Screen Queens
By Swati Madankumar
I
f you have an iPhone, your phone can now tell you the amount of time you spend on screen each day, what your most used apps are, how many times you pick up your phone, and what app you usually use right after you pick up your phone. Talk about invasive. The growing consensus is that social media and screen-time = bad, but how founded is this claim? Should our phones wield the power to possibly instill guilt in us for the amount of time we spend on them and what we do on them, or should we be thankful for them for doing this? A cost-benefit analysis of social media is one way to formulate an answer to this. First, regarding our mental health, which encompasses our psychological and social well-being. Social media helps you form and maintain friendships. While people often question the truth and depth of these relationships compared to those that are in-person and also their ability to develop one’s interpersonal skills– according to the Child Mind Institute, they are definitely much needed when you find yourself losing touch with friends who attend other universities, missing family members, or studying abroad and feeling lonely– all situations in which you would not otherwise be connecting with these people besides over phone, email, text, or regular postage mail. Additionally, on social media, you can discover circles of people who share a common interest or identity. On a more individual level, it’s easy to find positive, inspirational quotes or messages on social media that can lift your spirits when you’re feeling down. At the same time, seeing the existence of clubs or groups that you may not be able to join, or friends bonding, can increase feelings of loneliness or isolation. It’s easy to forget that photos and videos can be distorted by filters, photoshop, and the sheer autonomy that people have over what they post and how representative the content they share is of their actual college experiences. This, the Independent reports, exacerbates the anxiety, depression, pressure THE BULLETIN -
16 - Dec. 2019/Jan. 2020
