Negative Effects of Social Media to Human Health

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO HUMAN HEALTH 1
Discuss and Critically Evaluate the Negative Effects of Social Media on Subjective Well-
Being

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO HUMAN HEALTH 2
Introduction
In modern world, many people starting from kids, teens and adults are using social media all
the time. The use of social media has become the main part of almost everyone as many people
find themselves unable to do other beneficial tasks without visiting the social media. About 80 %
of social media users are always on their laptops and on their phones updating their status,
messaging and posting their pictures (Brown and Bobkowski, 2011). Social media is beneficial
in different ways such as connecting with friends, emotional support and for self-expression, but
it also has some serious adverse effects that can lead to mental issues (Brown and Bobkowski,
2011).
Suddenly social media affects our feelings, our mood and our anxiety which leads to serious
health issues such as mental illness. Besides, social media causes some advanced effects in our
lives such as depression it is due to cyber-bullying. Furthermore social media leads to an adverse
impact on our social skills thereby compromising education (Herzog, 2011).
The use of social media is linked with cyber bullying. Most teens in the modern world use
cell phone regularly and as per the recent research findings indicate that about 70% of social
media users have reported as victims of social media bullying. Many teens do not report to
authorities as the research shows 90 % of these teens have ignored it, and only one in 10 of the
victims inform their guardians (Brown and Bobkowski, 2011).
While the use of social media made it easier for one to make friends, it also makes it easier for
predators to find victims. The anonymous uses social media to terrorize victims, and this often
leaves deep mental scars and in some cases suicide (Nabi, Prestin and So, 2013). The other
negative impact of the use of social media is depression and anxiety. Many social media users

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO HUMAN HEALTH 3
are used to spending more than three hours per day on social media which could adversely harm
their moods. These social media users are more likely to be faced with mental health issues such
as depression or anxiety.
A recent study on social and clinical psychology indicates that there is a relationship between
the use of social network and psychological stress. To avoid psychological distress, social media
users should spend no more than half an hour on the social network. Social media is understood
to be addictive which makes many users to have psychological stress when they are busy doing
other things. According to the recent study (Moreno et al. 2011), it indicates that social media is
more addictive than alcohol.
Several studies have found out that increased use of social network can negatively result in
irregular sleeping patterns thus affecting productivity (Sarwar and Soomro, 2013). The other
negative impact of the use of social media is unrealistic expectations. The primary network that
research has shown to cause social media users unrealistic expectations of life and friendships is
Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.
Currently, almost everyone has at least one account of social media platforms. Even
individuals with no desire in social media platforms find themselves creating one account. This
is because no person wants to be left behind in our fast-paced advancing world of technology
(Lenhart et al. 2010).
Furthermore, social media lowers one’s self-esteem. The use of social platforms may
negatively affect our self-esteem trait. As a matter of facts, recent research shows that individuals
who frequently use social media platforms such as Facebook often report high depression rates
and decreased well-being (Satici, and Uysal, 2015). Social media is essentially one of the curated