By Ethan Tan
Staff Writer
Social media is an integral part of the world today. The Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, found that 96 percent of respondents check their phone’s social media apps within the first hour of waking up and 74 percent of respondents also check their social media apps within 15 minutes of going to bed.
When social media is both the first and last thing people see each day, it becomes harmful and detrimental to society. The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2011 published a report in which it found that adolescents who used Facebook and various other platforms may face cyberbullying or experience the phenomenon known as Facebook depression, which is triggered by the feeling of lack of acceptance and jealousy amongst peers after one views posts or pictures due to the sense of being excluded. The report explained, “cyberbullying is quite common […] and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically, suicide.” Yukari Seko describes in the academic journal, Discourse and Society, that modern social media has created a stigma surrounding mental health issues and those who choose to seek help.
In the case where social media users have become too afraid to reach out for help, social media is not only the root cause of this issue, but also the factor that prevents action from being taken. Moreover, the accessibility to information promotes a society that fails to question the validity of news on the Internet. A Stanford University study found that 62 percent of adults in the United States get their news from social media outlets, which can prove problematic. During the 2016 presidential election, the most popular stories were those that lacked fact checking and deceived the public. With more people using social media today, physical social interactions have been overshadowed by one’s constant need to check their phone.
A Common Sense Media study found that humans today will spend approximately five years and four months on various social media sites. Curbing this addiction will not be easy, as a Swansea University study found that people who tried to lessen their use of social media often faced symptoms of withdrawal similar to those reforming from alcohol or drug abuse.
Although social media has changed our lives in ways that has made it easier to connect with both new and old friends, it is important to monitor one’s own usage of social media for the sake of one’s mental and physical well-being. Staying connected is important, but there comes a time where disconnection is key.
