Future of us
Effects of Social Media on People
By- Riya Patel
As we know, nowadays social media plays a huge role in many people's lives, whether that be posting pictures and new trends. Like it or not, in this generation social media affects many people whether that be in a positive or negative way. I decided to do some research to see exactly how use of social media affects people as well as their mental health.
How many people use social media?
There are approximately 3.96 billion people who use social media worldwide, meaning the average number of accounts a person may have is 8.8. 40% of people worldwide are known to use social networks for business. In the United States only 27% of people actively use social media in their day to day jobs. Throughout the years the number of people who use social media have grown immensely.
What are the positive effects of social media use?
There are many positive benefits from using social media. Such as making new friends, as well as staying up to date with family. Other things such as raising awareness for important topics also allows you to make relationships with people, find new things, and help news travel faster. It's known to increase the impact and knowledge or events happening in the present world. Also gives people an outlet to express their creativity, which leads to more communication and helps people learn new things.
What are the negative effects of social media use?
As we all know, social media has some very negative effects. Researchers have found that overusing social media can have various effects on your health. Overusing social media can cause feelings of self-harm, depression, loneliness and anxiety. Some negative effects include things such as FOMO (Fear of missing out), self-image issues, and increased usage. Other things such as having a lack of communication. Cases of cyberbullying have gone up immensely due to social media. Due to cyberbullying people inherit psychological problems such as low self esteem, depression, school phobia and poor academic performance. Statistics show that instagram is the most common platform for cyberbullying.
How does it affect people’s mental health?
Research has shown that social media mainly affects people's mental health. Peer pressure also plays a major role when it comes to mental health. Health experts also say that it's addictive and that it triggers more sadness as well as less well-being. Researchers have also said it's unhealthy for others to compare their lives to other people because it can lead to jealousy. Experts have also found that social media use appears linked to negative mental health impacts among the younger generations.
Is social media safe to use?
There have been various cases of people trying to steal your identity, actress your data, and photos and stalk others. When making a social media account a good thing to remember is making sure your account is secure and in order to do that you should create a strong password. Overall social media is relatively safe to use as long as you're cautious and know your limit. Too much social media can cause negative impacts in your day to day life. Reminder to keep your personal information personal and be very cautious about what you share online.