Does Social Media Affect Us

Picture yourself, eyes transfixed on an illuminated screen, waiting for someone to update you on their lives. You and 72% of the world watching, waiting. The first thing you do in the morning is log into a website, delaying your day, and compare your life to others. This is what social media is capable of.

Social Media makes us compare our lives to other people’s especially on sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. If things have been going particularly well in someone's newsfeed or timeline, but their day isn’t going great, this could result in a negative mood change. In 2012, UK researchers surveyed social media users: 53% said social media changed their behaviour and 51% of them said it endured a negative behaviour or a decline in confidence. Social Media can also result in FOMO – fear of missing out. While everyone else is glamorising their lives through photos or statuses, you are stuck at home, wishing how you could be there. FOMO can also lead to restlessness, out of the sample above, 2/3 said that they can have difficulty relaxing when they are unable to use social media.

Social Media can affect people’s moods or the way they socialise. The Organization, Enough is Enough, carried out a survey and discovered that 95% of teenagers have witnessed or experienced cyber bullying. Thirty-three percent had been victims themselves. Cyber bullying has also become more and more popular with the rise of social media. Sixty-seven percent of cyber-bullying occurs through private messaging.

However, social media can also help improve our connectivity [through similar passions, interests, or hobbies] and social skills, such as, the way we address or respond to one another. Many people today struggle with fraternizing and social media can help with that, we just need to become more educated on how.

Glamorising drugs and alcohol are very common within the chaos of social media. A study that explored the relationship between teenagers and social media found that 70% of teenager [between the ages of 12-17] who use social media and interact with drugs and alcohol on a daily basis are five times more likely to use alcohol, as well as being twice as  likely to do marijuana.

Lastly, social media is addictive. Studies show [found on degreed.com] that 63% of Americans log into Facebook at least once a day, 40% of that log on multiple times a day.  Also, when browsing the internet for work, if you were to have multiple tabs open and one was a social media site, it is proven that you are less likely to complete work because your brain will not be able to focus.

In conclusion, social media does affect people through their moods [negative or positive], opinions, or the way we talk to people. It also leads to irregular sleeping patterns and increases in cyber bullying, but it can also benefit and improve our social lives and help achieve things we wouldn’t dare to try.

 

 

-Natalia Cable-