According to several studies, social networks play an important role in affecting the health of young people.
It appears that the social network Youtube would have benefits for its user by bringing in particular external support (Tutorials, informative videos, etc.). However, the main social networks like Instagram or Facebook are widely judged for their many harmful effects.
Here are the 5 most common side effects experienced by social network users:
Dependency:
You’ve probably had the awkward moment sitting with someone having the eyes on their smartphone, looking for the latest “like” and comments on the photo of they just posted.
In the same way, if you feel frustrated, when your connection is missing, it is simply that you are addicted, like many users. It’s scientific! Studies even compare the effects of certain social networks to those of a drug such as cocaine and the temptation to stay online to the ones addicted to sex (on bigger scale).
Many people are well aware of this, but not everybody, which seems very worrying. However, it is never too late to log off and stay away. Try to manage the time spent on your device, turn it off or leave it at home for a walk, keep it in your bag when you are at work or at a restaurant, etc.
Finally remember that your parents lived their young years fully without social networks and without a smartphone!
Low self-esteem:
Focused on sharing pictures on Instagram or Snapchat makes us doubt our own image.
Looking at pictures of your friends showing ideal images may cause the feeling of loneliness and depression as you compare yourself and referring to new beauty standards (Am I beautiful enough? Am I nice looking enough?)
Our feed becomes as a public daily newspaper that often pushes the user to restore one’s appearance, and more generally puts one’s own life in question.
Depression:
Many studies reveal that anxiety and depression rates have increased by 70% over the past 25 years and that social networks are directly related to this growth.
Studies also report that people who are on social networks for two hours or more a day have significantly more likely to have a vulnerable mental health.
these negative feelings have been amplified by the fact that social networks generally include people of the same age, outside the family circle and therefore whose opinion is more impacting. In even some case a user can get depressed for not receiving any reaction to a post.
Loneliness:
Researchers again have shown that spending more than 2 hours a day on social networks significantly intensify the feeling of isolation among children & young adults.
People suffering from loneliness have turned to social networks to create an ideal world that may have resulted in a break with the real world.
Many users will prefer, for example, to communicate hours online than to physically meet, thus dehumanize their relationships and making them virtual. With the new era of social networks, we became less social and less together.
Lack of sleep:
While school fatigue may have many origins, many researchers tend to think that the use of social networks constitutes today the main cause of the growing lack of sleep among young people.
Compulsive online presence requires intellectual and emotional involvement as well as the light of the screens, before falling asleep, disturb our biological clock. Students who wake up at night or at a different time each morning would also be much more likely to be constantly tired at school than others.
