Social Media's Effects on Our Brain

Social Media's Effects on Our Brain

Social media is the worst way to kill time. It is so much fun and thus, addictive. Day by day, it has become a significant part of our life. From scrolling through your friends' pics on Insta, talking on trending issues on Twitter, watching Tic-Tok videos to Facebooking, you often get spellbound to keep late nights.   

Spend time on social media has some apparent benefits. According to a study, two-thirds of Americans are furnished with the news from social media. It clarifies that as long as you are attached to social media, you are well informed about the surroundings. The same number of people use the social network to keep their communications with their friends as they can not hang out always. Watching funny cat videos on these sites is also refreshing.  

Apart from these advantages of using social media, there are some negative impacts too. When you are spending too much time on these sites, you become more emotionally attached to them. It can affect your self-esteem and your interaction ways with others. What can be the consequences and how to avoid this is all you need to know.  

What is FOMO?

All of us are acquainted with FOMO. It means "fear of missing out". When it is too cold outside like 15 degrees, you are bound to stay at home. The best practice to spend this holiday is to scroll through the vocational pics of your friends. It is an escape from the harsh cold. But you become colder inside by seeing the pics as a reminder that you can not do this. The events remind you that you were not involved in them and parties you didn't go. You may even get many ads popping up in your scrolling time. The products in the ads are appealing, and you are dreaming of buying it. But your inability makes you feel bad.   

All these incidents can lead you to FOMO. It is solely capable of making you feel anxious, lonely, isolated, and depressed. Overall you feel worse about yourself. 

A study also published in Innovation stating about FOMO. The FOMO makes you feel like you are willing to be available all the time on the social network. If you are overthinking of not being so social can lead you to trouble sleeping and anxiety. 

Affecting your body image

You always find picture-perfect selfies and pics on Insta uploaded by Instagram lifestyle gurus, models, and good selfies by ordinary people. All these can make you feel you do look great.  

Well, you may not have the idea that they spent a minimum of an hour to take a selfie. The perfect looking people also spend some more minutes to beautify this selfie. After that, they post the pic on the social network, and you feel bad. You start to compare yourself with the picture-perfect selfie by others. The research also shows a large number of people using this social media, especially young women, are not satisfied with their bodies.  

Effects on Your Social Skills

Social media not only changes your feelings about yourself but also the trends of how you treat others. When you are interacting with people online, you can not get instant feedback and create emotional connections like being in-person. 

Chatting or texting may feel impersonal for a while. But in this case, you are missing your friend's body language or facial expressions. It does not affect you if you are a very social person while communicating in person. But experts suggest that it can cause a "nonverbal learning disability." 

How to reduce the Psychological Impact of Social Media

As far as you have got the idea of the adverse effects of social networking, you may be thinking of how to be more social without being affected. Some ways can minimize the impact on you.   

First of all, you need to limit using social media. It is always tempting to use social media round the clock. But using them 30 minutes a day can keep you away from loneliness and depression. The less use is beneficial according to the research by the University of Pennsylvania. 

You have to be choosy before you compare yourself to others. It often seems to you that other people's life is perfect. But have you ever thought of posting unflattering selfies or sharing disturbing experiences on social media? Never. So do the seemingly perfect people. They only show the brighter side of their life hiding the flaws and struggles. It does not mean that they do not have problems in life. So, either stay away from comparison while using social media or remain from social networks. Participate in in-person chats and real conversations. As they feel more intense, chances are there to make new friends! It would be best if you also made time for offline interactions.