By Corinne Dorsey
Amid quarantine, the rise of social media has made the global population more connected than ever before. Yet as we spend our time aimlessly scrolling through apps like Instagram and Twitter, we must remain cautious. The often-overlooked negative effects of social media may have a major impact on your day to day life.
Due to these uncertain times, social media has quickly become an all-consuming part of everyone’s lives.
While social media has many positive effects and remains to be a fun outlet to build worldwide connections, it can have severe negative effects depending on the users’ mindfulness while using the app. To ensure that you are being mindful of the effects that social media have on your life, take a look at these four negative signs it may have on your life.
Time Management: Scrolling through endless amounts of social media posts can go from a few minutes to hours- extremely fast. Normal tasks typically require some form of undivided concentration, and social media can be a time-consuming distraction. The constant disruption of social media can limit your attention and reduce overall productivity and performance.
Sleep Disturbances: It is no surprise that social media users are tempted to scroll through their phones before going to sleep, but this habit has its consequences. Heavy nighttime phone use can have a grave effect on the recommended amount of sleep. People who use their phones before bed are averaging an hour less of sleep at night compared to those who are not getting on their phones. This is not simply based on the light from devices, but also the stress and anxiety from the content on social media.
Decreased Self-esteem: In the world of social media, it is easy to find yourself comparing everything you post to the next user. This is especially true when your timeline is filled with models, photoshopped images, and limited realistic media. The endless possibility of comparison can leave users feeling less confident, which can negatively impact self-esteem.
Social isolation: Face-to-face interaction is extremely different than behind the screen interaction. Although social media offers a limitless amount of connections; studies show that excessive social media use can cause higher rates of social isolation. Social media is a tool that connects peoples to others, but it is important to stay in the present moment past the digital world.
Jul12020
