Ute Wong
Oct, 2023
The most significant difference in our world from ten years ago to now is our heavy usage of and reliance on social media. Over the past few years, it has been continuously debated whether this technology is a blessing or a curse. While social media is a great way for us to stay in touch with our loved ones, it has also left us with many consequences:
- We increase the amount of money we spend
When we scroll on our phones for hours each day, we come across dozens of new trendy restaurants and products. As humans, we naturally want to fit in with the rest of the crowd and keep up with viral trends. This then leads to increased money spent on a new restaurant, a recently released film, trendy clothes, and more. This is the exact job of an influencer–they influence their followers to buy new products from which they can earn commission. As a frequent social media user myself, I have fallen victim to social media in this way. I have bought countless products from content creators on TikTok telling me I need these “life-changing” products, only to realize I did not truly need the product.
- We lose sleep
As mentioned before, the algorithm of these social media companies is designed with the intent for their users to keep coming back to the app and to keep scrolling for hours on end. This becomes an issue at night when we need to sleep. When we stare at our screens, our eyes are exposed to blue light. This blue light blocks the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes you feel drowsy. This prevents you from falling asleep, therefore causing you to lose sleep.
- We become addicting to our phones
The majority of people with a cell phone check their phone minutes after waking up every morning. Of course, it feels great to see all the notifications from our social media apps and loved ones, but checking your phone first thing in the morning is extremely harmful. When we look at our phones first thing in the morning, we get a rush of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and satisfaction. This causes us to crave this dopamine rush for the rest of the day, resulting in the constant urge to check our phones for new notifications. When we check our phones, we get lost in them, continuing to scroll for more videos or posts. Social media companies thrive off of your attention, and they craft their algorithm to draw you in. To avoid getting caught in this trap, you can charge your phone elsewhere so you don’t check it first thing in the morning, and also limit your screen time.
- We become discontent with our lives
When others put out the best versions and best moments of their lives, it leaves us wondering why our life doesn’t look like theirs. The most common issue that teenagers and young adults are facing nowadays is body image. Seeing models on their Instagram feeds with the most edited and unrealistic, yet “perfect” body causes users to feel the need to look just like them. This has been a big part of many teenagers dealing with insecurity, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders nowadays. We also become discontent when we see others living seemingly perfect and happy lives. On Facebook, there are constantly new posts about family vacations or parents posting about their kids’ recent achievements. It can be easy to compare ourselves in this way, given that we likely live in similar conditions to our Facebook friends. If we want to use social media, we must keep in mind that people only put out their best moments, so we should not feel the need to compare the entirety of our life to a fraction of theirs.
It is clear that excessive social media use has alarming consequences. However, we can still make use of this modern technology by having self control. By setting app limits and downtimes, we can decrease the amount of time we spend staring at our screens, and increase the amount of quality time we spend with our loved ones.