You see it every day, everywhere you go….an enormous amount of human beings with their face buried in their phones, or their arms stretched to its capacity, spinning in circles to capture the best lighting for the perfect selfie, all in the name of social media. Whether you are scrolling though ever so popular fight videos, memes or silly cat videos.
Looking at the dynamics of social media today, it only has a negative when we overindulge in it. There is research that shows the adverse effects of overusing social media.
Lower Self Esteem
In 2013, a group of French researchers conducted that concluded that the more time humans spend on social media sites, the lower their self-esteem is and depressed they become. One contributing factor is that social media users often view the lifestyle of influencers and celebrities as the standard of living. Social media interactions create the illusion of achieving perfection.
Bad Posture
The average human spends a total of 2-3 hours a day with their neck tilted anywhere from 40-60 degrees to look at their smartphone. While viewing this image, you can clearly see why this is a problem. According to Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, the average human head weighs 10-12 pounds. Leaning your head at a 60-degree angle in combination with physics puts around 60 pounds of pressure on your cervical spine (so if you have a big head like myself, you are doing a number on your spine). Over time this is detrimental to your spine. In many test studies, correct posture correlates highly with better health, on average, within males and females alike.
It Limits Conversation
If it is not 1:1 ratio, hashtagged or trending, 9 times out of 10 it is not deemed important. This is seen as limiting because often times serious matters are swept under the rug to topics such as cashmeoutside memes and new dance craves. Social media has quickly become the thermostat that sets the temperature for what is important in the social media world. Often time viewers misconstrue popularity for importance.
How to Fix This?
Take A Break:
Social media fasting for at least a week has shown to increase one’s mood as well as everyday habits. Delete the apps for a couple days, go outside, or participate in a new found hobby. I promise the world around you will not fall since you don’t have social media.
Tone It Down:
According to an article from Business Insiders, the blue light from your smartphone confuses your brain as if it were still daytime, which shuts down your bodies “sleepy” hormones (melatonin). This disruption in sleep patterns can cause your body damage over time, including higher chances for depression. Try using the nighttime mode on your phone at least.
Accept Yourself
You have to always remember that what you see on social media is not real life. Social media is extremely detailed, just like television, made to create the “perfect” life to grab your attention. Situations are manipulated to play on human psychology and to gain your attention, and eventually your money. It’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve your self, but don’t destroy who you are in the process.
