Negative Effects On Social Media

Kardaras, Nicolas. "Generation Z: Online and at Risk?." Scientific American Mind, vol. 27, no. 5, Sep/Oct 2016, pp. 64-9. MasterFILE Premier. Kardars discuss generation z use of social media affecting them negatively. He opens his article with a story of Heidi who becomes addicted to social media when her school issues her a Chromebook. Before Heidi is issued the laptop, she was a sweet innocent girl and after having it for a semester she became someone her parents could not recognize. He states that social media is a “perfect storm” for humans because having a social connection key to “happiness and health”. Having the ability to always use social media leads to hyper texting the illusion of a real connection making it hard for teens to have face to face conversations, making a teens become “glow kid[s]“, someone who is raised on mostly digital social interactions. Facebook depression” can result in the teen to have lower grades and behavior problems in teens. He concludes his article with facts proving that Facebook can become addictive in some people. This source helps support my thesis that Facebook affects teens mental health.

Social media has been widely used in the United States and the rest of the world. These sites influenced the way we communicate, but, what about our health? According to the National Center for Biotechnology, researchers have found that the use of social media has increased the number of psychiatric disorders

Did you know social media can change you? Social media can cause problems with your health? In the article, “Student examines negative effects of social media on teens” by Aurelie Krakowsky and “The Upside of Selfies: Social media isn’t all that bad for kids” by Kelly Wallace talks about social media, but clearly it’s harmful to people. Social media is for people to enjoy on a daily basis and be updated on what is happening in the world; however it can be harmful to your health and even your education. It can lower kids self esteem and make them feel uncomfortable about themselves. It can also cause health issues and distant yourself from the people around you.

Some people may wonder what effect social media has on people worldwide. Many people are using social media daily and because of that, they might not know the effects that can be lurking behind a screen and causing harm to their mental health. Social media has many negative effects on mental health. Some people could think that mental health and social media has no relation, when it does. It is a fast-growing issue with many “cause and effect” reasons behind it. Each cause needs to be recognized along with the effect it has on the people who use social media.

The more we use social media, the less happy we seem to be. Many people would agree that social media leads to isolation, depression, and anxiety. Social Media impacts people in many ways; some are good, but some are very bad. Using social media to communicate is extremely convenient, unfortunately, more people are developing social anxiety because we are learning to comunicate through a screen from a young age. Also, seeing people posting about all the good in their lives can lead you to compare yourself to others. Most importantly, increased exposure of bullying through the internet contributes to high risk of depression. Generally, social media has more bad effects on our mental health than good ones.

Most teens believe that social media has a positive impact on their emotional well-being rather than a negative one. It is said that a large number of teens believe that social media makes them socially active and develops the way they feel. Although, researchers believe that is likely untrue. In the article, "Remaining Aware & responsible Teens & Tech in the Social Media Age." it states, "In fact, social media may have a number of effects on our mental health. Studies show that social media can increase anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness and isolation" (Tamburro 1).

About 90% of young adults use social media and majority of user’s check-in at least once a day. (Lin, Liu, 2016). Social media can have positive impacts in our lives when it comes to communication, and research show that it is changing young adults and our youth for the worst in a negative way. So, how does social media cause depression? Social media can lead to poor mental and physical health: cyberbullying and social isolation can cause depression; this depression leads to alcohol use.

The advent of social technology may bear some responsibility for anxiety and depression in adolescents, teenagers, and young adults. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram -- they are all fun -- until things get out of hand. The 2014 National College Health Assessment, a survey of nearly 80,000 college students throughout the United States, found that 54% of students reported experiencing overwhelming anxiety in the past 12 months and that 32.6% "felt so depressed that it was difficult to function" during the same period. The study also found that 6.4% had "intentionally, cut, burned, bruised or otherwise injured" themselves, that 8.1% had seriously considered suicide and that 1.3% had attempted suicide (Potarazu). Sreedhar uses logos to support how social media have some part in the causes of anxiety and depression in adolescents, teenagers, and young adults. He uses the survey data conducted by The National College Health Assessment to prove his point.

It all started with Facebook, where people could post desired snippets of their seemingly perfect lives. Then, Instagram came along. Users would carefully choose one photo or video to sum up whatever they wanted to—whether it be the big game or a friends night out. Finally, Twitter was gifted to us. Twitter enabled the average social media junkie to post short comments about virtually anything. But, despite all of the differences, what do these three internet giants have in common? They keep the social parts of us connected. In recent years, the world truly has been put at our fingertips. We have been given the opportunity to snap, tweet, share, like, view, comment, and scroll through anything. This has revolutionized the way we communicate. We no longer have to talk to each other, or write letters. Face time is no longer a part of a conversation, rather an app on a phone. So, there is a downside to all of this connection. If used incorrectly, social media can have negative effects on mental health.

The popularity of social media giants such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are on the rise and so is our nation's overall poor mental health status (The State of Mental Health in America). Studies have shown that there is a direct link between our social media obsession and our poor mental health (Walton). Social media can lead to feelings of comparison, jealousy and even delusional behavior. Another effect that social media has on our mental health is that it often leads to feelings of sadness and loneliness. Lastly, social media addiction is one of the many things that affects our mental health. Studies show that social media is often the cause of poor mental health, it can cause comparison, jealousy, loneliness and lastly addiction.

“The analysis showed that people who reported using the most platforms (seven to 11) had more than three times the risk of depression and anxiety” (Zagorski web). The younger the person is when exposed to social media the more likely they are to suffer from depression and anxiety. With teen’s brains not fully developed and using multiple social media site this could lead to negative thought or feeling in a teen. This could lead to making a teen self-harm or committing suicide. With so many teens on social media and so many emotions on these sites they are contagious to read, however when a teen reads these statuses it also can make them feel the same way. So, when a teen reads a depressing status it can cause them to feel the exact same way.

Social media seems to be one of the many hot topics of discussion recently, and consequently many people have the false sense of security that they have a profound knowledge on how it affects the health of the teenage population. A sedentary lifestyle, decreased sleep, as well as other physical health conditions seem to come to mind when one links health and social media. However, there is a much bigger problem that can go unnoticed because it can be impossible to see: the impact it has on mental and emotional health. These branches of health are just as important, and even arguably more important than physical health is. Social media can be utilized to connect with distant friends and express oneself; however, teenagers should refrain from the overuse of social media due to its detrimental effects on their mental and emotional health.

Studies have shown that the average person now spends more time each day on their phone and computer than they do sleeping according to Nick McGillivray (“What are the Effects of Social Media on Youth?). Social has become part of our social society, especially for the many youths. There are positives to being on social media and also equal amounts of danger that come with using social networking sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These social networking sites also have effects on today’s youth by altering the way they behave, the way they learn, in not only a classroom setting but also in the real world setting, and the way that they socialize with their peers and others.

The Thumbs up and Thumbs down of Technology & Social Media in Relation to Food

Our lives seem to be more and more consumed by technology as great advances in this area have continue to be made, especially when it comes to social media. Many researchers have begun to notice that depending on how much time individuals spend on these social media sites, they can negatively affect their daily lifestyle in very significant ways.  For example, social networking has become a huge distraction for students and it can affect their grades depending on how often they check their various accounts while doing class work.  Researchers have also come to find out that social media can contribute to the development of psychological symptoms