- Inadequacy about your life or appearance.
- Fear of missing out (FOMO).
- Isolation.
- Depression and anxiety.
- Cyberbullying.
- Self-absorption.
- A fear of missing out (FOMO) can keep you returning to social media over and over again.
When people look online and see they’re excluded from an activity, it can affect thoughts and feelings, and can affect them physically. A 2018 British study tied social media use to decreased, disrupted, and delayed sleep, which is associated with depression, memory loss, and poor academic performance.
How media affect your life physically?
Social media and mobile devices may lead to psychological and physical issues, such as eyestrain and difficulty focusing on important tasks. They may also contribute to more serious health conditions, such as depression. The overuse of technology may have a more significant impact on developing children and teenagers.
The resulting screen time and social media use can have an impact on teens’ physical and emotional health. It’s not just from personal comparisons or cyberbullying. Heavy social media use and screen time is hurting our teens by contributing to a lack of sleep and physical activity.
We’ve known for years that social media platforms—especially image-based platforms like Instagram—have very harmful effects on teen mental health, especially for teens struggling with body image, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
College-age and young adults are deeply affected by social-media use and experience depression, lower self-esteem, lower confidence, appearance anxiety, body dissatisfaction, loneliness and FOMO – fear of missing out – as a result of social-media use.
It is harmful because it invades your privacy like never before. The oversharing happening on social media makes children a target for predators and hackers. It also leads to cyberbullying which affects any person significantly. Thus, the sharing on social media especially by children must be monitored at all times.
Social media harms However, social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure. The risks might be related to how much social media teens use.
What are the negative effects of media?
- Not enough sleep. Media use can interfere with sleep.
- Obesity.
- Delays in learning & social skills.
- Negative effect on school performance.
- Behavior problems.
- Problematic internet use.
- Risky behaviors.
- Sexting, loss of privacy & predators.
How the media has hurt our body image?
Research clearly shows that media exposure contributes to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Social media is unfortunately shaping our concept of beauty. With constant exposure to images posted online, it is evident that there is a link to how individuals compare themselves and perceive their own body.
- Anxiety.
- Depression.
- Low self-esteem.
- Sleep deprivation.
- Envy/Jealousy.
- Communication issues, or lack of socialization skills for teenagers.
- Sadness.
- Loneliness.
- Reduces Face-to-Face Interaction.
- Increases Cravings for Attention.
- Distracts From Life Goals.
- Can Lead to a Higher Risk of Depression.
- Relationships Are More Likely to Fail.
- Stunts Creativity.
- Encountering Cyberbullies.
- Social Comparison Reduces Self-Esteem.
Social media can negatively affect teens by distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, and peer pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. There are also correlations between high levels of social media use and anxiety and depression among teens.
Social media is made to be addictive. Each like or positive comment presents a little hit of dopamine to our brain, thus creating reward pathways in the brain causing you to desire likes, retweets, etc.
- Closed groups and discrimination.
- Fake profiles and impersonation.
- Spam, viruses, and malware.
- Opening credit cards and bank accounts.
- Business fraud.
- Access tokens and third-party apps.
- Location-based apps.
- Invasive privacy agreements.
Social Media & Technology Abuse (Also referred to as Digital Abuse) is defined by the National Domestic Violence Hotline as the use of technologies such as texting and social networking to bully, harass, stalk or intimidate a partner.
Studies have shown that increased use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok is leading to depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only pushed more people to the platforms but has also caused people to spend unusual amounts of time cruising their feeds.
Due to this, social media impacts society in the following ways: Generating visibility around social, ethical, environmental and political views or issues. Spreading educational material quickly and efficiently. Providing companies with new marketing opportunities.
For people of all ages, social media can cause individuals to have a negative body image and even eating disorders. According to a study by Florida House Experience Health, 87% of women and 65% of men compare themselves to others on social media.
While social media may help to cultivate friendships and reduce loneliness, evidence suggests that excessive use negatively impacts self-esteem and life satisfaction. It’s also linked to an increase in mental health problems and suicidality (though not yet conclusively).
What is a negative body image?
A negative body image involves being overly focused on comparing your size, shape, or appearance to unrealistic ideals. Holding yourself to a thin-ideal or an athletic-ideal may cause you to develop unhealthy self-talk, low self-esteem, or disordered eating patterns.
It’s important to know that the age limit for most apps was not set because researchers believe students are mature enough to handle social media at age 13. The age limit is 13 because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which was passed in 1998.
Feeling friendly Social media can also help in boosting social interaction among kids – it’s a more comfortable environment where children can initiate new relationships without feeling awkward and anxious. Social platforms can help kids make friends and enable them to build more familiarity with other children.
Despite all the positive aspects of social media, there are still an abundance of risk factors, such as privacy endangerment, exploitation and online harassment. All these negatives make social platforms a dangerous place for children under 13 years old.
Dr Kristy also agrees that 13 would be the absolute minimum, however ‘It’s difficult to prescribe a precise age limit as kids need to have social and emotional skills to cope with the demands of social media. For some kids, this is 13 years and for other kids it may be 15 years.