How Can Social Media Negatively Impact You?
Social media has positive benefits: increasing connection, raising awareness for good causes, making it easier to stay in touch in long-distance relationships, and much more. However, there are also some negative impacts of too much social media.
Too much social media can negatively impact us in ways that detract from pursuing goals and finding contentment. Be self aware and note the final charge to limit, not necessarily eliminate social media.
#1 Negative Impact of Social Media: Sleep Disruption
The challenge to stop the scroll right before bedtime disrupts sleep, either from making it more challenging to go to sleep after putting the phone down or simply not being able to put the phone down.
For example: “A survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 93% of Gen Z have lost sleep because they stayed up “past their bedtime” to view or participate in social media.”
Read more here, American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
#2 Negative Impact of Social Media: Social Pressure
Social media can increase connection, but without mindful usage, it can have the opposite effect. The Pew Research Center describes this effect with this 2022 teen study.
“While about three-in-ten say these platforms have made them feel like their friends are leaving them out of things (31%) or have felt pressure to post content that will get lots of likes or comments (29%). Another 23% say these platforms make them feel worse about their own life.”
Learn more about assessing your personal social media motives.
#3 Negative Impact of Social Media: Decreased Attention Spans
Have you ever tried to dart between social media and another task? Say cooking, filling out paperwork, working on your computer, watching television. REally, the more you try to multitask, the less effective you actually are at each task.
One risk of social media is the possibility of decreasing your attention span, something that’s happening more and more.
“Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics who studies attention spans due to social media, said the average attention span on a screen has decreased by 103 seconds between 2004 and 2023.”
Read more in this article, “Attention Spans Dwindle Due to Social Media Use.”
#4 Negative Impact of Social Media: Physical Health Struggles
As professionals for BetterMe explain, “Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, and many people find themselves spending hours upon hours scrolling through their feeds. This can lead to increased screen time, which in turn can lead to several problems.”
Increased social media usage leads to increased issues with:
Eyestrain
Neck Pain
Headaches
Back Pain
Anxious Thoughts
Finding a Balance: Limiting vs. Eliminating Social Media
According to an Iowa State University study, limiting social media may be more practical than completely eliminating social media.
“Participants who limited their social media usage to 30 minutes a day demonstrated a significant reduction in anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear of missing out.”
You don’t have to quit social media altogether. There are many practical benefits to social media. It’s the overuse that leads to drawbacks.