Negative effects of social media in our lives

Presented by: Katherinne Romero

The use of social media has been exponentially increased throughout time due to its power
to connect and to let people know about the life of others that live far away from us. Likewise,
the existence of these networks has become a fundamental and essential part of our lives, and
now we are reliant on this virtual world which was created for our benefit and currently we
are slaves of it. Due to this dependence, social networks have attained interfere in other
aspects of our life such as our mental and physical health. Hereunder, all the consequences
that the uncontrollable and obsessive use of social networks have in our health are going to
show it.

One implication of social media use in our mental health is depression. The continuous
checking of social networks exposes the mind to a huge variety of information, photos,
videos, and status of people who apparently have a “perfect life”. A study conducted by the
OECD found that those who used social media more intensively on average had lower life
satisfaction. As a result, people changed their self-perception, they started to compare their
lives with others who have a “better life” and depend on their opinions to feel accepted. All
of this is linked with the loss of self-esteem. All the time, people are waiting and looking for
the endorsement of their friends, relatives and even from people who they do not know in the
real life.

Another notable effect that social networks have in our lives is anxiety. Apparently, keeping
connected has become a necessity. A research study found that 45% of British adults
indicated they feel worried or uncomfortable when they cannot access their email or social
network sites (Anxiety UK, 2012). But not only adults are affected for this disease. It is
known that; also, younger generations have been affected by this phenomenon. “They were
scored as consistently more anxious than older generations when they were unable to check
their social networks and texts.” (Strickland, p.6). In fact, a new medical term has been
created, due to to the sense that some people have said to feel sometimes because of anxiety,
that sensation of your phone vibrating but actually it is not vibrating is called: Phantom
Vibration. This syndrome is only one of many manifestations of the anxiety that social
networks have created.

Inside all the mental affections of social media, we also can find the change in the perception
of reality. As it was mentioned before, the unceasing checking of social networks affects self-
perception and self-esteem, but this also can influence our conceptions or physical
interaction; in how we perceive our reality. Due to this network, some people have changed
some concepts of their lives. An example of this are the notions that people have about
friendship or love. In the case of friendship, this can be measurable in terms of how many
friends you have added, how many likes you get or how many positive and flattering
comments you have in your photos. Something similar happens with the concept of love, it
only is real if you have uploaded photos with your couple and showed your love on the
internet. All of this generates that physical interaction decrease because the only important
interaction is given by the virtual world.

One more consequence of the use of social networks is the multitasking. “While multitasking
is inherently a human trait, technology has perhaps overly encouraged and promoted it by
our multi-window computer environments, multi-app smartphone screens and the wide-
ranging sensory stimulation (and distraction) offered by high definition, customizable visual
and auditory signals coupled with tactile stimulation through vibrations,” (Rosen, 2013, as
cited in Strickland, 2014, p.21). The continuous interruptions of messages or notifications,
the multiple windows in our desktops have a big impact in our level of concentration, we are
“in a constant state of alertness that scans the world but never really gives our full attention
to anything” (The Guardian, 2018). All of this has caused a decrease in the grade of
concentration in the current population.

Nevertheless, all the effects are not only psychological. All these affections could have some
influences in our physical health, and it is important to know it because is the first and maybe
the most notorious symptom that we can notice as a result of the continuous and bad use of
social networks.

One of the first physical effects that the uncontrollable use of social media has in our body is
the development of sedentary behaviors. Keeping updated or checking our social networks
requires some quantity of time, this activity involves stay sit or lay down for a long-time
which causes a low Metabolic Equivalent Total (MET) it means a low energy expenditure.
Some diseases related to the sedentary behaviors are diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular
disease, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome (Strickland, 2014). Additionally, theses
diseases are not completely separated of the metal problems. In fact, both, mental and
physical effects are connected “it may be possible that people with mental health problems
fall into sedentary behaviors as a result of their disorders” (Strickland, p. 15). Besides, this
sedentary behavior also has repercussions in face-to-face interactions and the physical
activities which become a high risk for physical and mental health.

Another physical effect is the poor quality of sleep. Our natural sleep cycles and the quality
of it have been affected by a new bedfellow: our cellphone and electronic devices. The mobile
devices and computers screens have one thing in common, the quantities of blue light that
they emit. Santhi (2011) showed that nighttime exposure to artificial light disrupts the body’s
circadian rhythm or the 24-hour biological clock that controls our sleep cycle. Furthermore,
this “blue light” suppresses melatonin which is known as the “sleep hormone” and causes
that after being checking the social networks for hours, the brain has decreased the production
of this hormone and become to get sleep into a difficult task through the night. This lack of
sleep causes physical fatigue and, just as sedentary behaviors, are related to other mental
symptoms as anxiety and depression.

In conclusion, although social networks were created to keep us closer to our loved ones, the
abuse of its use generates several problems in our mental and physical health such as
depression, anxiety, alteration of our perceptions, sedentary behaviors or poor quality of
sleep. For these reasons, the challenge is to use technology for our benefit being aware of its
advantages but without forget all the negative effects that could be if its use is uncontrollable
and thoughtless.

References

Anxiety UK (2012, July 9). Anxiety UK study finds technology can increase anxiety.
Retrieved from [Link]
technology- canincrease-anxiety/
Harriet, G. (2018) The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world. The
Guardian. Retrieved from [Link]
lost-art-of-concentration-being-distracted-in-a-digital-world

Santhi, N., Thorne, H., van der Veen, D., Johnsen, S., Mills, S., Hommes, V., Schlangen, L.,
Archer, S., Dijk, D. (2011). The spectral composition of evening light and individual
differences in the suppression of melatonin and delay of sleep in humans. Journal of
Pineal Research, 53(1), 47-59

Strickland, A. (2014) Exploring the Effects of Social Media Use on the Mental Health of
Young Adults. (Major Thesis). University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.