Cause and Effect: Social Media Addiction

In 2019, there are 3.2 billion social media users and the number is still increasing (Emarsys,
2019). Social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have been used
mainly to interact with other people and widen their social connections. According to the
research obtained by the Global Web Index (2018), only 3% of the adult population is not
using social media. However, the use of social media is highly addictive, especially for
youngsters. Social media statistic uncovers that an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes are
spent per day per person on social networks and messaging (Globalwebindex, 2018).
Researchers from the University of Chicago (n.d) concluded that social media addiction can
be stronger than cigarette addiction and alcoholism. Addiction to social media can cause
serious health problems, social interaction problems, and can also be a distraction.

To begin with, the excessive use of social media can be very dangerous to both physical and
mental health. It is often misused and can become very manipulative and destructive to
individuals. Some people take advantage of social media and use it as a platform to bully
other people which can strongly affect one’s mental health. Moreover, social media is used as
a weapon to influence other people’s thoughts and opinion. It creates unrealistic expectations
such as promoting unrealistic body image which can cause low self-esteem and confidence.
Not to mention, it can put people, especially children, at higher risk for anxiety, depression,
and eating disorders (Hatcher, 2017). As for the physical health, the more time we spend
looking at screens, there is higher risk of getting eye strain and vision problems. Some of the
symptoms include dry, itchy eyes, blurred vision, eye strain, headaches, and neck, back, and
shoulder pain (Nucilli, n.d.). To sum up, addiction to social media can greatly affect both our
physical health, such as vision problems, and mental health such as anxiety and depression.

Secondly, since people are becoming more and more dependent to social media as a way of
interacting with other people, they tend to lose the ability to communicate with other people
in real life. People are ‘trapped’ in these virtual realities and this can lessen face-to-face
interactions, which is much needed to have better engagement with other people. People are
too caught up on their mobile phones that they take no notice of their surroundings and are
blinded from reality. Although social media is said to make people feel less lonely, little did
they know, social media can result to social isolation in the real world. For instance,
according to the University of British Columbia (2018), mild distractions from a buzzing
phone 
could cause individuals to experience a decrease of present enjoyment. Sadly, the number of
followers, views and likes that individuals have is a bigger deal than having real friends
today.
Lastly, an increase in social media use has been associated with
increased distractibility and sleep disturbances. This has led to problems such as children
receiving poor academic performance or inability to concentrate during class. Although
students often use social media for educational purposes, students still have high tendency to
be distracted by social networking sites. This means that there is a reduced focus on learning
as well as on retaining information (Armstrong, 2012). A study conducted by Albert Posso
(2012) showed that children who regularly use online social networks, such as Facebook,
tend to obtain lower scores in math, reading, and science than students who never or hardly
ever use these sites. To an extent, this can affect their future career.

In conclusion, using social media is not always a bad thing. However, being addicted to it can
give negative impact on health, lessen ability to interact with others in the world, and can
result to poor academic performance. Therefore, people should limit their use of social media
and take a moment to engage more in physical activities.

References:

Ali, S. (2018). Is Social Media Making You Lonely? Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-mentality/201810/is-social-
media-making-you-lonely

Armstrong, Steve. (2012). Negative Effects of Social Networking Sites For Students.
Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/social-media/negative-effects-
of-social-networking-sites-for-students-0311887

Dewi, R.K. (2019). Kecanduan Media Sosial, Saat Waktu Habis untuk Main Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter (Addiction to Social Media, When Time Runs Out to play
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). Kompas. Retrieved from
https://www.kompas.com/tren/read/2019/10/13/210146965/kecanduan-media-sosial-
saat-waktu-habis-untuk-main-facebook-instagram-dan?page=all

Hatcher, J.P. (2017). 20 Pros and Cons of Social Medua Use. Retrieved from
https://www.success.com/20-pros-and-cons-of-social-media-use/

Heitin, L. (2016). Students Who Use Social Media Score Lower in Math, Reading and
Science. PSB NewsHour. Retrieved from
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/social-media-use-linked-low-math-reading-
science-performance

Mohsin, M. (2019). 10 Social Media Statistics You Need to Know in 2019. Retrieved from
https://id.oberlo.com/blog/social-media-marketing-statistics

Nucilli, R. (n.d). 11 Ways Social Media Is Ruining Your Physical and Mental Health.
Retrieved from https://www.ranker.com/list/how-social-media-ruins-your-
health/rylee_en