Striking Scientific Research on the Harms of Social Media
Interesting scientific studies compiled by the BBC on the harms of social media.
According to a study conducted in Austria in 2014, people who use social media for 20 minutes are more unhappy than people who use the internet for 20 minutes. It was estimated that this was because people knew that they were wasting time when using social media.
According to an article published in the journal Computer and Human Behavior, people who use 7 or more social media platforms are 3 times more likely to show symptoms of anxiety disorders than people who use 2 or less social media platforms.
According to a BBC news report, 2 studies found that internet use was the source of depression, unhappiness, feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness in 700 students, and that the symptoms worsened as the amount of internet use increased.
According to a study conducted on 1700 people in 2016, people who use social media are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders than those who do not.
According to a study conducted at Trent University in the UK analyzing the results of 43 scientific studies, excessive use of social media
- Relationship disorders,
- Academic failure,
- To disconnect from real life
was found to be the cause.
A Swiss study of 1,000 Facebook users found that women who participated in the study felt more unhappy and insecure because “those who post on Facebook always post their happiest and most beautiful selves”.
In a 2013 study of 79 Facebook users, researchers asked 79 users 5 times a day “How do you feel?” and “How much have you used Facebook since the last message?” The results of the study showed that the more Facebook use between the 2 phones, the less enjoyment of life.
A 2016 study at Penn State University found that looking at other people’s mostly photoshopped pictures lowers people’s self-confidence. It is claimed that a serious reason why the number of plastic surgeries has increased by 20% in the last 10 years is the obsession with looking more beautiful in selfies.
A study of 600 social media users found that a third of them felt a sense of failure caused by jealousy.
According to an article published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a study of 7000 people aged 19-32 who use social media too much found that people who use social media too much are twice as likely as normal people to have social belonging problems.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns
In 2017, a national study in the UK found that people with social media addiction were mostly young single women. They were also found to be low-educated, low-income and insecure.
For some people, the addiction has reached such a level that in the US in 2014, a Facebook-addicted burglar was caught by the police because he couldn’t resist entering Facebook in the house he was robbing.
Montfort University in the UK banned the unrestricted use of social media on campus and in student dormitories for 5 days on January 16, 2019 due to the potential harm to young people’s mental health. the university administration found that its students were somewhat addicted.
Soruce: https://www.bbc.com/news/education-46876458
According to an article published in the world-renowned scientific journal Lancet, a sedentary life is more harmful than smoking. Considering that one out of every three 15-year-olds in the UK uses social media for more than 6 hours, it is not difficult to guess that social media use is not only harmful to mental health but also to physical health.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-1887688 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180118-how-much-is-too-much-time-on-social-media
According to the BBC, 259 people lost their lives while taking selfies as of October 2018.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-45745982
According to a newspaper published in the US, Facebook was mentioned in one third of the divorce files in 2011. According to divorce lawyers in the US, Facebook is seen as one of the biggest reasons why marriages end.
