Social Media Essay

Submitted By mslamont
Words: 782
Pages: 4

Excessive use of social media can contribute too many addictive behaviors and cause mental health issues. The first thing most people do when they wake up is check Facebook, twitter, or their instagram page. It can also cause problems such as, bad grades in school, poor sleep patterns, poor dieting, mood swings, drug abuse, and disconnection of relationships and marriages. It has even gotten to a point where people suffer from withdrawal symptoms if they can’t log on to a social site which could lead to lack of properly functioning throughout the day and balancing life normally.
Everyone has their own reason for uses of social media. Some people like to browse at other people statuses and photos, while others use the site to vent their emotions. Social media has taken over the late generation strongly. Kids today don’t even go out to play with other neighborhood kids anymore they are hooked on video games and computers. Most children and young adults can’t even watch a movie or enjoy a nice family dinner in a normal way without logging on to a social network from their cell phone or a personal laptop. Those that interact via social media on a daily basis are five times likelier to use tobacco, three times likelier to use alcohol, and twice as likely to use marijuana. Forty percent of these teens were surveyed and they admit to having seen pictures of people under the influence, and are four times likelier to use marijuana than those who haven’t scrolled through these images said researchers of the (Huff Post Healthy Living). The data makes sense those exposed to pictures of drugs and alcohol are more likely to seek and experiment with it themselves. This can be very mentally challenging and harmful to our younger society and older adults.
People can sometimes become overwhelmed and become sucked into a circle of jealousy, competiveness and depression before they even realize it from social media. Some people may feel like their lives have been worsened by using social media and start feeling less confident when they compared their achievements against their friends. Some people are hooked on social media so strong that a few years have passed before their eyes while their friends who aren’t so hooked are achieving life challenges, graduating, buying houses, cars and traveling the world. This may make a person feel depressed and become jealous or competitive. Depression is major mental illness that could be caused by those feelings from social media. The actual phenomenon named” Fear of Missing Out” is what keeps people glued to social networks as well. They sometimes can fear missing out on something important such as a birthday party, social outing, or a concert. This is why people sometimes find it so hard to get away from the computer and their eyes are glued. Every five minutes they are checking their page and status updates which can make person become addicted and hard to pull away from social sites.
I personally feel that things aren’t going to change soon because everyone is so into social networks more than activities of daily living. I