Many people use social media daily, ranging from Facebook (the most prominent social media app) to Discord (one of the smallest). Still, all social media have their advantages and disadvantages. Some mental issues can also be raised throughout these media, with how people compare themselves to others being a primary reason, but why has this come about? People can spend up to 2 hours on average doomscrolling on Instagram, which can impact how people spend their free time, but why are we so glued to our screens, and how does this make us feel?
Being stuck in the midst between what’s reality makes us realise that some things we see on the internet aren’t always wholly truthful, although some people we see on the internet make us wish we could look a certain way, no matter what filters have been put on, and how we think we look. Our thoughts are what causes social media to make such a massive difference in our lives, which is shown through a survey done where 48.3% of the participants were found to have depression, 22.6% suffered from anxiety, and 19.4% had both, and this is only a tiny proportion of people.
Humans have exciting and complex minds that make us capable of doing anything, so the question is why and how people spend so much time on social media. Statistics show that 93% of teens use social media, and roughly 86% of those teens say that they spend too much time on it and think it causes harmful behaviours.
Social media is quite new, and as more kids are introduced to it, it can (statistically) damage how people act in everyday life and how they feel about their appearance, which can have a massive impact on life as a whole.
By Alicia
Boston High School Newsroom