What do I mean when I talk about the dark side of social media?
It’s love-hate between me and social media. In my professional and personal life, I greatly appreciate the tremendous benefits it provides. It is amazing to see how fast information moves in the digital age. The ease of connecting with people and places on the other side of the world. The whole thing is a miracle. I have created, learned, worked, and made a decent living. I am deeply grateful for this.
But I also became more mindful of my relationship with technology.
Considering the rapid technological development, mainly in terms of scope – Facebook has 2.7 billion active users worldwide as of June 30, 2020 – science still cannot provide in-depth information about the long-term consequences of excessive digital use.
Observing a few studies in this new field of research, it becomes clear that we need to rethink our relationship with technology.
Following the documentary “The Social Dilemma” (here is my short review), the hidden complexity of social networks has certainly made its way into the mainstream. The movie has received a lot of praise and criticism.
My goal in writing this article is to bring more awareness of the negative aspects of our digital lives, so that we can make smarter decisions.
It is addictive, no doubt about it
At least for now, social network addiction isn’t an official clinical diagnosis. But the average person spends about 2-3 hours a day on social media (varies by country), and the numbers are only increasing over time.
In case you are not sure about your own habits, ask yourself, when was the last time you didn’t check any of your media for an entire day?
Social networks and apps are designed to keep us connected for as long as possible. Large companies invest a lot of money in designing our online behavior. This causes us to react unconsciously to each ring or vibration (or even the illusion of vibration) we hear.
When explaining how sophisticated methods of exploiting our psychological and cognitive weaknesses are being applied, the slot machine model is one of the most commonly used and powerful examples. This is one of the most effective and addictive techniques in the field of behavior design. We know it from gambling, and it has been used widely in social media design.
You understand what I mean by the dark side of social media?
FOMO (fear of missing out)
The fear of missing out existed before social media became popular. However, it has become more prevalent since. This is one of the most recognized effects of social media.
Regularly, and to varying degrees, we fear missing out on enjoyable experiences that others are having, or the better and richer life we could have.
Due to social media, we are constantly exposed to unimaginable amounts of information about others. As a result, we are constantly drawn to apps over and over again.
It’s difficult to say what comes first: does social media stimulate FOMO or does FOMO induce excessive use of social media? Either way, social media’s unique design, coupled with the influx of information, has made this phenomenon more pervasive than ever.
Read my artical – From JOMO to FOMO
Cyberbullying
When talking about the negative aspects of the internet, cyberbullying is another popular phenomenon that needs to be addressed. Cyberbullying describes various acts of violence carried out on the Internet. Although it is not exclusively about social networks, there is no doubt that much cyberbullying occurs there.
With the ease and accessibility of social media, it’s possible to post and share offensive, insulting, false, or malicious content about others. This can include the disclosure of personal details about another person in a humiliating and embarrassing manner.
With social media, and the great deal of publicity it can generate, harming another person can be easy. Digital platforms are open 24/7 and removing offensive content is often difficult.
Comparing ourselves to others
We all have our weaknesses. Various triggers leave us feeling unconfident and with negative images of ourselves. It can be situations in life, places like gyms or parties, or even specific people – family, friends, or strangers.
It is a simple fact – social media is saturated with triggers of exactly this type.
People, most of the time, share their positive experiences and avoid sharing negative content, resulting in a false image of reality.
We know that life is a roller coaster. Sometimes filled with joy, sometimes with anxiety. We know that the human experience is varied and not always shining and easy.
We can empathize with others and feel joy for them when we are in our higher selves. However, we can experience difficult feelings when we are not. We can easily get caught up in a dynamic of comparison that makes us feel bad about ourselves.
Fake news
As with FOMO, fake news has received a great boost in recent years thanks to the dark side of social media and digital communications.
It is news (articles, posts, memes, etc.) that contains deliberately false information intended to manipulate those who read or watch it.
Two concepts are related but different in essence. Both have high relevance to social media life:
- In disinformation, false or misleading information is published to convince people that something is not true, or the truth is hidden.
- A misinformation is incorrect information that is disseminated unintentionally.
Many people don’t critically evaluate the credibility of news shared by their friends or those that align with their values and beliefs.
A number of political, economic and social issues have been affected in a substantial way by spreading false information and cyber propaganda in recent years (the US presidential elections, Brexit). It is very likely that there are many more cases that we are unaware of.
Anxiety and depression
Depression and anxiety are fundamentally different. Yet, they are often intertwined, and as we will see, the same factors can trigger each differently depending on who is affected.
Despite the lack of long-term studies, studies indicate that social media use is associated with depression and anxiety.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, using social media negatively impacts our mental health.
Researchers concluded that until this study, all that could be said was there was a connection between social media use and poor quality of life. But now we can identify a quantitative relationship – less use, less depression.
What is the reason behind this?
It is important to note that all of the phenomena mentioned in this article – comparability, FOMO, cyberbullying – can damage and weaken mental health on their own. The social aspect, on the other hand, can provide some support, but it cannot replace intimate human relationships. This is because it requires the ability to be outside in a natural environment without screens, in order to replenish mental energy.
Attention and distractions
I would like to bring up the attention economy again. Our attention is a limited resource. It is impossible to take in more than one thing at a time. The quality and well-being of our lives, I would argue, is directly related to the amount of attention we manage to give to the things that are most meaningful to us.
Social media is constantly competing for our attention.
Have you ever gotten distracted by Instagram or Facebook newsfeeds when you were supposed to do something else? While we are always being distracted by the digital world, the heavy price we pay is in what we do not do – deep work, mindful parenting, enjoying nature.
We pay a high price for being robbed of our attention on a cognitive and human level.
Body image issues
Whether we like it or not, social media shapes our perception of beauty. As we interact with others’ photos online, our body image becomes more connected to social media.
The media has long been recognized as having a negative impact on body image. Advertisements and TV shows present a very particular “ideal” of beauty and so undermine women and men’s confidence.
Social media has the same potential. When we communicate through carefully edited visuals, it’s difficult not to feel uneasy about our natural appearance.
Researchers are still conducting research on this subject. However, it is possible to see a negative correlation between time spent browsing social media and a tendency to compare negatively on social media. This can be seen in a systematic review of 20 studies.
Sleep patterns are negatively affected
We need to acknowledge that social media robs us both of our waking and sleeping hours. Do you ever scroll through Facebook or Instagram before you go to bed? Does your phone naturally accompany you to bed? Countless surveys indicate that you are not alone. In fact, browsing social media is one of the most common activities between getting to bed and falling asleep. A detailed study on this subject can be found here.
Why does it affect our sleep?
There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, our devices emit blue light, which is generally healthy light. As a result, it signals to our brain that it is still daytime and inhibits the release of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.
Also, do you know how challenging it is to fall asleep after seeing a scary movie, arguing with your wife, or recalling something sad that happened to you? That is why there is nothing like social media to evoke a wide range of inner feelings, restlessness, and cognitive arousal.
Lastly, remember FOMO? Try to imagine all those times you couldn’t resist checking your phone even after bedtime.
And an extra reason: It turns out that some people let notifications disturb their sleeping. I don’t get it. That’s why airplane mode was invented.
The dark side of social media: Conclusion
If you have reached this far, it is likely that we share a healthy curiosity about the connection between social media and our mental health. Despite the fact that not many studies have been conducted to prove the negative effects, preliminary research provides us with some clues.
It was the aim of this article to encourage us not to overlook the significant aspects that shape our lives in the modern world. To be aware of the dark side of social media so you can better adapt yourself to the ever-evolving digital reality.
