Research Paper about Social Networks: A Virtual Danger

📌Category: Entertainment, Social Media
📌Words: 1224
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 17 February 2022

First, social networks, which were established in 1997, have become an integral part of our global society. They not only play the role of meeting people but also play an important role in politics! But do social networks have a negative or a positive effect on our society? In my opinion, they have a predominantly negative effect on global society. Social media has a library of negative effects on our communities as well as addiction, internet harassment and fear of missing out (FOMO).

First and foremost, social networks are built in such a way that they easily become addictive. This social media addiction can relate to isolation, self-absorption, fast and impulsive emotional changes, and can disrupt your sleep pattern. According to a study done at Harvard University, social media will create physical and psychological dependence on the individuals who use it. When you use social media, you are using the same part of the brain that is activated when you use an addictive substance. Social networks activate the reward zone in the brain which will send chemicals to neurons (mainly dopamine-producing areas). This area is going to trick your brain into thinking it's a good thing / positive reinforcement like what it does when you use drugs. As we can see from the quote below, social media has the same effect on the brain as drugs which can create addiction issues. Drug addiction, on the other hand, is treated more seriously than social media addiction. According to a study by "Addiction Center", up to 5-10% of Americans can be diagnosed with social media addiction. This means they connect to social media almost instinctively and when they are with their family and friends, all they can think of is social media and what they're missing out on (This is FOMO.) Additionally, a review by PCC Pediatric EHR Solutions explains that teens in the United States spend more than 3 hours per day on social networks This is 21 hours per week !! This is almost equal to a whole day spent only on social networks !!! In addition, social networks will affect your sleep pattern which will create a lack of sleep and according to “Health Essentials” the most damaging risks are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. that many people who don't get enough sleep because of social media suffer are obesity, depression, weakened immunity, dark circles under the eyes, increased cortisol (the stress hormone). We can observe that sleep is an extremely important thing but when you are addicted to social networks you have the difficulty to let go of your phone even if it is very late at night. People who are addicted need social media like fish need water. In short, social networking is a form of entertainment which is extremely addictive which creates several other branches of problem like lack of sleep.

Second, social networks are sites where harassment on the internet occurs most often. This internet harassment can be followed by depression, anxiety and suicide which are all things one should avoid. According to a study by Broadband Search, 53% of adults who use the Internet and social networks have been cyberbullied, 37% are said to have been harassed online in a severe way such as physical threats. 22% of sexual harassment, 18% of criminal harassment 18% and 17% say they are harassed on a regular basis. As we can see, social networks are not rainbows and candies that you see in their advertising. Now we know the number of adults who are harassed online using social media, but why are they harassed? As we can see from this graph, the major reason adults get cyberbullied is because of their looks. This is a very sensitive topic with social media because people are also going to post the best moments of their life there, edit their photo and several other things to make their life look perfect. Now that we have talked about adults we are going to discuss more about adolescents. According to Data Prot 15% of teens who get cyberbullyed by the guard have even had students almost 2 times more likely to kill themselves, 37% of teens develop anxietybeen social and 59% beat online bullying. Also, 11.8 out of 100,000 adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 committed suicide due to cyber bullying which is much higher than in 2000 when the average was 8 in 100,000. According to this statistic we can perceive that suicides due to social media harassment are a real problem and are a problem that continues to grow at an exponential rate. To continue on this topic, cyberbullying through social media can be chained by depression and anxiety. According to Hhs.Gov, about 2% of people who are treated for depression and anxiety will commit suicide each year. As we can see this is not only because of the cyberbullying that will make her one commit suicide but also for the side effects of cyberbullying. In short, adults and teens alike are bullied on social media and can create depression, anxiety and suicide.

Third, as I explained in the last few paragraphs, social networks are sites that become addictive and demonstrate false sense of reality as people who post on sites only post the perfect moments in their lives. It's a post like this that creates Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and is going to be mated with inadequacy about your life or your appearance. 56% of people who use social media experience FOMO because they are afraid of missing something big if they stay away from social media for very long. To continue on this point, because it's just human to want to compare yourself to others and by using social media you are comparing all parts of your life to the best part of someone else's life. that will make you feel the effects of FOMO. Studies of human behavior and FOMO inform us that people who suffer from FOMO lead to extreme dissatisfaction which has a terrible effect on our mental and physical health. You can have quick mood changes, loneliness, you will feel inferior, you will have lower self-esteem, more extreme social anxiety, more negative thinking and depression. As a consequence of these effects of FOMO the antidepressants have increased sharply during the last few years. As we can see from statistics and effects of FOMO that it is a terrible disease with several side effects. Now to talk about comparing yourself with the people you see on social media (especially Instagram). A lot of people compare themselves to the model on Instagram almost on a daily basis. It makes them think they are ugly and inferior but in reality it is not true. The models you see on instagram have teams of people who are going to edit their photos and makeup to make them as attractive as possible. This is all a complicated way of saying that people are comparing themselves to other people or their job is to create a false sense of reality. In short, social media makes us feel the FOMO which only has negative effects on our mental and physical health and makes us compare a false sense of reality.

Lastly, social media has predominantly negative effects on people who use it because it creates an addiction that creates isolation, self-absorption, change in sleep patterns and changes in emotion. Also, social networks are one of the most popular places to be harassed on the internet which can be linked to depression, anxiety and even suicide in extreme cases. To add to this social media creates a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) that will leave the impression on people who use social media that they have a rotten life. In conclusion, these are the reasons why I find that social networks have a negative effect on society. But what do you think? Is social media the problem or the people using it?

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