Social Media and How It Could Be Hindering Your Life

Social media has become the epicenter of daily life and interpersonal interactions for many in today's society. Whether the platform be Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, or the increasingly popular Tik Tik; one can easily become engulfed in the never ending river of content. Being engaged in social media can have both positive and negative outcomes largely contingent upon the frequency/purpose of use. For the content creator, social media can provide a lucrative avenue for business development, passive income, and a significant following or sphere of influence. For the average consumer, social media can easily become a distraction resulting in an unproductive and sedentary lifestyle centered around twittering thumbs with glued noses to screens. Whether you are a content creator or consumer, here are some possible pitfalls to the over consumption of social media.

Time Wasted

There is an old adage that time is a person's most valuable resource. One that once spent, you can not get back. This notion speaks to just how meaningful how we decide to spend our time truly is. Social media was designed to occupy what we deem as our "spare time". Studies show that about 3.96 billion people are on social media platforms, with the average adult spending about 95 minutes per day on as many as seven different apps (2022, Sprout Social). Apps such as TikTok have increased their viewership as much as 105% during the pandemic where most individuals spent the majority of their time indoors. Users spend minutes or even hours strolling digital "shorts" which is time that could be spent doing more productive activities.

Lack of Productivity

A direct consequence of excessive amounts of time spent on social media is the lack of productivity in an individual's life. Have you ever spent hours on social media instead of doing some other task that you KNOW you should be doing such as studying? Imagine if you spent as much time learning a new skill, perfecting a craft, or finishing a project as you do on social media. Be honest with yourself, would you be a bit further in life than you are now? No worries, we have all been there. In fact, I too struggled writing this article due to a lack of productivity directly related to watching YouTube videos. The key is to notice the pattern and correct when necessary.

Neglecting Real Life Responsibilities

Aside from being unproductive, social media can become so addictive that individuals actually neglect their real life responsibilities. You may be thinking to yourself "now that is pretty extreme" however consider these two hypothetical situations. You have a coworker on the job who constantly sneaks away to "Go live" on IG or who is constantly watching videos in-between customers. This person may get written up or threatened with losing their job however continues to engage in social media discretely. Another example could be the tired mom who decides to relax after work by strolling Facebook and sharing funny memes with friends. Initially harmless, she begins to spend more and more time on social media leaving her children to entertain themselves. Although this behavior may seem harmless or normalized, in reality people can not even perform activities of daily living without the influence of social media.

Distorted Self Image and Validation seeking

The most alluring aspect of social media is the idea of being "important" and socially accepted through views, likes, and shares. How many times have you posted a picture and counted the likes? I will be transparent and admit that I have also engaged in this behavior. Social media can offer a sense of validation or community that is very powerful and often addictive. Social media can even alter your behavior by rewarding you with likes for content that is deemed popular or dislikes/negative comments for content that is not socially accepted. For example think of a young lady who posts a racy picture of herself in a swim suit and receives 1,000+ likes however only receives 200+ likes when posting a headshot. If her aim is to gain followers, influence, and social validation, which types of pictures do you think she will keep posting? This creates a need for one to "put themselves out there" however an unfortunate reality is the more views, likes, shares, and subscribers one gains, there also comes negative comments, backbiters, and just plain old "haters".

Dissatisfaction and Fantasy

It is no secret that all that glitters is not gold when it comes to social media. In the world of photo shop, filters, and targeted poses, the illusion of perfection is not hard to obtain. When you spend the majority of your time viewing someone else's highlight reel of their life with their perfectly edited photos, it is easy to become discontent with yourself. Comparison is the thief of joy. To many their social media persona can become an escape from reality. This can lead to depression, anxiety, and even suicide as people try to cope with their realities by building a "psuedo self" online. The unfortunate reality is, the psuedo self is perfect and the actual person is not. This creates deep insecurities and dissatisfaction with reality which then fuels the viscous cycle of seeking validation online.

The moral of this article is, social media is okay when used in moderation. You must consider how much time you spend on social media and why. Check your motivations behind what you post and be sure to spend more time working on the real you. Use your time wisely and invest in yourself verses watching the "fabulous" lives of others.