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What Are The Negative Implications Of Social Media Use?

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Not only does mobile phone use have the potential to hinder our cognitive abilities, it also has negative implications for well-being. Shiffrin, Edelman, Falkenstern and Stewart (2010) administered a questionnaire to 99 undergraduate students that measured subjective well-being, internet usage, perceptions of computer mediated communication (CMC) versus face-to-face (FTF) communication, and level of extraversion. Participants consistently reported that CMC was less beneficial that FTF communication; they indicated that FTF communication was more enjoyable, and significantly more beneficial for getting work done, building relationships, increasing emotional closeness, and making plans. Furthermore, the number of hours participants spent on the internet per week was significantly negatively associated with subjective well-being. These findings suggest that internet use and CMC may be detrimental to relationships, social support and well-being. Schiffrin et al. (2010) noted the rise of a new internet paradox, in which individuals consistently report less fulfilling communication online but continue to increase the amount of time they communicate with others online, while indicating that CMC has no impact on their well-being. Verduyn et al. (2017) conducted a literature review to explore the nature of the relationship between social media use and well-being. The researchers identified two types of social media use. First, they defined passive social media use as “the monitoring of other people’s lives without engaging in direct exchanges with others” (Verduyn et al., 2017, p. 281). Examples of this type of social media use are scrolling through ones’ newsfeed or looking at others’ profiles and pictures. Active use, on the other hand, is characterized by direct communication with others via social media, as well as posting status updates, sharing links or uploading a picture. The authors found a trend in the literature indicating that passive social media use was significantly correlated with lower self-reported well-being, while active social media use was significantly correlated with higher well-being. Verduyn et al. (2017) theorized that this is because passively scrolling through social media stimulates

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