With the advent of the internet and how it got embedded in our lives that we cannot go without it for a day. Social media also came along as a byproduct of the internet as a commodity where it has over 3.6 billion active users in which Facebook and YouTube are leading the charts. On the flip side, Facebook owns WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger whereas YouTube along with Gmail, maps, and other essentials are owned by Google which is the widely used search engine across the world.
Before we shed some light on all the negative, positive, and mixed factors that are affecting and influencing our lives simultaneously. We would suggest you spend some time with TV, games, and other online activities to keep you informed, entertained, and updated. That will be a good switch for someone who loves digital/indoor activities, particularly in 2020, when most of us are in quarantine. We recommend you stay indoors and get Mediacom cable to give yourself a break. In this article, we are going to discuss all the factors that are/were shared by numerous users on multiple occasions to be affecting their lives through social media consumption or absorption if right said. So, let’s get straight to the points:
- Insufficiency or appearance of you or your life.
As soon as you look into the images that you’ve captured you are going to feel insecure concerning how to feel, look, or what’s currently going on in your life. Not everybody who shows online they are happy on their social media is also happy in their private life. The reality is far from what is shown because we choose to share the part we want to share with the world. When you scroll through your social media’s friend doesn’t reduce the stress that’s going on in your life, scrolling only satisfies your eyes, or your sense of staying on top of everything, does not reach your soul.
- Fear of missing out (FOMO)
Though FOMO has been spread around all over the world over social media where sites including Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook seem to set implication that people are living luxuriously which endorses the feeling of ‘lack’. The thing that disturbs you is when you miss out on that particular thing when you use social media more. FOMO distracts you from everything and will make you see recent updates every time by adding everything. The addiction of ‘not missing out’ might make you face such things that are unsafe, such as scrolling when you’re driving, missing out on sleep at night, compromising on health, etc.
- Isolation
Research at the University of Pennsylvania stated that excessive usage of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media apps increases the feeling of loneliness instead of decreasing it. However, low usage of social media could make you feel less isolated or alone and above all, it improves your well-being.
- Depression and Anxiety
There is a requirement of face-to-face contact for humans to relieve anxiety and depression. Nothing decreases the stress or boosts your mood than eye-to-eye or human-to-human contact with the person who cares for you. The more you get involved in social media rather than interacting with the person in real – the more you will get into depression and mental disorders.
- Cyberbullying
More than 10 billion youngsters are being bullied by illiterate and insensitive people on social media and are being subjected to hurtful comments. Social media applications such as Twitter, most commonly because Twitter leads the market trends quite often through hashtags, and the users usually leave hurtful rumors that might leave an emotional scar.
- Self-absorption
Posting anything constantly on social media will leave an impact on your real life and it is also unhealthy for one who is constantly posting about their life updates on social media.
- Things creating distractions in your life when you use social media
It is fundamentally designed to seek your attention and make you available 24/7 and sometimes force you to check updates all the time. Social media is designed similarly and works the same as how alcohols and other drugs make you addicted – it forces you to have a craving for it. Whenever you receive a like, comment, or share from anyone it will not going to stop you from seeing it leaving aside everything. Also similar to how games work, the notifications work as rewards.
Final Thoughts
Social media has uncountable advantages and now it has emerged as an industry and niche benefiting businesses and ultimately the job market. We would recommend you to use SM mindfully and overindulgence in anything is unhealthy.
