This week’s topic is on how social media has changed the way we live, and the implications of it on our well-being. People are spending more time online, and social media has its place in helping us connect with each other. The appeal of social media is for people to feel like they are part of a community. However, the extensive use of digital platforms to form connections has its drawbacks as well.
There are many studies conducted on the use of social media. Among the common findings are reports that the more time children spend on the platforms, the less happy they felt about their school work, school, family, and life overall. People tend to curate and show the better side of life online, and this in turn encourages negative behaviors such as social comparison with others, and lowered satisfaction with life.
Exposure to mature content at young age
Although there are minimum age policies for the use of social platforms, it does little to prevent young children from accessing them. It has increasingly come to parents’ attention that their children are spending time on live streaming platforms which may expose them to explicit content or harassment from strangers. In this article, young people share the experiences they have on these apps, which include nudity, public sex, and other sexualised content. Parents are concerned for the safety of their children, as the children may become targets for cyber bullying or harassment.
Such online experiences can be detrimental to the emotional development of the young, as they may find themselves in compromising situations, and may not know how to manage them. It is made worse if they feel that they are unable to seek help from their parents without getting into trouble with them.
In the guise of connection, we feel more lonely than ever
The purpose of social media is for us to stay connected and interact with others without having to meet face-to-face. However, even with the hundreds or thousands of online connections – friends and followers – people are still reporting that they feel lonely. In this interview, author Matt Haig talks about the link between social media and mental health issues. People are getting more stressed out and anxious about not being adequate enough as they compare their own realities to the curated life of social media postings of others’ lives. It has become a chase for more validation, while real connections are lacking. Quoting Haig, “You always want more of it, but it never gives you what you want.”
As we discover the harmful effects that social have on its users, we should look for alternative methods to stay connected with one another, and more positive ways to spend our time. Problems created by technology can be solved by first being made aware of its effects. Children are growing up with technology, and adults need to figure out how to educate them to stay safe and sane in this increasingly complex world.
Questions for personal analysis:
- How has social media changed the way friends and family interact with each other?
- Is social media more harm than good?
Useful vocabulary:
- ‘adverse’: harmful; unfavourable
- ‘rife’: in an unchecked or widespread manner
- ‘Luddite’: a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology
Here are more related articles for further reading:
- The Conversation: It is not an addiction, but we are using social media too much
“Worldwide, more than two billion people own smartphones and the average user checks their phone 85 times a day.
Obsessively checking our smartphone apps may look like addiction but, for most people, it is reinforced behaviour that could be broken without severe or long-lasting withdrawal effects.”
- Forbes: Why going on social media detox is good for us, and how to do it
“Grande isn’t the only high-profile celebrity to go on a social media detox: Selena Gomez also announced her social media departure last month, and celebrities like Gigi Hadid, Ed Sheeran, and Leslie Jones have all temporarily pulled the plug on their platforms.
The truth is, stepping away from social media on a regular basis is a healthy ritual for all of us to practice, and not exclusively recommended during moments of transition, vulnerability, heightened anxiety, or crisis.”
- Channel NewsAsia: new study that shows the upside of social media that may reduce depression risk in older patients with pain, but it’s not for everyone
“”It’s very well known that social support is helpful for depression and physical symptoms. It’s a growing area of interest in research and clinical care,” said Dr. William Pirl of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who wasn’t involved in the study.
Pirl would hesitate to recommend social media to all older adults with pain and loneliness, however.
“People respond differently to it. Some people can become more anxious hearing other peoples’ stories or about other treatments for what they’re experiencing. There’s a lot of variability of whether social media is right for you,” he said.”
Picture credits:https://unsplash.com/photos/7ICU-gxJ1zY