Social media has had a presence in our everyday lives from a young age. According to Deloitte’s Global Mobile Consumer Report of 2019, 91% of Irish people have a smartphone, which makes it hard to think it hasn’t affected us all in some way (Deloitte, 2017). But what many people don’t realise is how much social media can affect our health. When we look at how much time we really do spend on it, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Anything we spend a lot of time on tends to have some sort of impact on our health, and social media is just one of many things that do.
According to a Neworld Associates blog post, Irish adults look at their phones about 57 times a day, while the European average is at 41. From this statistic alone, it’s clear that we spend a lot of time staring at a phone screen. But do we know how much our screen time can affect our physical and mental health?
I think a prime example of how social media can affect our physical health would be eye strain, but as well as this, too much screen time can cause fatigue and a lack of exercise. Using social media before bed is one of the main reasons people get fatigue, and it can also cut into the time we use daily for exercising. In addition, social media comes as a big distraction in many different and dangerous situations, such as using it while driving or even when walking on a busy street.
One I can relate to is having my phone around while doing college work. This is often a big distraction and something I recommend NOT to do. There have often been times where I would check my phone for messages, then end up on social media, and before I know it half an hour has gone by with no work done!
When we look at how social media impacts our mental health negatively, cyberbullying is our main contender. But as well as this, when we look at the statistics and see just how often we are checking different social sites, afraid we’re missing out on something, it can actually become a cause of stress, another major and negative contributor to our mental health.
Even with this being said, many people believe social media isn’t actually the problem, with the real issue revolving around our phone usage, which also includes texting, calling, emailing, and internet searching. But if we didn’t have social media on our phones would we be using them as often as we are? Everyone’s answer will be different, but if one thing is for sure, it’s that we all need to have a look at how it affects us individually.
I say go and take some time to figure it out, but most importantly, try to stay positive. If you feel yourself stressing out or not getting anything done, then leave the phone in another room and cut down on your screen time. It’s important to look after yourself, and I think assessing your mobile usage is a great way to start doing so.
References:
- Breus, M. (2019) 'Social Media Use By Teenagers And Lack Of Sleep', The Sleep Doctor, 1st Sept, available: https://thesleepdoctor.com/2019/09/01/social-media-teenagers-lack-of-sleep/?cn-reloaded=1 [accessed 26 Nov 2020].
- DiRenzo, A. (2016) 'How Can Social Media Affect Your Health?', 27th Oct, available: https://sysomos.com/2016/10/27/can-social-media-affect-health/ [accessed 26 Nov 2020].
-Lyncconf Games (2020) Apple iPhone 7 blue wooden table with icons of social media facebook, instagram, twitter, snapchat application on screen. Tablet computer life style. Starting social media app [image], available: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nodstrum/41595684510/ [accessed 26 Nov 2020].
- Rooney, S. (2018) 'Ireland's Digital and Social Media Statistics 2018', 14th Jun, available: https://www.neworld.com/newsblog/2018/irelands-digital-and-social-statistics/ [accessed 26 Nov 2020].
- Simplilearn (2020) 'Understanding The Impacts of Social Media: Pros and Cons', 13th Nov, available: https://www.simplilearn.com/real-impact-social-media-article [accessed 26 Nov 2020).