Social media has an impact on mental health. Is it harmful? Is it ruining teens?
According to researcher, Fabio Duarte, the average teen spends about 1 hour and 29 minutes on social media. While social platforms provide ways to connect with the world, they are proven to consume the thoughts of many people of all ages and can feed the culture of FOMO (fear of missing out). Additionally, craving the endless desire for affirmations can rewire young brains that are still developing. In turn, these platforms, are often associated with anxiety and depression.
Individuals with a history of trauma are more susceptive to being triggered by content that is spread across social media. Engaging with social websites results in the continual comparison to other people, partnered with having to portray a “perfect image.” This can beat down the viewers opinion about themself when they are in constant analogy.
How is the use of social media contributing to negative affects on the detrimental act of sleep?
To access social media, the use of some electronic device is present. Researcher and Doctor, Fahdah A. Alshobaili, found that that approximately 96% of women and 90% of men browse on their phone before bed, with 80.5% of the content being social media. Mobiles emit mostly blue light and these wavelengths are proven to keep the viewer productive and focused which is perfectly suited for daytime phone usage. However, when an individual is trying to wind down at night, this isn’t ideal.
Doctor Michael Breus, Clinical Psychologist, regards that this exposure to blue light tells your body remain awake rather than sleep. Blue light affects one’s melatonin levels–the hormone that regulates sleep–more than any other wavelength. This forces the state of “cognitive arousal” in response to the light being produced, which will contribute to the struggles of getting a good, deep sleep at night.
The Science Behind the Addiction of Social Media.
Social media is very addictive and for some people, is a necessary part of their day. Lee Health reports the possibility of becoming physically and psychologically addicted to social media as it sets off the brain’s “reward system”. Each time a notification dings, dopamine–the “feel good” chemical–is released into the brain.
“Dopamine is actually a neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger between neurons) involved in neurological and physiological functioning,” Health said.
This chemical is similarly released when one eats, gambles, has sex and other addictive activities which represents the extremity of chemical reaction that social media can produce.
Social media is a gateway into exposing inappropriate content at an early age.
Social media can become overwhelming when you follow the wrong content or get too involved which can lead to extensive engagement and consumption of content. The possibility and access to content can expose kids to things their parents were trying to guard them from as they may not be prepared to see or hear.
Social media provides easy access to sending inappropriate pictures, as apps like Snapchat supposedly “delete” pictures after they are sent. In this, sharing explicit photos can have serious outcomes that can come back later in life, or follow the teen for a long period of time. This can lead to legal consequences as it is considered “child pornography” and can ruin the teens reputation in an instant.
Social media may essentially brainwash young adults into participating in such actions, jeopardizing their future in bigger ways than they can process. Aside from that, children may be introduced to the idea of self harm or may be encouraged to do so by someone behind a screen. Such “challenges” on social media platforms have led to young users to find themselves in very dangerous situations, some resulting in death.
Additionally, the ease of writing hate comments or threats to someone online can be abused and can lead to serious mental and physical harm to the receiver. Social media makes it easy to hide behind their words and contributes to the 20% of teens who consider suicide, a statistic from the ones who have survived.
The Rebuttal
Although there are countless reasons why social media is contributing to harmful mindsets, there are some benefits. Through social media, kids can learn how to communicate, research, be exposed to outside cultural ideas and more. However, the question we need to consider as a society that has been raised on social media is how much are we willing to sacrifice in order to so called “improve and enhance” our world?
