It's true, that little thing we all have and use on a daily basis (for
about 2 hours a day, according to Bailey Parnell in this week's TED
Talk, "Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health") is not a positive
source of engagement and overall has a negative impact on our
psychological well-being. Parnell highlights four of the most
prevalent and toxic traits of social media as the Highlight Reel (the
posting of only the best/most important moments), Social Currency
(how we communicate through likes, shares, and comments - the
more the better!), Fear of Missing Out (F.O.M.O. - our consistent
tendency to want to stay up to date, current, connected and involved
or accepted and what it would mean to not have access to that), and
Online Harassment (which is obvious, constant, and an unfortunate
common occurrence online). These traits hone in on our most basic
instincts for survival related to the desire to belong, to be loved, and
to engage in personal relationships with others, and therefore social
media can have a very severe and direct impact on our mental health
and well-being. The most important concern with social media is the
sense (or false sense) of identity, and us as humans also appear to
crave control over their identity and overall image. A great sense of
self identify is a wonderful characteristic for anyone to have but
relying on social media and the "social currency" is where the
problem truly lies.
b In an article by David Brunskill, he outlines a few key factors that
impact our identity management online. Some of these factors
include level of disassociation and integration, level of fantasy and
reality, and level of conscious awareness and control. We have all
gotten lost in the sea of make-believe on social media, mindlessly
scrolling/liking/sharing, daydreaming of owning half of the things we
see popping up on our screens. When combined with our "F.O.M.O.",
the desire to be accepted, the desire to be authentic, and the desire
to socialize, social media becomes a dangerous playground where we
are free to create and control our own identities and comment on
others'. "The striving for a positive self-presentation is a notable
human tendency. It can be seen to have its roots in terms of the
evolutionary advantages that a positive self-presentation can have,
and is also considered to be linked to the related human need
to develop and maintain a reasonably positive self- esteem‘ [4]."
(Brunskill).
b Social media and its negative impacts on psychological well-being is
directly related to self-care and ethics. One must remain aware of the
power social media appears to hold over society and aware of their
own values, beliefs, and how they are being represented and utilized
online. Becoming dependent on social media is detrimental to one's
health and can create unnecessary social anxiety disorders,
unrealistic life expectations, and negative inner self-esteem. In order
to avoid a toxic and negative social media experience, we must
practice strong ethics in our communications with others in effort to
treat others with the respect we expect ourselves, continue filtering
what we share and interact with online, and limit our overall time
that we dedicate to our online presence to limit its power over our
physical daily lives.
Sources:
Bennet, A. (2014). Social Media : Global Perspectives, Applications
and Benefits and Dangers. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Social Media
: Global Perspectives, Applications and Benefits and Dangers
(snhu.edu)
TEDx Talks. (2017, June 22) Bailey Parnell: Is Social Media Hurting
Your Mental Health? [Video]. Retrieved from YouTube. (84) Is Social
Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU -
YouTube
