How Social Media Addiction Negatively Impacts Mental Health and Relationships

“Addiction is a compulsive, chronic, psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms “(Merriam Webster). Social media is one of the thousands of addictions with it being made a necessity for many adolescents and even elders. What people don’t realize is the effecofind social media addiction and what it is doing to their minds or maybe even the way they view themselves. Wine addiction is something that many people have a problem with admitting they would probably disagree with being addicted to social media or even the fact that it does affect mental health, self-esteem, and social relationships.

Being addicted to social media can put a strain on users’ mental health. Current generations are brought up in a social media surromedia-surroundedy wake up on social media, go to sleep on social media, or even find themselves watching social media while enjoying a flavorsome meal. According to a journal article by Larry D.

Rosen he says “Symptoms of withdrawal might include agitation, depression, anger, and anxiety when the person is away from technology or computers. These psychological symptoms might even turn into physical symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, tense shoulders, and shortness of breath.” Social media is causing users to lose their sanity and sometimes they don’t even realize it. It seems to be correspondent to drug use as Larry mentions the term “withdrawal.” Social media can also put a strain on users’ mental health if it is being overused.

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“Sleep patterns are often totally disrupted by technology addiction. Technology addicts use their devices or the Internet 40 to 80 hours per week, or they might go on “net binges” in which a single session can last up to 20 hours or more” (Carrier, 2015). The media affects users’ sleep, causing insomnia.

By the same token, social media can affect users’ self-esteem. Social media can take a toll on how users view themselves. While it can be used for positivity it can have negative impacts on others. Social media is said to be the high rise of users’ depression. As stated, “it is believed that addiction to social networking is higher in people with anxiety, stress, depression and low self-esteem” (Azizi, 2019). In a world full of stereotypes and materialistic dweebs, teenagers often find themselves trying to live up to expectations of the world which can affect the way they might view themselves. Social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter sexualize young girls making users feel that looking older is more attractive. Those same social medmediaske young guys believe that being a bandit makes them the true definition of the ideal “man.”

Sometimes people cannot live up to the stereotypes that they are up against, making them feel omitted and astray by society. In addition, social media can effecaffects’ social lives. Social media can often be used to shield pain. With that being said social media can squander a person’s spare time making them unable to captivate attention to build relationships with others. “According to the cognitive explanation theory, social networking addiction is due to faulty cognition, and people tend to use social networks to escape from internal and external problems” (Azizi, 2019). Reflecting on previous paragraphs, self-esteem, and mental health rock hand and hand as it is mentioned that social media does affect users’ social lives. In an article published by Mydomaine, The author Gabrielle Savoie states “When we are constantly tied to our phones checking work emails, news alerts, or simply scrolling through Instagram must learn to balance this with offline time with our loved ones.” It makes it almost far-fetched to create relationships with others because of the addiction that social media has to its users. Socimedia’sdia original purpose was to bring people closer positively but it is being used with no detachment. “It’s important to remember that social media can never be a replacement for real-world human connection. It requires in-person contact with others to trigger the hormones that alleviate stress and make you feel happier, healthier, and more positive” (Health guide 2019). Users are not affected by what social media they use but by how much they use social media.

No doubt social media is one of the most popular forms of fof today. Social media is more than just maneuvering through many different apps, it is something that can bring you positivity or negatively affect you. Many different journal articles have been included to back up the fact that social media can and does affect users’ mental health, self-esteem, and social relationships. Now look back on the information given, do you find yourself on your phone a lot, do you procrastinate on the more important things to scroll up and down social media within your mobile device or smartphone, do you find yourself isolated from others more often than you should, if yes you are a part of the 110 million people addicted to social media. (Milijic, 2019).

Work Cited

1. Rosen, Larry D., et al. “Social Networking Is Addictive and Can Lead to Psychological Disorders.” Are Social Networking Sites Harmful?, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2015. At Issue. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010744223/OVIC?u=uiuc_tri&sid=OVIC&xid=9bece2b7. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020. Originally published in iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us, New York, NY, 2011.
2. Azizi, Seyyed Mohsen, et al. “The relationship between social networking addiction and academic performance in Iranian students of medical sciences: a cross-sectional study.” BMC Psychology, vol. 7, no. 1, 2019, p. NA. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A586542615/OVIC?u=uiuc_tri&sid=OVIC&xid=b9fbf3f1. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.
3. GSavoiele Sovoie, “A Relationship Expert Explains How Social Media Affects Your Love Life.” UPDATED 2020 https://www.mydomaine.com/how-social-media-affectsrelationships. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.
4. Help Guide “Social Media and Mental Health.”2019 https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.
5. Marko Milijic “25+ Social Media Addiction Statistics Every Tech Enthusiast Must Know in 2020” Updated 2019 https://leftronic.com/social-media-addiction-statistics/. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.
6. Merriam Webster “Addiction.” Updated 2020 https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/addiction. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.