Is Social Media Really Bad For You?

The biggest question in the world of technology today, is social media really bad for you? As we know social media has a great number of cons and some pros. This question is mainly towards the population who uses social media every day. But the negatives of social media over power the positives. The fallacy that goes along with this topic is middle ground, because there is definitely a middle point in between the positives and negatives of social media. But there is truth to which side is more accurate.

In 2014, researchers found that participants reported having lower moods using Facebook for 20 minutes than just browsing on the internet. One thing that Jessica said was that the weather affected peoples posts on social media. Bad weather increased the number of negative posts by 1%. Researchers also found that one negative post by someone in a rainy city influenced another 1.3 negative posts by friends living in a dry city. Which is questionable to me because how can bad weather really affect what people post. Weather does not really impact society’s moods with social media.

Research has been done with the link between depression and social media. Two studies involving almost 700 students has shown that depressive symptoms were linked to interactions on the internet. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were reported with negative interactions. A study in 2016 showed that cyber-bullying had caused many people to develop depression and anxiety. Jessica discussed how her team, the BBC news, and other scientists are looking at how social media can help diagnose depression. But there are way better ways to diagnose depression. People shouldn’t have to go through negative interactions and cyber-bullying on social media to help diagnose them with depression.

Blue light emitted from smart phones and other electronics is said to be the worst culprit. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh asked 1,700 18-to-30-year old’s about social media and their sleeping habits. They found a connection between sleep disturbances and the blue light played a big part in that. The bright lights from our electronics can delay our circadian rhythms. How often the users logged on social media was a higher predictor of disturbed sleep.

Photoshopped models and women magazines and other platforms has caused many women to have low self-esteem. With filters, certain lighting, and angles it causes society to give off a look that women are “supposed” to have. In a survey of 1,500 people, 50% of those people have said that social media posts have made them feel unattractive. A 2016 study showed that viewing other people’s selfies can lower self-esteem. A lot of women compare themselves negatively to people on social media. But not only does looking at selfie’s lower self-esteem, just scrolling on Facebook can make people feel less confident. But on a good note, Jessica said that mirrors and photos is what makes us compare ourselves, but if we just look at our own social profile, we can control how we are presented in the world. I agree with Jessica, but no matter how we present ourselves in the world, everyone should be loved for who they are.

With friendships and even romantic relationships social media can take a huge toll on them, creating downfall. Even a mere presence of our phones can interfere with interaction. There was a research study where 34 pairs of strangers were having a 10-minute conversation. Each couple were sitting in a private booth and half of them had a phone on the table. Those who had the phone were less positive when recalling the conversation, they had with the other person. This study shows that social media can cause people to feel ignored and lonely in a relationship.

In Jessica’s conclusion she talked about how her evidence in the article points towards social media affects people differently. This is very true but everyone who uses social media has a high chance of experiencing these negative effects. She also explains how social media isn’t universally a bad thing, because there are benefits. Which is valid but there are a whole bunch more negatives that overpower the benefits. Her opinion is leaning towards the middle of the positive and negative impact of social media.

Overall, Jessica’s article was very thorough and gave great examples on the harmful effects of social media. But she wrote mainly about the negatives which doesn’t really help her argument and final opinion that much. Her opinion in her conclusion sort of goes against all of the evidence she wrote in her article. The question in the beginning was, is social media really bad for you? and the answer is yes.

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