The Effects of Social Media on Society
In today’s society, social media has been more prominent than ever with technological developments everyday. Its popularity has been at large and its influence has spread throughout society through many effects. As a result, social media has shed many discussions and is generally seen under positive light. Yet, the flaws of social media are often overlooked. One of these flaws include its negative correlation with mental health. In a 2012 study, it was concluded that 1 in 3 Canadians would face mental health issues at least once in their lifetime. (Pearson, Janz & Ali, 2013) With mental health issues affecting such a large number of people, it's clear that the matter should be prioritized. One of the key factors that can lead to mental health issues is social media. Social media is detrimental to society through its correlation to mental health issues and specifically, depression and anxiety.
Social Media and Depression
Social media has directly attributed to causing depression and has been proven through many studies. Depression is a disorder that is defined as feelings of serious despondency and dejection. In a 2015 study conducted by Jacob Amedie, results showed increased odds of depression in participants who frequented social media. The report explored the negative association between social media usage and depression amongst young adults. With a declining young to old age ratio, the mental health of young adults proves to be a priority as they play a large role in society in the future. Amedie’s study on depression focuses on Facebook, one of the most popular social media platforms.
In 2017, 84% of Canadian adults reported they have an account. (Gruzd, Jacobson, Mai & Dubois, 2017)
This statistic speaks on how widely used Facebook is despite the popularity of other media platforms. Seeking acceptance and staying connected to friends is a large part of an individual’s social life and while it can be beneficial, it can also be detrimental. Having an online profile requires constant checkups and can create stressful environments for those who struggle with this. Facebook depression is a disorder that develops from individuals spending copious amounts of time on social media sites and then exhibiting symptoms of depression.
In a study led by Dr. Joanne Davila, a group of teenage girls who frequented Facebook were studied. After a year, the results showed that the girls experienced higher levels of anxiety than those who did not frequent Facebook. Anxiety is a common symptom of depression and can induce feelings of fear and having increased a heart rate. Amedie suggests a large factor leading to Facebook depression are people actively seeking “likes” and positive comments. When these people don’t receive enough likes or positive comments, they begin to feel unwanted or not good enough. Additionally, people can receive negative comments and become victims of cyberbullying. This leads to the development of symptoms of depression. In some instances depression can lead to more severe consequences such as suicide. One of these instances is the tragic case of Aaron Fuller, a 13-year old boy. On January 10th, 2018, Aaron was found hung in his room and pronounced dead. This tragedy stemmed from cyberbullying on social media after repeated vicious comments from peers. (Abrahams, 2019) The extremities of this occurrence and reliable studies prove how social media is detrimental to society through its correlation to depression.
Social Media and Setting Unrealistic Standards
In Jwana Aziz’s (2017) “Social Media and Body Issues in Young Adults: An Empirical Study on the influence of Instagram use on Body Image and Fatphobia in Catalan University”, she explores the increasing issue of body image dissatisfaction (BID) and fatphobia in today’s society. In this context, I will focus on Aziz’s research on body image dissatisfaction. Instagram, like Facebook, is a social media platform that allows users to post photos to share with other users. The media platform is home to thousands of photos and can be used as an immediate source for “… a plethora of idealized body images.” (Aziz, 2017, p. 2) In practice, this is problematic because before posting an image, it can be altered and distorted in a way that sets an unrealistic standard.
Approximately 91% of women and 80.7% of men discuss their bodies in an anxious manner, showing the prominence of BID. (Robertson, 2015; Campbell, 2012)
BID can lead to reduced self-esteem, negative attitude towards oneself, and eating disorders. These symptoms can occur through the features of instagram and most notably, hashtags. Hashtags can be used to promote photos under a specific category; an example of an hashtag could be a photo of a model with the tag #skinny. Following this example, this can lead viewers of the photo to believe that being skinny is needed to be a model. Jordan Younger, a famous food blogger on Instagram, used to promote an active vegan lifestyle.
The lifestyle consisted of eating primarily kale, and other plant-based foods alike. Inadvertently, Younger’s hashtags led many of her follows to imitate her diet which was in truth, a dangerous eating disorder. Another instance is an Australian Instagram model, Essena O’Neill. O’Neill often posted pictures of herself in a bikini and other attire that displayed her physique. As a result, thousands of followers aimed to look just like her which like Younger’s posts, could lead to people pursuing eating disorders. In one of her photo captions, she stated
“Stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up boobs…this isn’t candid life it’s contrived perfection made to get attention.” (Ladin, 2016, para. 8)
In addition to posing to photos, technological advances allow users to digitally touch up their photos with applications like Photoshop and VSCO. Touch ups can include features such as: changing skin tone, thinning facial structure, removing blemishes, and even enlarging body parts. In contrast to women’s ideal beauty, men are also affected by unrealistic standards.
Bodybuilders who post on Instagram often touch up their photos by enlarging specific parts of their bodies such as their biceps, triceps, and quadriceps. Constant pressure for men to acquire the same size as the touched up photos can lead to reduced self esteem and use of anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids can mimic testosterone which can stimulate enhanced muscle growth. In summary, Instagram is one of the social media platforms that are guilty in setting unrealistic beauty standards. The usage of hashtags and editing of photos can result in reduced self esteem, negative attitude towards oneself and eating disorders which is detrimental to society.
Final Thoughts
To finalize, social media’s development the past decade has been rapid; it’s many platforms have become a hot topic for discussion. Facebook and Instagram are 2 of the largest social media platforms and both have been vital for exploring its effects on society. Facebook’s constant pressure to maintain an online profile and user’s want for acceptance can lead to depression. Alternatively, Instagram’s pressure to achieve ideal standards in health and beauty set unrealistic beauty standards that can reduce self esteem and create eating disorders. In conclusion, understanding these issues make it evident that social media is detrimental to society.
