Social media has become more popular today, and websites like Facebook and Twitter are enjoyed by people of all ages. Social media comes in many forms, ranging from the photo-sharing platforms to chat or social gaming apps and social networks like Facebook.
As of January 2017, 37% of the world’s total population had an account on one of the famous social networking sites.
Later this year, Facebook succeeded in its attempt to be the leader in the market with more than 1.96 billion accounts created by people worldwide. WhatsApp and YouTube got the 2nd and 3rd place respectively on the list.
Fun and entertainment
While social networks bring fun and entertainment to people, especially to kids, teenagers and young adults, these websites still have some bad effects on a person’s health.
Too much use of the internet, especially the use of social networking sites might be associated with serious psychological health disorders in younger adults. This conclusion was arrived at through a survey that was conducted recently in Canada.
Canadians and Social Media
Canadians are more active in social media, particularly on Facebook. In fact, there are eighteen million people from Canada who have accounts on this social network. More than twelve million visit the website every day, and on based on per-capita, most Facebook users are from Canada.
Usually, a Canadian comes with more than 200 “friends” on Facebook, although the recent research from the University of Waterloo revealed that half of a person’s total number of “friends” on Facebook is composed of people he doesn’t really know.
If people failed to practice discipline when using Facebook, they may experience the negative effects of spending hours on social media.
The studies show:
- Teens who use Facebook are more prone to narcissism while young adults with the strong presence on Facebook manifest more symptoms of other mental disorders like anti-social behaviors.
- Daily excessive use of social media and technology shows a bad effect on a person’s health. It can make a person more susceptible to depression, anxiety and other mental disorders.
- Facebook may be distracting to students and negatively affect learning. The researchers revealed that the students from the middle school, high school and college who checked their Facebook accounts once during a short-time study period attained poor grades.
Furthermore, social media use can produce a similar effect with what love can bring in a person’s brain. Social media use leads to the activation of a chemical called dopamine. But, the jury remains unsure of whether social media use can really feed the addiction. However, for now, it becomes a daily practice for many people to spend hours of their daily lives on social media.
Research & Stats
The scientists also concluded that 28% of people who have iPhones check their accounts on Facebook or other social networks right away after waking up in the morning. Teenagers between the age of 15 and 19 spend a minimum of 3 hours each day in looking at their favorite social networks.
And, 18% of social media users admitted that they cannot resist the urge to check out what’s hot on social media.
The researchers are conducting further researches to show new discoveries on how social media can affect a person’s life and health. Social media addiction is not impossible to happen, but anyone can avoid it by being more disciplined when using the social networks.
