"Facebook is a mirror and Twitter is a megaphone," says a University of Michigan study. Social network and media are taking up more and more of people's time. Psychologists say there's nothing wrong with social media, but that it was never meant to replace a person's life. Experts recommend that individuals establish a balance between them. Although social media is used to connect with people, it is easy for people to get caught up and become alone and isolated. Over-dependency on social networks and media negatively affect people by causing depression, lower grades, psychological disorders and physical health problems.
Excessive use of social media has been linked with depression. Nearly 400 million people in the world have accounts on either Facebook or MySpace.Doctors say it is not healthy for a person to compare him/herself to other people continuously as this can lead to a negative self image.."They don't like me" and "I'm not good enough" are thoughts that run through some peoples minds; these thoughts and others like them lead to an unhealthy life and depression. Study author Professor Paul Kirschner said, "The problem is that most people have Facebook or other social networking sites, their emails and maybe instant messaging constantly running in the background while they are carrying out other tasks. These mistakes can lead to depression." A new study about Facebook depression found that the more time a person spends on Facebook, the more his/her feelings of good health decrease and feelings of depression increase. Ethan Kross, the lead researcher on the project, explains that normal people fear "missing out" and easily become addicted. (Facebook Causes Depression New Study Say) Social networker Mohammed Gols...
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...l teenaged ads and commercials are for unhealthy food. After a while, they accept that they are gaining weight and begin thinking of it as natural. An effective way to reduce the gaining of weight is to go outdoors and play outside. In addition, parents can engage teenagers in sports so, instead of sitting all day on Facebook, they can be play a sport.(Obesity among Kids: A Media Problem?)
In conclusion, excessive use of social networks and media take up time and negatively affect grades and health, both mental and physical. It is important to balance peoples time between social media, studies, and outdoor play. From depression and lower grades to lack of sleep and obesity, social networks are a danger to the unaware, especially youth. Despite the fact people might feel that they are missing out on online life, what about what's going outside the internet?
According to “Burger Battles” from the Weekly Reader, obesity is defined as a person whose weight is 20 percent higher than recommended for their height (Burger Battles 1). When this condition begins to affect children lives, it is then known as childhood obesity. Within the United States of America, around 15 percent of children are considered to be obese (Holguin 3). Increasing tremendously, this outbreak has actually tripled in the amount of obese teen and doubled in children up to the age of thirteen (Burger Battles 2). One of the factors that is usually overlooked in the cause for obesity is the role of television. Not only does it reduce the amount of physical activity, the advertisements and commercials are targeting innocent viewers. In a survey completed by Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, the average child watches nearly 19 hours and 40 minutes of television a week (Ruskin 2). With that amount of time spent watching television, advertisements for fast food will be entering the children’s minds.
People are beginning to show signs of depression due to comparisons they make to other people on facebook (Walton). A study at the University of Houston researched the likelihood of people comparing themselves to others and “It turned out that people who used facebook more tended to have depressive symptoms” (Walton). They even found out that people do not just compare themselves to people “above” them; “It didn’t matter whether a person was making upward, downward, or neutral social comparison they were all linked to a greater likelihood for depressive symptoms” (Walton). People should not spend as much time using social media such as Facebook so that people will not be as depressed. Screens are not going to go away.
The University of Salford in the UK did a study last year on social media’s effects on self-esteem and anxiety, and reported that 50% of their 298 participants said that their “use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter makes their lives worse”. (Medical Daily) The study also reported that participants said ...
In Austin McCann's Impact of Social Media on Teens articles he raises that "social networking is turning out to be more than a piece of their reality, its turning into their reality." Teens grumble about always being pushed with homework, however perhaps homework isn't the fundamental wellspring of the anxiety. Ordinary Health magazine expresses that, on insights, a young person who invests more energy open air is for the most part a more content and healthier child. Be that as it may, since 2000, the time adolescents spend outside has diminished altogether bringing on more despondency and heftiness. Not just does it influence wellbeing, social networking denies folks from having an intensive discussion with their youngsters without them checking their telephone. Despite the fact that the constructive outcome of having an online networking profile is to correspond with companions/family, they don't even have the respectability to lift their head and take part in a discussion. Appreciating the easily overlooked details around them turns into a troublesome errand to the normal adolescent when they're excessively caught up with tweeting about it. The repudiating impacts of it goes to demonstrate that social networking is not all it is talked up to
...uch time on social networks and on their phones but at the same time they are developing important knowledge and social skills. Social websites are encouraging negative behaviors and influence teens to partake in things that can be detrimental to their lives. Social media also causes students to be distracted and causing them to do poorly in class.
To begin with, social media has been proven to be a dangerous addiction due to the many negative side effects like: sleep deprivation, and self-esteem problems. Most of the adult American population is connected to some sort of social media site, and they have joined the banned wagon of people whom check their social media accounts at least five times a day. Using social media to often can be time consuming and essentially causes sleep deprivation because the user stays up late on social media. Since social media has grown in popularity many have began to believe that social media is a life necessity. It is viewed by many as a daily necessity like brushing our teeth, or yet as important as eating. People whom are constantly on social media have been linked to develop self-esteem problems because they are so consumed on pretending and portraying this image of a person they are not. Social media has became such an addiction that many people wake up and the first thing they do is...
Besides cyberbullying, there are many other negative outcomes for American youth in the use of social media websites like Facebook. For example, many teens are using shorthand and abbreviations when writing or communicating online. Additionally, teens lose themselves in social media, ignore their surroundings and even become addicted to social media. Consequences of this include a rise in obesity, devaluation in family, lack of exercise and decrease in focus on school and homework. Adolescents that use social media more often than others are more prone to “narcissistic tendencies,” “anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders” (Protalinski, 2011). American youth that share more online also display manic, aggressive and antisocial behaviors.
One of the most concerning effects of social media is depression. When teens create an online identity, they are often displaying an unauthentic self. This “other” self is often what the person wants to be like. Having to jump from the online self to the real self can often lead to depression. In an article in the Huffington Post, Dr. Jim Taylor calls this Facebook depression. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that “Researchers have proposed a new phenomenon called “Facebook depression,” defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression.” (802). Facebook and other social media outlets create an almost high school-like environment outside of school where the teen has to strive for acceptance as well. Dr. Moreno tells the New York Times that ...
Purpose of Study Individuals should understand that the use or nonuse of social media has negative and positive effects on their lives, whether they recognize them or not. Students who excessively use social networking applications can be negatively affected because they are spending too much time on these applications rather than paying attention in class, completing homework, studying, sleeping, or focusing on their own health and condition. However, these same students who are excessive users are often times the students who are more aware of global issues and updates in pop culture through the use of social media. Students who moderately use social networking applications spend a good amount of time on these applications and are still able to manage time for sleeping, practicing good eating habits, homework, and studying. These students are usually just as aware, or slightly less aware, than students who excessively use social networking.
Imagine trying to function properly on four hours or less of sleep each night. Imagine a straight “A” student who just received their first “F” on a report card. Imagine sitting in sixth period anxiously watching the clock tick, waiting to bolt out of class to go home and curl up in front a seventeen inch PC screen to log on. Imagine personal insecurities escalating to the point where ending life seems like a conceivable option of escape from the cruel reality of the world. These are only a few hazardous effects that some encounter using social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. Many teens use these websites daily, hourly, and in some severe cases, even minutely. A 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook the most-used social networking service by worldwide monthly active users. Because the public is more apt to be exposed to the positive, fun side of social media, many users are completely oblivious to the numerous dangers that lurk within the networks’ pages.
With the way the world is now it should not be a surprise to anyone that social media has literally taken over the world in this day and age. From late 2008 to early 2009 the size of Facebook users doubled from 100 million to 200 million in eight months, and was already up to 400 million by early 2010. Twitter also raised its number of users in 2009 from 4.5 million to 20 million (Zandt). These numbers just show what Facebook and Twitter have accomplished. Other social media sites that are getting more and more popular are Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest, and many others social media websites that people use on a daily basis. With one in four people using social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, it is no wonder that all of these social media websites are considered to be important (Whiteman). With a few clicks of a button or taps on a screen, a person can be connected to family and friends in every corner of the world. Social media can even allow people to see what their favorite celebrities are doing with their lives. According to Honor Whiteman,”Social media defines an array of internet sites that enable people from all over the world to interact. This can be through discussion, photos, video and audio (Whiteman).” Social media is a beast in its own right that is used by a multitude of people all over the world everyday for things such as updating their Twitter status for personal use to updating a company 's Facebook page on a weekly basis. Yes, there is no doubt about it, social media has done its share of very good things, but there is also an entire list of the negative things about using these websites that can really make a person question if they should even be on them. Af...
Supporters of social networking sites say that the online communities promote increased interaction with friends and family; offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials. Social networks are now widespread in our world with existing social networks expanding, social networking sites are being created for educators, medical professionals all accessible 24 hours a day via computer, tablet, smart phone, and Internet-enabled devices. Challengers of social networking say that the sites prevent face-to-face communication, waste time on frivolous activity and spread false and potentially dangerous information.
According to the article, “10 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Problems,” Degreed claim that social media make us restless by “two-thirds admitted to having difficulty relaxing when unable to use their social media accounts.” Teenagers are always tired when they have to stay up late at night to catch up with all the news feed on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that make them have no energy to go on the next day. Based on the newspaper, “Excessive Social Media Use Harms Children’s Mental Health,” by the Telegraph shows that “children who go on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more than three hours a day are more likely to have mental health problems.” Social media can lead to bullying that affects teenagers mental health issue and being stressed. Social media have now taken a part of human life and some are addicted to the point where they can’t even live without
Some believe social networks are a waste of time; slacking in school or in jobs and can sometimes be dangerous. Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter can be one of these problems with some teenagers. “Students who use social media had an average GPA of 3.06 while nonusers had
Social media has nothing but negative effects on people’s minds. Social networking can become very addicting and people can get wrapped up in the drama and excitement of the cyber world. It would only improve our society today if social media never existed to our knowledge. Our society today feels so connected with social media that it interferes with our lives making every task even harder with the temptations.