OPINION

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By Audrey Fleming

In an already stressful world, social media sometimes provides even more stress, giving you the ability to constantly see what everyone else is (supposedly) doing, allowing you to witness only the highlights of others’ lives, and damaging the development of your brain and social skills. According to a Pew Research survey, 64% of Americans say social media has a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in the U.S. today.

Photo credit: Pikrepo.com.

A common anxiety, fear of missing out (FOMO), existed before social media, but it has become greatly enhanced by social media’s presence. In short, FOMO is the idea that you are missing out on events. You see pictures and videos posted from an event and begin to feel anxious that you were not included. You don’t want to be the one friend that wasn’t there for a funny story or memorable event. Many also experience lowered self-esteem, wondering if they were purposefully left out.

FOMO can cause people to obsessively check social media, as they are constantly wondering what everyone has going on. In some cases, people check social media every few minutes, including while driving and staying up late scrolling through feed. Social media platforms profit off its users’ addictions. Platforms use deliberate techniques to attract your attention. For example, if you have notifications turned on for Instagram, they disperse notifications throughout the day to keep you checking your phone. 

As well as causing anxiety from FOMO, in many cases, social media causes depression. A 2015 study linked social media usage to depressive symptoms in teens. Social media provides a platform for each individual to select what they want and don’t want others to see. Therefore, when scrolling through your feed, you will come across perfect portrayals of everyone’s lives that give you a false impression of what is feasible. A 2013 study found that teens who use social media primarily to view other’s pictures and posts experienced a decline in life satisfaction. Hugh Cafritz (‘22) says the worst part of social media is how “everyone posts only the best parts of themselves.” Maggie Bowling (‘22) agrees, thinking, “Everyone presents a perfect life. A celebrity posts something, and then everyone else feels like that’s what they should do, too.”

Social media also piles onto stress we feel during controversial current events, such as this summer’s protests or the recent election. According to a Pew Research study, seven out of ten Americans in 2020 say they feel stressed or frustrated when talking about politics on social media. Since social media allows users to communicate behind a screen, often with anonymous usernames, things generally get much more intense online. Social media allows you to not only have access to what everyone you know is doing, but it also allows you to see what is going on in the world every second of the day. A survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center showed that many of its participants felt they needed to take a social media break because of the stress of divisive political issues. 

Viewing others’ perfect portrayals of themselves is very effective in lowering self-esteem, which is associated with the pathogenesis of numerous mental illnesses, including depression, eating disorders, and addiction. Scrolling through images of perfectly portrayed lives can also negatively impact body image. A negatively impacted body image can lead to additional problems, such as eating disorders.

Along with the psychological components of social media, it can affect its users’ development. The screen time from social media alone negatively affects your brain. Scans from a Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study showed that the cortex was thinner in kids who spent a greater amount of time on screens than it was in kids who spent less time on screens. 

Image credit: Thenounproject.com.

Social media is addictive. When you get a notification from social media, the brain receives a rush of dopamine. Dopamine is known as the “feel-good neurotransmitter.” It gives you a feeling of satisfaction as a part of the brain’s “reward system.” You may get a rush of dopamine after eating a food you were craving or listening to your favorite music. While the chemical itself is not addictive, it is a motivator. When you experience a rush of dopamine, your brain makes note of what caused it. You’ll begin to feel the same drive to seek out that same satisfaction. This drive can be very powerful, creating an urge that’s hard to control.This causes social media users to constantly be checking for notifications. Sydni Denton (22’) says, “The worst part of social media is its constant occupation of your time and your mind.” 

Social media users also report feeling tired or worn out after using it for a period of time. Denton says, “After scrolling through social media for a long time, I find myself feeling drained.” Bowling agrees, saying, “After I spend a lot of time on social media, I think, ‘I just wasted all of that time,’ and I feel tired.” 

Additionally, social media makes it harder to develop social skills during adolescent years. You can’t experience the emotion of the other person or read their face. Additionally, you have more time to think about and craft a response than you would in real time. Bowling says, “I think conversations on social media are much more mindless. Face-to-face conversations feel more genuine.” 

Although social media can lead to more mindless conversations, it is helpful during times where you can’t talk in person. For example, social media has proved a helpful tool to stay in touch during quarantine. Because people didn’t have the opportunity to talk in person, social media allowed them to connect virtually.

Because many of the skills needed to communicate in person haven’t been practiced by teens who opt to use social media, many prefer to use it as their main mode of communication. Most teens today would prefer to text their friends rather than have an in-person conversation. 

Skills developed by engaging in face-to-face communication include being able to read verbal and non-verbal cues, such as body language and facial expressions. When kids do the majority of their communicating through a screen, it is much harder to develop and master these skills. 

However, there are some positives to social media, including finding a group of people you connect with. Cafritz says, “On social media, you can find a community of people who share all of your interests.” A Pew Research Center study concluded that 57 percent of teens have met a new friend online, and almost 29 percent have made five or more online. 

Although there are some positives to social media, because of the psychological and developmental harm caused by it, we would be better off limiting our usage. It can be useful in situations where you must stay in touch virtually, but we should focus on in person communication.