The influence of social media on a person's personality may become a problem in the future. The 21st century is the century of computers, the global Internet, various machines, social networks and other computer technologies. Having a computer and telephone is considered essential for modern life. The younger generation cannot imagine life without smartphones and computers. Gadgets, unfortunately, take up most of the time in many people's lives. In any free time, a person goes online, checks for letters, or looks through the news feed, watches popular videos, puts “likes” or simply “surfs” the Internet..
Today, many on social networks are trying to hide from reality, it’s easier there, they don’t know you there, and everyone creates for themselves the image they want. In real life, a person can be very shy and lonely, but on a social network he may even have fans.
A social network is an Internet network that allows you to communicate with Internet users among themselves. In it, some people independently compose their personal portrait, hiding their identity behind subscriptions, groups in which they belong, and posts on their walls. Before the mass propaganda of achieving success through social networks, it was possible to draw up an approximate portrait of a person based on his page. Now this is very difficult to do.
Social media addiction
Research shows that 63% of Americans access social media daily.
and 40% log in
several times a day
(today we can say with confidence that our compatriots are not far behind American Internet users in this matter).
People use such sites for many purposes, but the main reason is to distract their attention from everyday life or to escape boredom.
People love to leave comments and post any information. And it is so addictive that a person simply cannot stop. Today there is even a scale to measure social media addiction.
Why social media negatively affects mental health
Social networks have changed the understanding of what it means to “live as well as others”
We are no longer competing with that weirdo who alone in the whole city can afford the new Tesla model. Instead, we scour social media and envy celebrities who have private jets. We scroll through our friends' vacation photos and think that we also urgently need to go on a trip.
Social media gives us a glimpse into their lives and turns the age-old tendency to live as well as others into a virulent epidemic that almost everyone is struggling with.
It’s no longer about having a well-groomed lawn like your neighbor’s. Now it's about having a better social calendar, taking more extravagant holidays and proving that you have a happier family than everyone else to show off on Instagram.
And this competition costs us more than just money. Keeping up with others seriously undermines our mental health.
Envy on social networks leads to depression
Maybe you don't actually buy everything that everyone else has. Perhaps you're just browsing social media and feeling jealous that you can't afford to keep up with others' lifestyles.
Unfortunately, this envy does not go unnoticed. Research has shown that being jealous of your Facebook friends is directly linked to depression.
Other studies have shown that Instagram has even worse effects on our mental health. Looking at all those photos of fitness enthusiasts and business gurus, you may feel like you don't measure up simply because you can't keep up with the people who are showing off the best moments of their lives.
Debt negatively affects mental health
In an effort to satisfy their envy, many people go even further - they start buying things that they do not need at all. But they buy them only to look good on social networks.
Watching a celebrity show off their latest tech gadget on social media or seeing a photo of your friend's new handbag can tempt you to go shopping. A little shopping therapy can provide a temporary boost to self-esteem and project an image of success.
Buying more things has become something of an epidemic. Even as families get smaller, the average size of a home in America has tripled over the past half century.
However, 1 in 10 Americans rents a storage unit because their family can't fit all their stuff in their giant home. And 25% of homeowners can't even fit one car in their two-car garage because the space is cluttered with stuff.
Buying all of this certainly puts a financial strain on most families. This includes increasing credit card bills. And research shows that debt beyond a mortgage puts people at three times the risk of depression and anxiety.
Everyone brags about what they have, and few mention that they are drowning in debt (and therefore experiencing depression and anxiety). But the truth is that most people can't afford the lifestyle they portray on social media.
How to stop competition
If you've fallen into this digital trap of keeping up with your neighbors and friends, it's important to take steps to stop unnecessary competition. Here's how you can worry less about impressing people and focus more on improving your mental and financial health:
- Use social media consciously. Mindlessly scrolling through your news feed can negatively impact your thinking. Pay attention to the time and energy you spend on social media. Don't follow people you're tempted to compete with, set limits on the time you spend on social media, and think carefully about why you share information yourself.
- Take steps to improve your mental well-being. Be proactive in building mental resilience and managing stress. A few simple exercises every day can help you feel better, even in the digital age.
- Create a budget and take responsibility for your money and expenses. When you're clear on how much money you make and spend, you'll be less tempted to buy things you can't afford.
- Seek professional help. If you're struggling with your mental health or your spending habits are out of control, get help. Talking to a therapist can help you manage your emotions and finances more healthily.
Original article: Amy Morin — Why Social Media Takes a Toll on Everyone's Mental Health, December 2019
Translation: Ostrenko Anna Alexandrovna
Editors: Simonov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, Shipilina Elena Ivanovna
Image source: pixabay.com
Keywords: envy, causes of depression, emotion management, financial management, mindfulness, conscious emotions, social networks, the harm of Instagram, envy of friends
Available for download:
- 170420 Why social networks negatively affect mental health
Internet threats
Online threats or cyberbullying
especially relevant for teenagers.
For your information!
Cyberbullying is illegal actions that are carried out via the Internet and are aimed at psychological pressure on a teenager.
The methods can be very different: psychological violence, threats on the Internet, intimidation, blackmail, intimidation and others.
There is even an entire organization called Enough is Enough that strives to make the Internet safe for everyone. According to the organization's survey, 95% of teens who use social media have witnessed cyberbullying, and 33% have been victims themselves.
this phenomenon.
Disadvantage of social networks
Studies examining the relationship between teens, social media and drug use have found that 70% of teens aged 12 to 17 who use social media daily are five times more likely to smoke tobacco.
three times more likely
to drink alcohol
and twice as likely
to smoke marijuana.
In addition, 40% of teenagers admitted that they were influenced by photographs and various
images on social media.
VKontakte, opposition and xenophobia
In two papers, my co-authors and I tried to understand whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the use of social networks - in our case, VKontakte - and participation in elections, protests and other events. Of course, you can easily count the number of VKontakte users who participated in elections and protests and compare them by city. But this makes no sense, because maybe in one city activity is lower, and in another it is higher, because other people live there, and not because there are more social network users there. We wanted to find a situation in which the number of VKontakte users in a particular city changes due to something not related to protests, voting, or crime, but only to how VKontakte was spreading in Russia .
When Pavel Durov launched VKontakte, he wrote a message on the St. Petersburg State University forum in the spirit of “We came up with a new cool thing - a social network. If you want, write us a private message and we will let you in.” For two months people wrote to Durov, and he personally let everyone in, issued an account and assigned a user number. His mother recalled these two months when her poor boy did not eat, did not sleep and, sitting in the kitchen, let some strange people into some kind of social network. As a result, Durov gave up and opened free registration for everyone.
This story can tell a lot about the spread of VKontakte and its first users, who were people who learned about the new social network through a student forum, that is, who were then studying at St. Petersburg State University. We know that people from all over the country come there. There is a city from which a number of people studied at St. Petersburg State University with Durov. At home, they told their friends about VKontakte, and the social network began to spread. And if none of the residents of the city studied at St. Petersburg State University at that moment, it means that the spread of VKontakte there was slower. Knowing this phenomenon, we can compare the effect of the number of VKontakte users.
As a result, we came to the conclusion that, firstly, VKontakte really promotes political actions. The more social network users there were in a city in 2011–2012, the higher the likelihood of protest there. But where there are more VKontakte users, more people support the government in elections. This proves that
Social networks do not lead to the growth of the opposition movement, but they mobilize it.
The second conclusion: an increase in the number of VKontakte users does lead to an increase in the number of hate crimes. But this happens only in those cities where there was initially a high level of nationalism.
Social networks in themselves do not contribute to the growth of xenophobia and nationalism, but they do intensify these phenomena if they already exist.
Thus, the accumulated evidence and research on social networks shows that they affect our lives and that everything bad and good that is said about them is true: their effects on depression, on news perception, on pleasure, on increased political activity and level of nationalism. Social networks are an important and multifaceted phenomenon that greatly changes our lives, and their influence should not be underestimated.
Social media is a distraction
How many tabs do you have open right now? Are you sure you're focused on one thing? The fact is that you are unlikely to be focused enough if a social network page is open on the monitor.
Research has shown that our brains do not have the ability
fully
focus on two tasks at once
.
Instead of solving specific problems, the human brain constantly switches from one task to another. This makes it difficult
to process information and
reduces
brain performance.
Conclusions about the influence of social networks on personality
You need to spend less time on the Internet. Understanding that you don’t need any approval from society, that each of you is truly a unique person on your own is sometimes very difficult. In such cases, it is better to ask for help from a specialist, such as a psychologist.
Remember, those who are really interested in you, those who truly love you, will value you not for how “popular” you are and what a “rich” life you live on the Internet. You are valued for what a true friend, girlfriend, husband, wife, mother, father you are. With your own individual qualities and unique skills. Undoubtedly, time on the Internet can be spent usefully, but only in order to learn something new and useful, and sit there in moderation.
Accept and love yourself, do not be dependent on society’s assessment, do not be afraid of the real world, because each of us is a person, self-sufficient with his own inner world, and with his own view of the world around him.
Igor Fomichev, clinical psychologist,
expert at the Center for Special Research and Expertise.
Plus of social networks
However, social networks also lead to positive things.
psychological satisfaction, which is undoubtedly their
advantage.
Perhaps one of the most important points is that social media immerses us in a
special world of communication,
thanks to which
are revived and maintained
.
What’s even more exciting about this technological world is that you can always find an incredible number of like-minded people with just one click,
which can be accessed at any time.
With the help of research provided by the British Psychological Society, it was found that if students who experience low self-esteem use social media, they can overcome depressive and depressed moods
through association and communication with other people.
Happiness
But for optimists, social networks are an opportunity to brag about their successes and achievements. In addition, a person can laugh at some humorous post. This can also improve your mood, increase self-esteem, and add more positivity to your life.
Photo: Depositphotos
Social networks have an interesting feature. They make everything good even better, and they only make everything bad even worse. Therefore, you should not go on social networks in a bad mood.
