Posted on 02/01/2021 6:00:33 PM PST by DoodleBob
Three billion people, around 40% of the world’s population, use online social media – and we’re spending an average of two hours every day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on these platforms, according to some reports. That breaks down to around half a million tweets and Snapchat photos shared every minute.
With social media playing such a big part in our lives, could we be sacrificing our mental health and well-being as well as our time? What does the evidence actually suggest?
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ANXIETY
Researchers have looked at general anxiety provoked by social media, characterised by feelings of restlessness and worry, and trouble sleeping and concentrating. A study published in the journal Computers and Human Behaviour found that people who report using seven or more social media platforms were more than three times as likely as people using 0-2 platforms to have high levels of general anxiety symptoms.
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DEPRESSION
While some studies have found a link between depression and social media use, there is emerging research into how social media can actually be a force for good.
Two studies involving more than 700 students found that depressive symptoms, such as low mood and feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, were linked to the quality of online interactions. Researchers found higher levels of depressive symptoms among those who reported having more negative interactions.
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ADDICTION
Despite the argument from a few researchers that tweeting may be harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, social media addiction isn’t included in the latest diagnostic manual for mental health disorders.
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SELF-ESTEEM
Women’s magazines and their use of underweight and Photoshopped models have been long maligned for stirring self-esteem issues among young women. But now, social media...is taking over as a primary concern among some campaigning groups and charities.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
For what it's worth, this is THE strongest dopamine trigger online: New posts to you
A good benchmark for what is good for you, or bad for you, are the Ten Commandments, properly used and understood.
Social media is bad for individuals in that it destroys societies.
I know I haven’t contributed much to this thread. I really just wanted to trigger your dopamine.
Watch the Social Dilemma movie. Eye opening and frightening.
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I think some people get carried away, and seem to live their lives on social media.
Some people spend hours a day online, and get into back and forth with tweets and messaging back and forth, texting, snapchat, instagram, Facebook, email, and God knows what else.
People really should limit how much time they spend online, and not spend so much time poring over their phones.
There is life to be lived out there. Your life is not to be lived on a cellular phone.
Great Observation. Social Media I’d a disaster for the US and world.
Yes.
Zuckermother allowed “researchers” to run psyops on hundreds of thousands of users to deliberately play with their emotions only showing negative posts for an extended period to see how the users responded (especially in their own posts).
You are a lab rat and never opted into their psychological experiments.
There’s more to it than my post asserts. Social media, like guns, are morally neutral. What we do with them, in accord with the Ten Commandments, is what matters. So . . . the creation is good. All of it. Our propensity to abuse is our problem.
Two hours of media (newspaper, tv, computer, phone, internet) daily is ethical. People who spend 2:01 hours of media daily, like me when I am tired, need to be cautious and find healthy alternatives.
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