NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Abstract

This paper critically examines the negative effects social media use has on subjective well-being. An experimental study was undertaken to determine the negative effects social media has on subjective well-being. A total number of 150 undergraduates from the University of Pennsylvania were instructed to use social media that is Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. The results indicated that there was an increase in the percentages of loneliness anxiety, increased fear of missing out, decreased autonomy and acceptance, and depression. The impulse was negatively related to eudemonic well-being. Interactions with people of social media have a negative association with eudemonic well-being which confirms that social media has negative impacts on subjective well-being (Chiu et al., 2013). The paper highlights negative social media impacts on subjective well-being. High social media usage prevents people from connecting which makes have increased depression levels and feelings of loneliness.

AdversNegative Effects of Social Media on Subjective Well-being

According to Uysal (20130, the sites used for social networking also known as Social Networking Sites have become a part of the lives of the majority of people in this 21^st century. Statistics show that more than 75% of people use social media on a daily basis. The use of social media is widespread and has activated correctional research on the relationship between subjective well-being and the use of social media. Usage of Instagram and Facebook are directly related to depression. Extreme applications of Facebook is linked to feelings of loneliness and low self-esteem. Excessive uses of Instagram have directly related to issues with body images.

Facebook make people less satisfied with their lives gradually as time goes by. This is because the flourish lifestyles people show on Facebook makes other people socially compare themselves. They feel inferior and less worthy. They start envying their counterparts on Facebook. These feelings have a direct impact on the victim because they start developing depression. Thus, proving that social media is largely associated with reductions in well-being. If people passively and actively participate in Facebook, there is higher rates of envy and lower levels of well-being; however, the ones that passively participate report reduced adverse effects compared to the ones that actively engage. The way we join on the Facebook matter and both ways have an impact on mental health. Exposure to Facebook harms an individual’s life. Many social media users have grown an attachment with it. In as much as people refraining from social media is healthy and tasty, people have not attempted to put strategies to adopt the right habits thereby resulting to low levels of well-being. Other social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat attract a significantly large number of people and have the same negative impacts on their well-being just like Facebook (Sharma & Kharas, 2017).

Social media has an addictive effect which makes its users develop the fear of missing out. This is some distress caused by the lack of knowledge of social happenings. It makes people always want to be online keeping taps with their associated, and when they do not do that, they feel anxious and left out. People spend a lot of time on the social media platforms which makes them many times wonder if they are spending a significant amount of time trying to keep up with what is going on (Langley, 2016). This instills negative energy and considerable amounts of fears to the users of social media.

Usage of social media is highly linked with feelings of loneliness. The scale of lonely people is high which indicates that its users feel isolated. People have a lot of friends who like, comments, and keeps tabs on them often but they do not know them well. The users feel that the ones who share their interests and ideas are people who are far from them and they are not directly related to them. They, therefore, develop feelings of loneliness.

Anxiety is also highly associated with the usage of social media. People who are fond of social media exhibit signs of anxiety if not the anxiety itself. It instills anxiety and causes them to become worried over situations that they can easily overcome when seeking solutions outside social media platforms. Social media platforms make people develop feelings off instant gratification such that they want results, and positive results there and them. This is related to the effects that accompany seeing people who seem or who have made it in life, and the desire to be like them and to have what they have. It makes individuals compare themselves with other people, and if the other party seem to be in a better position in life, the others feel like they are left behind and the world is unfair to them. They become apprehensive of their future life and take a toll on themselves. These conditions have negative impacts on the well-being of the victims which is not healthy.

When people are on social media, they stare at screens, which according to a body of studies indicate that too much staring at the screen can harm brain development. Digital social media gadgets are so alluring that they do not allow children and young people time to engage in physical activity which is crucial to their development. Lack of physical activity can cause a host of problems including overweight and obesity. What is even worse children are becoming obese at an alarming rate. Statistics show that in developing countries a staggering 34% and teens are either currently overweight or at risk of becoming overweight a trend that is quickly being replicated in developing countries. People who are obese or overweight are likely to have smaller brains compared to lean people. When it comes to gray matter size matter. A lower brain translates to reduced brain function which can affect every development including relationship and professional development. Screens have also been shown to disrupt sleep the blue light emitted by the super sharp display can interfere with our natural body rhythm, preventing melatonin an vital sleep hormone from being released.

On less self-acceptance and autonomy, the Ryff psychological well-being highlights six dimensions of psychological well-being which are pertinent to the potential effects of social media. Items scored on the autonomy scale which is reverse but speaks volumes indicate individuals tend to worry about what other people think about them. Articles on the reverse self-acceptance scale individuals report that they like most aspects of their personality but in many ways feel disappointed about their achievements in life. This has a great connection to the life people show on social media which in many times is an attempted effort to make them feel accepted or wanted. Social media users tend to develop feelings of acceptance when they fit In the ‘ideal’ realm of the other social media users (Wen & Ye 2016). When they feel like they do not match, they think less accepted, and to some greater extent, they become suicidal. Recently, suicide rates have been on the increase. This is because people feel worthless and less appreciated, therefore, making them lose meaning to their life thus, committing suicide.

The literature is essential to the overall question because it has a clear connection to it in the way they connect explanations and illustrations to suit the needs of the question. The combined outcomes of the research are essential to the reader since it helps the readers see the negative impacts social media has on the subjective well-being and help them to put measure or strategies to minimize the use of social media if they want to have general positive well-being.

In conclusion, the majority of researches that have been done on the correlation between social media and its adverse impacts on subjective well-being have concentrated on Facebook, unlike this paper which focuses on social media as a whole. The article has discussions that clearly show that social media has adverse effects such as loneliness, depression, less self-autonomy an acceptance, fear of missing out, and anxiety on subjective well-being. The paper shows the negative causal link between social media and personal well-being. High social media usage prevents people from connecting which makes have increased depression levels and feelings of loneliness

References

Chiu, C. M., Cheng, H. L., Huang, H. Y., & Chen, C. F. (2013). Exploring individuals’ subjective well-being and loyalty towards social network sites from the perspective of network externalities: The Facebook case. International Journal of Information Management, 33(3), 539-552.

Satici, S. A., & Uysal, R. (2015). Well-being and problematic Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 185-190.

Sharma, V., & Kharas, H. (2017). The Indestructible Brand : Crisis Management in the Age of Social Media. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1543340&site=ehost-live

Smailhodzic, E., Hooijsma, W., Boonstra, A., & Langley, D. J. (2016). Social media use in healthcare: A systematic review of effects on patients and their relationship with healthcare professionals. BMC Health Services Research, 16, 442–455. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1691-0

Wen, Z., Geng, X., & Ye, Y. (2016). Does the Use of WeChat Lead to Subjective Well-Being?: The Effect of Use Intensity and Motivations. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 19(10), 587–592. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0154