Effects of Social Media

By Kori Wedeking

     Social media may seem like something fun to occupy your time, but in reality, it negatively affects our mental health without us even realizing. Social media can bring down your self-esteem, ruin human connection, affect memories, disturb sleep schedules, and cause mental health issues. Social media is ruining our lives without us even knowing it.
     Our self-esteem can be brought down due to social media. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others while we spend time on social media. After being on social media, people often feel bad about themselves. We are constantly believing that we are not pretty enough, do not have the perfect relationship, do not get invited to all the cool parties, and do not have the perfect life. Without social media, it would be easier for people to be happy and content with what they have. Instead, we constantly want more out of ourselves, the people around us, and our lives because of what social media portrays.
     Social media can hurt our human connections. Today, people are glued to their phones and tend to look at social media very often. We become familiar with people and paint a certain picture of people based on their social media accounts. This is not necessarily a good thing. Not all social media pages accurately display what a person is truly like, so you might get the wrong ideas about people. Human connections can be hurt because of what we see on social media.
      Memories about specific days, events, and people can be changed due to social media. People often look back at pictures on social media. These pictures may not accurately represent events and can alter your memories about what actually happened. Along with this, some people do not take the time to enjoy events because they are so worried about taking the perfect picture for their social media pages. If social media did not have a huge role, people would be able to enjoy events and be able to remember it exactly as it was.
     Social media can get in the way of sleep. Many people catch themselves staying up too late on their phones scrolling through social media. Sleep is extremely important, especially for teens, and social media should not get in the way of that. Along with this, the light from your phone can make it very difficult for people to fall asleep. It is recommended that you do not go on your phone or any other technology device at least forty minutes before going to bed. Social media is not worth depriving yourself of sleep.
     Finally, your mental health can decline due to social media. Social media has been proven to cause unhappiness and can lead to the development of mental health issues. It is common for social media to make people feel sad, anxious, or depressed. There are plenty of people who decide to quit using social media because of these reasons, and they are much happier once they do.
     Social media seems like a harmless way to pass time, but in reality, it is not. Social media harms your self-esteem, human connections, memories, sleep, and mental health. If social media is getting in the way of your happiness, then you should definitely consider cutting it from your life.