Technology and Social Media are Causing More Harm Than Good.
The intense use of technology and the overuse of social media is negatively effecting everybody. From toddlers to adults, technology is causing ripple in social interactions, how people learn, and how people perceive the world around them. Everywhere you look people are on their phones or tablets. Whether they’re talking on the phone, texting, or scrolling through social media, its causing a disconnect between people. It is also causing some to be unaware of their surroundings, which can be highly dangerous. The use of technology and social media is overall detrimental to everyone in society.
A seriously negative effect of the use of social media is how is causes people to have lower self-esteem. One study shows how the use of Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram causes increased feelings of anxiety, depression, poor self image, and loneliness (. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.”). People usually portray a very happy and wholesome life on social media. Typically teenagers try to get the most “insta-worthy” photo to gain the most likes. To try and achieve their goal likes, they edit their photos to look seemingly perfect. By doing this the viewer sees how perfect the person in the picture looks and then they begin to doubt themselves. Seeing someone who looks perfect with perfect circumstances causes the other people to look at themselves and their lives and wonder why they are not like the others. This is when the depression, anxiety, and poor self image come into play One of the most prominent issues that arises from social media and technology is the damage it does to self-image. The abundance of photos and videos than can be edited to make people look a certain way causes poor self-image. A major contributor to this is fake photos. Fake photos are very common on sites like Instagram. So not only is the photo of unrealistic bodies, but they aren’t real. A young, naïve teen will see these photos and compare themselves to it and feel like they are inadequate(“Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health?”). This is very dangerous to self-image. Photoshopped photos also pose a major problem. All too often people photoshop their photos to make them seem perfect. Whenever a teenager or someone younger sees that they will begin to think that there is something wrong with them because they look nothing close to how the people in the edited photos seem to look. All of seemingly perfect lives, bodies, and faces can lead to low self-image. They will compare every detail of themselves to these ‘fake’ people and feel inferior.
All of the fake and edited photos can twist the young’s mind. It can twist it to the point that these young adults will even seek plastic surgery to real the unrealistic standards set by fake people. This can be extremely dangerous physically. The body simply wont function correctly if over altered. Another major concern that comes with unrealistic body images is eating disorders. Someone who sees the “perfect” body could possibly take it too far and starve themselves, or develop any number of disorders(“Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health?”). Some of these can even become life threatening. Trying to reach the impossible bodies of the fake or edited photos online can cause serious disorders and a morphed body image, or even a twisted sense of how things actually are.
Depression and social media are linked together because constantly putting yourself down when you see how great other people seem to be doing causes you to spiral into a dark place where you focus on what others have that you think you do not have. This ties into anxiety from social media by making someone wonder what they can do better to improve their life to match someone else’s, causing stress and anxiety to “be better.” Poor self image from social media is a major problem in teens, especially girls, from ages 14-24 (“How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.”). Constantly seeing edited and posed people with exquisite physiques causes people to look at themselves and feel less than adequate. They compare themselves to the people they see, that could indeed be fake, and they feel like they are essentially worthless. The constant comparing of the social media user to the others they see flaunting their lives causes the lowering of overall self-esteem.
A serious problem with social media is child predators. These predators can hide behind a screen and lure in children, teens, or young adults. They can create fake accounts and use them to contact youth and basically trick them into sending money, photos, or really anything. They could even use it as a platform for human trafficking. It can be extremely dangerous especially when you can never truly tell when the person you’re loved one is talking to is real, fake, or a dangerous predator.
One of the major downfalls of technology use is how it effects how a young, developing mind learns and comprehends. The immediate major problems that arise are that is makes distraction the “norm,” it causes consistent attention impossible, makes imagination unnecessary, and it inhibits memory (“How Technology Is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus”). When someone reads uninterrupted texts, like in a book, it takes a shorter amount of time to complete the reading and the young person engages in deeper thinking and has a more narrow focus. This way they absorb more information and quicker. It is simply more effective to obtain information this way. Comparatively when they read on a technological devices it is fast paced, but they do not absorb information nearly as well. It requires less attention from them and most online readers skim the material (“How Technology Is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus”). It does not require them to fully engage into what they are reading. Having search engines readily available to find information ultimately also inhibits how the mind retains information because it makes remembering unimportant. Having a search engine or the information readily in front of them makes it nearly impossible for them to wholly obtain what they need to. So on the developing mind it inhibits the part of their brain that develops memory, since they will not have to use those skills as often.
Being constantly exposed to technology as a young child heavily influences social skills by decreasing their capacity for compassion, empathy, and most other face-to-face interactions. They are taught to engage in online communication and to be dependent on technology, which does not allow them to engage real people for things that they need. For example, when someone with young children goes to the grocery store they usually give the child an electronic device to keep them busy while the adult shops. This is detrimental to social skills because it teaches the child to not be aware of their surroundings and it inhibits them from learning how to properly act in a public place. Later on in life it will cause social anxiety when it come to performing simple tasks such as calling someone on the phone(“How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.”). Constantly texting people to talk and communicating non-verbally causes face-to-face interactions and phone calls to be frightening to someone whose social skills have been impaired by technology. Being consistently exposed to technology as a young child inhibits normal social behavior.
Overuse of technology can also cause problems that last into adulthood. One of the most prominent issues is how it contributes to memory loss symptoms. As mentioned previously, having information at the tips of your fingers decreases the need for remembering anything for longer than a few minutes. Decreased ability to retain information also decreases the ability to multitask. It causes inefficiency because the person has to retract what they have already done because they can not remember due to dependency on information already being available to them. In adults, technology can also cause emotional instability. Unlike teens adults do not need the immense amount of likes. However, using technology often can cause sleep deprivation and codependence. Codependency and technology coincided because they are relied on to communicate in just a few seconds. So when they do not have this available to them to call someone for advice, or for similar needs, they can become unstable because they essentially forget how to rely on themselves to problem solve (“Social Media and Self-Esteem | Impact of Social Media on Youth”). This can also lead to having no alone time which can be detrimental as well. Everyone at some point in the day needs alone time to unwind and relax, which can not be done with technology. This can cause a mental break in some people(“Social Media and Self-Esteem | Impact of Social Media on Youth”). Adults can also suffer from strained vision due to constant surfing technology and browsers all day. Roughly forty-percent of adults have eye strain due to technology use (“Social Media and Self-Esteem | Impact of Social Media on Youth”). The lighting on computers and tablets causes the eyes damage when stared at for more than twenty minutes at a time. Parents also influence their children’s technology habits. If a child sees their parent on a phone or computer often, they will follow their footsteps and cause harm to the child. Consistent use of technology is proven to be harmful to even adults.
Social media can cause people’s perception of reality to be skewed. Everyone has access to social media platforms, and these are where many news articles can be spread. A major problem with social media is that anything can be posted and it is extremely hard to tell if it is fake or real. People can be very naïve and believe whatever is put on the internet. Therefore fake accounts or false information can be spread which skews people’s opinions on the given topic. Being fed the wrong information causes reality to not be so real. If, say, 100 people read a fake article about a politician and 85 of them believe what it says and the information is false, then those 85 are walking around with a false reality in their heads. This is dangerous because whenever they find out, they will most likely be wary of any other news and be untrusting. This cycle could be repeated many times and cause confusion. When being fed false information and having a fake reality you might as well walk around with a mask over your eyes. With no sense of what is real, fake, true, or untrue, people will most likely become paranoid and not be willingly to cooperate with each other. Striving for perfection as it is portrayed in social media is a dangerous situation. Most everything posted as been edited. As mentioned earlier, it is most dangerous for teen girls because of how social media effects self image. Images of apparent gorgeous girls effects the young teenage mind, and sometimes it progresses to the point that they engage in extreme measures to become like the images they see online (“How Does Social Media Alter Our Perception of Reality? - Grace College”). Too many young adults and teens suffer from one, or even multiple, eating disorders. The need for perfection overtakes their thought processes and they put themselves at risk.
Overall the constant use of technology and social media causes many problems in essentially all age groups. The only way to help prevent these dangers is to drastically cut back on time spent on technology. There are many ways to achieve the goal of cutting back on time spent on technology in children. Parents and guardians can easily not stick an tablet in the hands of a child in grocery stores or malls and teach them how to behave, be aware of their surroundings, and how to interact with the other people there. With older children the guardians can turn off the WiFi fueling their game consoles and phones and make them go outside to play and interact with other children. The interaction with other children will be beneficial for social and physical development. They could even get the older kids involved in team sports. Teens will be more difficult given that most of them are hard headed. It can be easily done by having them spend time with friends with no phones or suggest going outside to go on a hike or go shopping. Overall there are many ways to unplug young people from technology and get them involved in activities that boost their emotional, cognitive, and just overall well-being.
Works Cited
“Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health?” Accessed 9 March 2019. PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, www.psycom.net/social-media-teen-mental-health#thedownsides.
Ehmke, Rachel, and Child Mind Institute. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.” Accessed 9 March 2019. Child Mind Institute, childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/.
“How Technology Is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus.” Accessed 9 March 2019. Psychology Today, Sussex w.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus.
Jacobson, Rae, and Child Mind Institute. “Social Media and Self-Esteem | Impact of Social Media on Youth.” Accessed 9 March 2019. Child Mind Institute, childmind.org/article/social-media-and-self-doubt/.
“How Does Social Media Alter Our Perception of Reality? - Grace College.” Accessed 9 March 2019. Grace College & Seminary, 14 Aug. 2018, www.grace.edu/social-media-vs-reality/.
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