I’m started writing this article two days before it needs to be published! Instead of the night before! Psychology 101 is going up people.
Today’s article is going to be about social media: Instagram, Snapchat, you know the works.
How does social media connect with psychology?
Good question. As we all know social media has become a huge part of our world, and because it’s so prominent in our lives there have been a lot of research conducted to see what the effects social media has on our mental health.
Okay, so what are the effects?
Ah, glad you asked. As most of you probably guessed there are a lot of negative psychological effects of social media, so let’s look into that.
- Decreased Self-esteem.
This one’s pretty obvious. Most of our social media accounts show the best of us: the prettiest pictures and the most exciting life events. If you look at someone’s social media profile it looks like they’re perfect. This can take a toll on anyone’s self esteem if you begin comparing yourself with them. So protip: DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF (though easier said than done am I right?)
- Worse Sleep.
Let me tell you a story (it might sound familiar). It’s 10pm. You’re about to go to sleep but before you know it it’s 2am and you’re lying in the dark doing Buzzfeed quizzes about which character you are from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – and you don’t know how you got there. I get it. We’ve all been there. Social Media is addicting whether you’re watching vines or stalking someone on Instagram. But this addiction is leading to horrible sleep all around. Going to sleep at 2am is bad in the first place, but what you might not know is the light from your phone/laptop actually tricks your brain into thinking it’s still day time making it harder to sleep when you actually decide to turn off your device. So the protip for this one is: read a book before you go to sleep instead 😇
- A False Sense of Being Social
Social media is clearly about being social….it’s in the name. But it’s not the same as connecting with people in real life. Yes, social media is about bringing people together – and it does most of the time – but it can also cause disconnect in real life because even though you’re talking to someone on your phone, your still alone in real time.
There are actually quite a few more effects of social media but this article is kind of getting a little sad so I want to lighten it up a bit by saying…
SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T A TERRIBLE TERRIBLE THING. Sometimes social media has been a great addition to my life: I get to keep in contact with my friends, see what’s happening in the world, and most importantly I get to send funny pictures of my cats to people 🙂
What I’m trying to say is don’t stop using social media. Get your daily dose of memes and cat pictures. But at the same time make sure you get out in the world! Talk to people! Wear a silly costume and confuse people on the MRT for no other reason than that you can. And lastly, try not to let your self worth be dependent on social media. The internet might give you access to the whole world but so can your front door 😉
Oh and also get some sleep for God’s sakes!
Sources:
https://www.brookhavenretreat.com/cms/blog-22/item/3040-effects-social-media-mental-health
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns
http://www.I-actually-used-real-sources-look-at-me-going-up-in-the-world.com
P.S if you were reading this article and were like, “oh hey that TATBILB quiz sounds fun” then this is your lucky day: Click here (apparently I’m most like Lara Jean’s friend Chris. I’m good with that).
KIS Today 