Social Media’s Mental Health Problem
Earlier this week, news leaked of an Instagram design prototype, which would hide the “like count” of posts from public view. Instagram claims that their goal in the redesign is to focus users on the content being posted rather than the number of likes a post gets[1]. However, in a world where many social media apps have grown into popularity contests, this change also highlights an important concern that most social media companies will likely have to deal with in the near future — the damaging mental health effects that social media (and excessive screen time in general) can have on users, particularly children. As research and anecdotal evidence continues to point to the damaging effects that social media can have on the development and mental health of children, social media companies and technology companies in general will have to address these concerns in order to survive over the long term.
In their book, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt point to numerous recent research studies to argue that screen time is having a detrimental effect on the social development and mental health of youth in America. They reference a study done by social psychologist Jean Twenge which shows that “adolescents who spend several hours a day interacting with screen, particularly if they start in their early teen years or younger, have worse mental health outcomes than do adolescents who use these devices less and who spend more time in face-to-face social interaction.”[2] Other studies have found that “young people who spent seven hours or more a day on screens (not including schoolwork) were more easily distracted, less emotionally stable and had more problems finishing tasks and making friends compared to those who spent just an hour a day on screens (not including schoolwork).”[3]
While parents may ultimately be responsible for curbing their kids screen time, social media and tech companies have taken important initial steps to help with the issue. Instagram is not the first company to consider hiding like counts due, in part, to the “narcissism, envy spiraling, and low self-image” that they can cause[4]. In March, news that Twitter was also thinking about hiding likes and retweets to similarly place the focus on content rather than a competition for likes[5]. However, while these companies are placed in a difficult position where the health of their user base and their financial performance are at odds. More screen time and a more active user base are necessary for revenue growth for these companies, so it is understandably difficult for them to take measures that would drastically reduce young people’s screen time.
Outside of social media apps themselves, numerous apps have been created with the sole purpose of placing limits on the amount of screen time a user has during the day. Apple provides a function that monitors your screen time and locks you out of certain apps after a pre-determined length of time per day. Further, apps such as Freedom, In Moment, and Space, help users limit and be more mindful of their social media use and apps like Qustodio allow parents to easily monitor and control their children’s screen time and usage.
While these apps are helpful, I believe that the social media companies themselves will ultimately be the ones who are most capable of creating a healthy social environment on their apps. Social media companies should continue to self-enforce healthy social media use by considering and, if necessary, altering the ways that their users interact with their app. As evidence mounts that social media and screen time in general can be detrimental to the development and mental health of youth, social media companies may need to forgo short-term financial goals to ensure the long-term health of their customer base.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/18/instagram-no-like-counter/
[2] LUKIANOFF, GREG. CODDLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation For… Failure. S.l.: PENGUIN BOOKS, 2019.
[3] http://time.com/5437607/smartphones-teens-mental-health/
[4] https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/18/instagram-no-like-counter/
[5] https://www.vox.com/2019/3/14/18264372/twitter-twttr-app-removing-likes-retweets-ratio
