How Social Media Has Affected Our Social Life

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Not-So-Social Media

Originally posted on D/Construct during my internship at Doner Advertising.

How Social Media Has Affected Our Social Life. Picture this: it’s the end of a long workday, you’re exhausted and want nothing more than to lie down on the couch and relax. Unlocking your phone, you go to your folder of social media apps to scroll through one aimlessly. You like posts, send pictures to your friends, and watch some videos from your favorite vloggers. Taking time to unwind is essential, but this continuous social media habit may be detrimental to your mental health.

Social media platforms frequently only highlight the best aspects of our lives, making us believe that everyone else is living happier, more enriching lives, which can lead to envy and self-doubt. Comparing yourself to your peers is heightened in the digital age. FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out,” is a popular term for people feeling excluded when they see friends or loved ones somewhere they didn’t get invited. Many people try to look to social media to help feel more connected to others but often get the opposite result. Duke University psychologist Jenna Clark and her colleagues published a journal on social media use in young people. They discovered that many lonely people do what they termed “social snacking.” When we scroll through other people’s profiles or read through comments without making our own posts for long periods of time, it can feel like social interaction but it is not as fulfilling. Just as boredom eating or emotional eating can temporarily assuage feelings of loneliness, “social snacking” functions in much the same way. While it temporarily makes you feel better, in the long run, it’s not good for you. The resulting feeling of comparison and self-doubt can leave people feeling even more alone.

Brian Primack led a national analysis at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that found that young adults in the U.S. who use social media more frequently than their peers report higher levels of perceived social isolation. Professor Elizabeth Miller examined the results of the study and noted this:

“It’s possible that young adults who initially felt socially isolated turned to social media. Or it could be that their increased use of social media somehow led to feeling isolated from the real world. It also could be a combination of both. But even if the social isolation came first, it did not seem to be alleviated by spending time online, even in purportedly social situations.”

If less social media is better for our health, what do the social media companies think about it all? Well, they agree. YouTube, Instagram and Facebook announced during the 2018 Mental Health Awareness Week that they are promoting safe use of social media apps. Each platform is doing different things to encourage its users to be aware of the time spent, and information shared on these apps. YouTube has introduced new tools to help shorten your time spent on the app. Included will be reminders to take breaks and data accessible to users that show how much time you spent watching tiny kitchen videos. Instagram is following suit and also giving their users analytics about their time spent on the app. Instagram’s founder said in a blog post, “Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it’s the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this.” Additionally, Facebook is installing a new Youth Portal where young users and their parents can be educated on how their data is used and how they can control it.

The next time you reach for your phone at the end of the long day, consider watching just one video and then spend some time with friends or family, face-to-face.

Psychology Today \ Psychology Today \ Social Chain

Check out more of my articles on Social Media.

How Social Media Has Affected Our Social Life

Three Rules of Engagement with Social Influencers

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