Is Social Media Negatively Affecting Your Health? Technology, science, and research have taken us into a brave new world. We are now living lives that were once only visible in the “Jetsons” Saturday morning cartoons and futuristic Hollywood movies. As a kid, I remember riding Epcot’s “Spaceship Earth” that zoomed us through the ages, and into the future, where people used to talk to each other through their TV’s and computers. I’m not sure whether scientists back then even envisioned we would have what is now social media, or that we’d be accessing it through tiny devices that act as a phone, calendar, and computer, all in one. Technology and cell phones have no doubt changed the way we live and interact, keeping us connected with friends and relatives we may have otherwise lost touch with. But there is also a dark side. Research has emphasized some of the serious side effects that technology and social media may have. But the convenience of having everyone accessible at your fingertips does come with a price. Adults and children are starting to see the effects, and more connections are being made between technological advances and significant health problems. One of the biggest concerns surrounding social media is that it is changing the way we communicate and interact, and more importantly, how we feel about ourselves, both mentally and physically.
The Dark Side of Social Media According to new research, the more time children, teens, and adults spend on social media, the greater the risk of developing mental issues. Disturbingly, there is a direct correlation between online social networking and psychiatric disorders including low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, ADD, and ADHD. Addiction The most pronounced concern lies in addiction. The phenomenon is so new that research is only just starting to come out about this issue, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest the internet and social media addiction is real and extremely intrusive. In fact, there is a diagnosis being called “Facebook Addiction Disorder” and it meets all the criteria: neglect of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experiences, and the tolerance and concealing of addictive behavior. Connected, but not Connected You may be connected to hundreds of “friends” on social media, but studies are showing that these connections are actually linked to greater feelings of social isolation. As it turns out, the more time you spend on social media sites, the more you perceive yourself to be socially isolated. These negative feelings are one of the worst things for our bodies and can have tremendous side effects.
Is Social Media Negatively Impacting Our Mental Health? Healthcare professionals have been taken aback by the huge inflow of patients affected by social media. Psychologists and psychiatrists are seeing depressed and anxious teenagers at alarming rates. Why is this? Subconsciously, social media scrollers are taking note of all the contrasts they find between their own lives and those of the perfectly presented lives they glance over. Although