OPINION: Is Social Media positive or negative?

Christen Walder, Staff Writer

I believe society and Social media is the reason why many young people feel insecure about their bodies, skin, weight, height, money,etc. New research reveals how social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter can greatly affect your mental health. Studies have linked the use of social media to poorer sleep quality, inattention, and hyperactivity often occurring in teens and adolescents. Researchers have found that using social media obsessively causes more than just anxiety. In fact, testing has found that using too much internet can cause depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), impulsive disorder, problems with mental functioning, paranoia, and loneliness.

A lot of people use social media to separate themselves from real world interaction and to get away from people. According to statistics the average time active users spend on social media is 2 hours with usually no breaks. Meaning people are more focused on the internet world than the outside world. Those 2 hours could be used for something else like reading, homework, studying or even just going out with your friends to watch a movie. Basically anything that can keep you off your phone for those 2 hours of the day would make a big difference.

Instagram & Facebook are 2 of the biggest social media platforms. SInce people use these platforms to post about their lives 24/7 his also makes other people look at the post and feel insecure, because they feel as if other people’s lives are better than there’s. A lot of girls and boys might see someone’s post and tend to wonder,“wow..Only if I looked like that” and that causes people to be self conscious and insecure about the way they look. So, people decide to fake a lifestyle on a social media platform just to fit in with others.

Social media can also lower self esteem. Usually when people post they go straight to looking at the comments that were left under the post, because they’re so focused on what other people have to say about their appearance to where what they think about themselves doesn’t really matter like it should and one bad comment could lower someone’s self esteem just like that. It’s sad how much power social media and other people’s comments have on teen’s lives. Social media breaks can be good for our mental health and social life. You can put your phone down and out of reach, set limits by tracking your social media time, turn off notifications and separate yourself from the internet world and you’ll start to see positive changes.