Social Media Hinders Happiness
What is a basic human need that helps improve happiness? Social interaction. Social interaction is a basic human need because we are naturally very social creatures, and without interaction with peers we can get lonely, and often depressed. You would probably think that social media would vastly improve our happiness because of our need to interact with others, I mean that is the intended purpose of social media. The reality is that social media causes major depression, especially in younger people.
How does Social Media cause depression?
Many of us users of social media fall victim to FOMO (Fear of missing out).
Lots of people have more than 1 social media app. No one wants to be the only person who doesn’t have one, so they too download social media apps. People want to be accepted by their peers and so once they are roped into using social media, they try to make their posts, pictures, and conversations more likable. Usually younger girls and boys will try and edit their photos due to insecurities based on unrealistic body standards set by magazines and other posts from social media influencers. People feel less scared to talk trash about other people online because they are allowed to hide behind a screen. This makes it easier for people to get away with bullying and harassment. This makes social media a very dangerous place for people because they are expected to act and look a certain way, or risk being outcast by their peers.
Some other examples of social media actually causing depression rather than increasing happiness would be the quality of the online interaction.
“Jerry Bubrick, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, observes that ‘FOMO is really the fear of not being connected to our social world, and that need to feel connected sometimes trumps whatever’s going on in the actual situation we’re in. The more we use social media, the less we think about being present in the moment.’
Instead we might be occupied with worrying why we weren’t invited to a party we’re seeing on Instagram, or making sure we don’t miss a single post from a friend. But if we’re always playing catch-up to endless online updates, we’re prioritizing social interactions that aren’t as emotionally rewarding and can actually make us feel more isolated.”
Other contributing factors of social media that cause depression come from social media apps such as Instagram. Recently, headlined that Instagram was suppressing “likes” that are hidden to the public viewing of the total number count. This sharing by popularity views can easily be influenced by young users feeling the pressure to never take a bad picture. I think this new feature tool can help Instagram users feel more confident about their post rather than the negative reaction that can be faced with posting. “It’s a small step in the right direction.” (Jacqueline Sperling, PHD, a psychologist at McLean Hospital). Through a mental health expert, this unique feature can be designed to help this new generation rather than hurting it. Such as other health benefits that can benefit from a healthier way of living without technology.
So what can you do?
One way to increase happiness while still having social interaction is to limit your use of social media. An example of this would be from a study that was done at the University of Pennsylvania. 143 students were assigned to 2 groups. 1 group was allowed to use social media, and the other was only allowed to use it for 30 min. They were allowed to still use social media instead of completely cutting it off because in today’s society it’s highly unrealistic that someone doesn’t use any kind of social media. The group that had limited use of social media had better mental health outcomes. “We didn’t think [complete abstinence] was an accurate representation of the landscape of the world that we live in today. Social media is around us in so many capacities,” -Jordyn Young, a co-author of the paper and a senior at the University of Pennsylvania.
Other ways to take advantage of being away from technology is being aware of our surroundings. A person being involved in physical activities that can involve our body to work diligently can improve quality of life. A physical sport can help keep our eyes off a screen, a club of being involved with society or even a simple get together with friends. All these benefits can be associated with a non-technology life by keeping our heads high.
NMD 200, Jon Ippolito
Group Members: Noelle Williams, Ethan Suderley
Resources:
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/social-media-use-increases-depression-and-loneliness
https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/
https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health
https://www.verywellmind.com/social-media-and-depression-5085354
Credits:
Created with images by Viacheslav Yakobchuk - "Unpleasant situation. Worried girl touching temple while crying and reading answer from boyfriend" • chinnarach - "close up young teenager man frowned on face with serious feeling while reading comment on social media or website or blog from smartphone for cyber bullying concept" • stokkete - "Woman suffering from insomnia and checking her phone" • Odua Images - "peer pressure. young teenage asian girl feel depress while using her mobile phone at home" • Pixel-Shot - "Man with his father and son using laptop at home" • Studio Romantic - "Children sitting on windowsill, playing online games on mobile phones and ignoring each other" • Kaspars Grinvalds - "Young parents ignore their kid and looking at their mobile phones" • Krakenimages.com - "African american woman with braids wearing casual summer clothes hugging oneself happy and positive, smiling confident. self love and self care" • Seksan - "Asian healthy woman cardio with bicycle machine with her friend in the gym. Workout cardio exercise and muscle training concept."