Dylan Haggart

Instructor Camilleri

ENG 160-21

6 October 2021

Social Media’s Impact On Our Lives

 

Social media is a huge part of most people’s lives in this day in age. It is something that most of us use on a daily basis for a good amount of our day. Whether that be Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, or Tik Tok these are all forms of social media. It is something many people just use for fun and some people use it for business also. But is this a good thing these sites are such a big part of our lives? There have been many studies done that suggest using social media all the time is not a good thing. But there have also been studies done that suggest using it in moderation isn’t a bad thing. This is something that interests so I want to find out how social media can impact our mental and physical health or if it even affects it at all. 

Most people use some form of social media in this day in age, “According to a 2016 poll, 79% of Internet-using adults have a Facebook account. Additionally, 76% of Facebook users report logging on once per day, with 55% logging on several times per day” (Lee). This study shows that most people who use social media use it on a daily basis and logging on daily can just be a daily part of your life. Going on social media for a short amount of time is one thing but lots of people spend way more time than that, “Another study recently estimated we spend a combined 50 minutes on social media each day” (Lee). This is a lot of time to be spending on something daily and if you talk to your friends and family a lot of them will tell you that they spend way more time than that on social media every day and it usually isn’t doing something productive it. Social media can definitely be used in a productive way because a lot of people including myself run a business with the help of social media. Almost everyone uses it therefore you can reach out to a huge crowd of people that you wouldn’t normally be able to reach. Some other positive impacts stated in the How Does Social Media Affect Our Mental And Physical Health article by Yong Lee are that it connects people, provides entertainment, empowers people to make social change, and helps senior citizens feel more connected. These are all positive impacts they can have. From personnel experience, social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends that I probably wouldn’t have stayed in touch with if it weren’t for social media. It is also a place where I get news for sports and music two hobbies that I have. 

There are also many negative impacts of social media on how it can affect your mental health. “Comparing Ourselves with Others is Unhealthy- Spending a lot of time looking at others’ “highlights” online naturally leads to thinking of ourselves as better off or worse off, which links to jealousy and more severe depressive symptoms” (Lee). This is one of the worst parts of social media because lots of people compare themselves to others which usually leads to them thinking negatively about themselves which worsens their mental health. If you go on someone’s Instagram account it may look like they are living the perfect life and that could lead to you thinking there is something wrong with your own life. But in reality, there is nothing wrong with you and those people on social media who appear to be perfect are far from it in reality. Earlier I mentioned a quote of how people spend a lot of time on social media this can negatively impact your mental and physical health. The time you spend on social media could be spent exercising, doing something creative, working, hanging out with friends in real life, etc. All of these things are more productive than just sitting down scrolling through random things on social media. Another negative impact is “It Can Be Addictive- Research has shown users can suffer from addictive behavior using social media and show psychological symptoms of withdrawal when they’re unable to log on” (Lee).  If you use social media you have definitely experienced this at least once before. You aren’t around your phone for an extended period of time and you feel an urge to check your social media accounts against your own will because it has become such a natural habit. This is why I believe using social media isn’t a bad thing if you know how to use it in moderation and not be addicted to it. 

There was a study done in Sweden on adolescents and how social media impacted their mental health. “Adolescents with a higher use of social media report more symptoms of mental health problems, but there is no evidence for a longitudinal association between increased use and mental health problems. This suggests that social media may be rather an indicator than a risk factor for symptoms of mental ill-health” (Beeres). This is something I found interesting because this clearly shows that if you use social media more you can be more likely to have mental health problems but social media doesn’t necessarily cause them. One of the biggest reasons I believe social media can negatively impact your mental health is that it makes you compare yourself to others. “An observational study among rural, low-income high schools in southeastern U.S. found that social comparison and feedback seeking online was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms after 12 months” (Beeres). This is clear evidence that the theory is most likely true and social media can lower your self-esteem making you way more prone to becoming depressed. That is why I believe you should not compare yourselves to others when using social media because it’ll most likely make you think less of yourself. Another study done found out that social media can cause ADHD especially among adolescents. “Social media offers features that may trigger particularly adolescents with symptoms in the ADHD spectrum disorders due to continuous arousal, quick rewards, and fueling a constant urge to be online” (Beeres).