Social media can have negative effects on self esteem, the amount of confidence an individual feels, and make people value the number of likes, comments, and shares they get the same way they value real-life interactions, or even more. How much confidence a person feels about themselves is referred to as self esteem. People with high self esteem believe in themselves and avoid self-destructing behaviors, whereas people with low self esteem have a poor self image and low confidence. Now on social media, people, mostly girls, compare themselves to others which results in them having negative evaluations of themselves.
This can be due to the amount of likes or followers that one obtains on their profiles, increasing or decreasing their self esteem. It can alter the way people see themselves physically and personality wise, which can lead to incorrect conclusions about their body or intelligence. From observing others posts and profiles, people see only the differences between them and the other person, causing unrealistic desires for their body and self image. A study from the University of Toledo found out that, “participants who used Facebook most often had poorer trait self-esteem, and this was mediated by greater exposure to upward social comparisons on social media” (Social Comparison). Also, the people who made social comparisons on social media had more depressive symptoms.
Social media sets social standards for what is beautiful and what isn’t. These standards are what women want to follow because they want to be considered “pretty” or “popular”. We spend so much time and put so much emphasis on being yourself and being your own individual, when in reality we are just trying to be what other people want us to be.
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Using social media can also result in people being unproductive due to the many addictions technology provides. When Facebook or Instagram grabs peoples attention, it pulls them away from doing work that can be important. A study by the University of Texas at Austin published recently in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research that “a smartphone can sap attention even when it’s not being used, even if the phone is on silent — or even when powered off and tucked away in a purse, briefcase or backpack” (The Mere Presence). The University did an experiment that required the participants full attention to score well on a test that measured their cognitive capacity.
The participants left their phones either in their pocket, faced down on the table, or in another room and after they took the test, the researchers found that the people who left their phone in another room surpassed the people who had their phone with them. Just seeing or feeling a phone can cause people to lose focus on what they are doing. The people who had their phone with them thought that they gave their full attention during the test, but due to their knowledge of possibly receiving notifications, they performed badly.
Social media can physically affect people by altering their metabolism and keeping them from being active. There are various games and activities on technology that allows us to stay busy on our devices for hours. This keeps us from exercising to keep our health under control. Although, our health can’t be solved only by exercising, there are more factors to it. There is a very strong correlation between the light emitted from our smartphones and our metabolism. A team of researchers at Northwestern University found that “the bright lights emitted from our smart devices (along with messing up our sleep) can also slow down our metabolisms” (How Screen Light). The light affects our cortisol levels, which is released when under stress.
The cortisol levels then affect our insulin production, which helps keep the blood sugar level from getting too high or too low. The blue light from our screens stops the production of melatonin, making it more difficult to both fall asleep and sleep well once you do. Some people think that going on their phone right before bed destresses and relaxes them, but it does the opposite. The light tricks the brain into thinking it needs to stay awake longer by exciting it. To get better sleep, it is recommended to turn off all screens 30 minutes before bedtime.
Our posture is also at risk from the physical effects of social media. Social media users usually stand with their shoulders rounded and internally rotated, and their head forward and eyes cast down at a phone. Staying like this for an extended amount of time can result to many problems in the spine, back, and neck. There is also a condition known as “Computer Vision Syndrome” (CVS) that describes “the vision effects of life in the computerized, modern world. The symptoms of CVS include: dry, itchy eyes; blurred vision; eye strain; headaches; and neck, back, and shoulder pain” (Overuse of Social). Because of all these health issues, social media users should consider decreasing the amount of time spent on their devices to little or no time spent.
People who think that social media is beneficial, tend to believe this because of all of the information that can be accessed and how easy it is to make friends. Researchers found out that, “78.5% of traditional media reporters polled used social media to check for breaking news”. (Are Social). People think that it is easier to post news on social media then waiting for the press to release information. It is true that you can access information faster on social media, but, it is hard to tell if it is true or false. False news seems to spread faster than true news and when the false news is corrected, the number of people who see it is much lower.
Another benefit that people associate with social media is that it is a great way to connect with people and make relationships, but, it can lead to stress and offline relationship problems. The people who make friends online usually do not know who is behind the screen which results in catfishing, the falsifying of profiles. This causes many social issues, not only with the people catfishing, but with those that are in the pictures used to create the fake profiles. They’re faces and information are stolen to attract others, leading to anger and disappointment.
References
- National Center for Biotechnology Information – The Impact of Social Media on Self-Esteem
- ScienceDirect – The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Self-Esteem
- National Center for Biotechnology Information – Influence of Social Media on Body Image and Disordered Eating in Adolescents
- National Center for Biotechnology Information – Relationship Between Facebook Use and Depressive Symptoms
