Social media is rapidly changing and evolving. Over the past decade, social media have surged and considerably impacted people’s lives. The availability of the internet and smartphones has increased social media usage in everyone’s life.
It has come to the point that it is tough to live without social media. However, it’s fun to use social media for posting photos, stories, sharing your thoughts and experiences, and getting updated with the latest news and trends, you can fall into the dark side of social media too.
Social media applications such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter have made it thoughtful to connect to people worldwide. We can say that it has made a positive influence on our lives by making the world smaller.
But have you thought about the negative effects of Social media?
Can you recall the last time you put down your phone for 5 minutes and picked it up in less than a minute? Did you mindlessly scroll through the feed and post comparing your life to others? If so, you might have fallen victim to the negative side of social media.
To comprehend what negative effects social media has on people’s lives, I have narrowed the 10 negative effects of social media below. Keep Reading it below.
Negative Effects Of Social Media On Mental Health
Increased Risk of Depression and Anxiety:
Social media can lead to feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and a fear of missing out (FOMO), which can increase the risk of developing depression and anxiety.
You never can’t tell the effect social media has on you until you start to seek social media validation for most of the things you do. It influences your dress sense, it influences everything about you, down to the degree you are holding.
There are a lot of people today who draws their fashion sense from social media. Imagine having an unhealthy competition or trying to meet up to beauty standard you saw online.
This leads to feeling of inadequacy, increased risk of depression, anxiety and it tends to affect mental health.
Also, one of the advantages of social media is the ease of communication and keeping social interaction between people from different locations all over the world.
And in keeping interaction and communication with people on social media, some persons have had to spend more time on social media than they spend communicating in real life. This undoubtedly leads to loneliness and inadequacy.
I have friends that when I met them outside social media, they couldn’t maintain the same energy. They were a complete opposite of what they are on social media.
Lastly, social media can greatly affect mental health when you want to compare your achievement with the achievements of people you see on social media. This can make you feel like you are missing out in life and even leads to depression.😂
So this is why social media can increase the risk of depression and anxiety.
Addiction:
Social media can be addictive, and excessive use can lead to mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and even addiction.
With all the beauty that comes with social media, social media also have lots of disadvantages. And one of the disadvantages that comes with social media is the addiction.
Social media can be so addictive that it will make you forget that the real life is outside social media. Imagine waking up every morning and the first thing you reach out for is your phone and get on social media.
A lot of people nowadays feel so bored and incomplete when they are out of data to access social media or when they just can’t go online. They feel so incomplete.
This is one of the impact of social media on mental health. Where you need to be in social media to feel complete, then there is a problem!
Cyberbullying:
Social media can be a breeding ground for cyberbullying, which can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
There are bullies everywhere including the social media. But the kind of bully on social media is quite scary. People that ordinary can’t stand or measure with you offline can really bully you into depression and unneccesassry anxiety online.
There are people on social media who have taken it upon themselves to be cyberbullies. Once you have a contrary opinion on what ever their ideas are, they result to bullying of all kind.
Cyberbullying generally has an impact on mental health. Nothing can be more disturbing than not been able to air ones opinion on a matter without getting bullied by social media bullies.
Negative Self-Image:
Social media can cause people to compare themselves to others and develop negative self-images, leading to low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.
I have said these to alot of friends, if your heart and will is not strong enough, stay clear of some social media handles.
If you are not content with what you have, there are some social media handle or places you shouldn’t visit.
Having negative self-worth is real and it can lead to depression and anxiety.
There are times when you look at the profile of some persons that happens to be in same age group as you on social media, the achievement written on their profile can lead you to depression.
Instead of helping you to aspire more, it may lead you into thinking you have been a failure. This affects mental health a great deal and leads to negative self-image of oneself.
Sleep Problems:
Being an addict of social media; and social media is accessed through phones, laptops or computers, the lights from the screens can disrupt your sleep patterns and leads to mental health issues.
The blue light from screens can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to sleep deprivation.
I remember my undergraduate years, I was so enthusiastic about making good grades and getting knowledge as well, I will stay up at night reading with little or no sleep until I started feeling headache that almost made my head explode. 😂
It wasn’t easy. It became more difficult to sleep when I read my books through soft-copies from my phone or laptop.
Increased Stress:
If you are very active on social media, you prolly will get constant notifications, updates, or reels from news feeds, that will always make you want to be on your device. This inturn creates a feeling of being always on and increase stress levels, which can negatively affect mental health.
As easy as it may seem to just take up your device and go online, you expelled energy to do want you do on social media and it leads to mental stress.
This happens alot of time around you. You can be home all day doing nothing but chatting or viewing things on social media and end up having a stressful day. 😂
Being an addict of social media increases stress level.
Reduced Face-to-Face Interaction:
The truth is social media communication can never by compared to face-to-face interaction.
It doesn’t matter how beautiful your relationship on social media, you cannot rely on them for your day to day life.
Over-reliance on social media can lead to reduced face-to-face interactions, which can cause social anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
Having a beautiful personality on social media and having a totally different personality offline ia not the way to go. You will be on happy and depressed alot of time.
Unrealistic Expectations:
Social media creates room for very unrealistic expectations and when you can’t meet them, you get depressed and this can lead to mental health problems.
The kind of life displayed on social media most times are really unrealistic and if you are not careful you will end up being depressed.
So many perfect relationships are on social media. These can get into your head and you will end up demanding such unrealistic relationships from your friends.
If you get too addicted with social media and always bang on social media validation, it could make you have a negative body image leading to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and depression.
Reduced Attention Span:
You cannot be an addict of social media and not being affected with reduced attention span. Even when you need to have a good alone moment, you will find your mind drifting towards your device.
Social media can lead to a reduced attention span, which can affect mental health and cognitive function.
I have seen a girl that was chatting while crossing a major road. She totally oblivious of where she was.
So reduced attention span is one of the many impact of social media on mental health.
Cyberstalking and Online Harassment:
Online stalking is one of the many disadvantages of social media which has made most persons argued that social media should be regulated.
Cyberstalking and online harassment can lead to negative self image of one self. This can cause a serious mental health issues.
Social media can be used to stalk or harass others, leading to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
Thus, with all being said, social media has lots of advantages that cannot be over emphasized. In fact, the discovery of social media changed the human race for the better.
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