‘To what extent is social media bad for our psychological wellbeing?’
Merriam-Webster (2015) defines social media as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).” As of 2011, two thirds (65%) of adult Internet users engage in activities on social networking sites (Madden & Zickuhr, 2011); it is even more common (72%) for young adults between 18 and 29 years old to use social media as of 2010, (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). Research has found that effects of social media on an individual’s psychological wellbeing are dependent upon individuals ' motivations for …show more content…
According to Sanchez-Villegas et al. (2008), reducing sedentary behaviors might be an important intervention in treatment and prevention of depressive and anxiety disorders. This assumption is consistent with research connecting sedentary behavior to increased risk of experiencing mental health problems. Thirlaway and Benton (1992) found that as little as one hour of physical activity per week was associated with reduced depression in patients. Also, the loss of sleep caused by the blue light found in the screens that accompany day- to-day life can have a negative effect on one’s mental health as well as causing long term sleep deprivation. One other factor that may be negatively affecting one’s psychological wellbeing is the illusion of multitasking, also known as rapid task switching. Rosen et al., (2013) states that multitasking, encouraged by social media, may be one root cause of depression and while it is a human trait, our current technology has perhaps overly encouraged and promoted multitasking by the wide-ranging sensory stimulation and distraction. Thus, maybe writing this essay while checking one’s social media accounts may not be the best idea since rapid task switching does not only potentially have a negative effect on one’s productivity but also one’s psychological
Merriam-Webster (2015) defines social media as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).” As of 2011, two thirds (65%) of adult Internet users engage in activities on social networking sites (Madden & Zickuhr, 2011); it is even more common (72%) for young adults between 18 and 29 years old to use social media as of 2010, (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). Research has found that effects of social media on an individual’s psychological wellbeing are dependent upon individuals ' motivations for …show more content…
According to Sanchez-Villegas et al. (2008), reducing sedentary behaviors might be an important intervention in treatment and prevention of depressive and anxiety disorders. This assumption is consistent with research connecting sedentary behavior to increased risk of experiencing mental health problems. Thirlaway and Benton (1992) found that as little as one hour of physical activity per week was associated with reduced depression in patients. Also, the loss of sleep caused by the blue light found in the screens that accompany day- to-day life can have a negative effect on one’s mental health as well as causing long term sleep deprivation. One other factor that may be negatively affecting one’s psychological wellbeing is the illusion of multitasking, also known as rapid task switching. Rosen et al., (2013) states that multitasking, encouraged by social media, may be one root cause of depression and while it is a human trait, our current technology has perhaps overly encouraged and promoted multitasking by the wide-ranging sensory stimulation and distraction. Thus, maybe writing this essay while checking one’s social media accounts may not be the best idea since rapid task switching does not only potentially have a negative effect on one’s productivity but also one’s psychological