
Our children need to have our dedication, and in turn they will follow our example.
Peace,
Josette
Agree👍🏼
Totally agree with you. Parental guidance is imperative!!!! Healthy boundaries.
Debbi
Hey, Stanley. Yes, it is a struggle, but please don't call in the government to control one more thing in our lives. They do that so much, with inadequate, mass-controlled school programs. it's no wonder our young need escapism. In my opinion, authorities that make the same rules for everyone when they can't really be tailor made for everyone are way off the mark.
You are SO right, JossLandry!!!! No Government please!!! Parents need to step up.
~Debbi