لخّصلي

Three billion people, around 40% of the world’s
population, use online social media. People spend an
average of two hours every day on social media
platforms, according to some reports. That breaks
down to around half a million posts and photos shared
every minute.
With social media playing such a big part in our lives,
it is important to consider how it can affect our mental
health and well-being. A number of studies have been
done on the effects of social media; these can give us an
idea of how these platforms could be affecting us.
People use social media to discuss everything from customer service to politics, but the downside to this is that
our feeds often resemble an endless stream of stress. In 2015, researchers at the Pew Research Center in
Washington, D.C. aimed to find out if social media causes more stress than it relieves.
In the survey of 1,800 people, women reported being more stressed than men. Twitter was found to be a
significant contributor to this stress because it increases awareness of other people’s stress. However, Twitter
also acted as a way to cope with stress; the more women used it, the less stressed they were. The same effect
was not found for men who, according to the researchers, had a more distant relationship with social media.
Overall, the researchers concluded that social media use was linked to lower levels of stress.
In 2014, researchers in Austria found that participants reported lower moods after using Facebook for 20
minutes compared to those who just browsed the internet. The study suggested that people felt that way because
they saw it as a waste of time.
A good or bad mood may also spread between people on social media, according to researchers from the
University of California. These researchers assessed the emotional content of over a billion status updates from
more than 100 million Facebook users between 2009 and 2012.
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.
A similar study conducted in 2016 involving 1,700 people found a much higher risk of depression and anxiety
among people who used social media platforms the most. Reasons for this include cyberbullying, having a
distorted view of other people’s lives, and feeling like time spent on social media is a waste.
Humans used to spend their evenings in darkness, but now we are surrounded by artificial lighting all day and
night. Research has found that this can inhibit the body’s production of the hormone melatonin, which facilitates
sleep. In other words, if you lie in bed at night checking Facebook and Twitter, you may have trouble sleeping.
Last year, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh asked 1,700 18-to 30-year-olds about their social media
and sleeping habits. They found a link with sleep problems, and they concluded that blue light from electronic
devices was part of the cause.
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine last year surveyed 7,000 19- to 32-year-olds
and found that those who spend the most time on social media were twice as likely to report experiencing social
isolation, which can include a lack of a sense of social belonging, engagement with others, and fulfilling
relationships. Spending more time on social media, the researchers said, could displace face-to-face interaction
and make people feel excluded.
It is clear that in many areas of social media research, not enough is known to draw many strong conclusions.
However, the evidence does suggest that social media affects people differently, depending on many factors. As
with many other modern-day temptations, excessive use for some people may produce negative effects. On the
other hand, it would be wrong to say that social media is a universally bad thing because it does bring a number
of benefits to our lives.