As of 2020, an estimated 3.6 billion people are using social media— nearly half the planet’s population. From Friendster to Tik Tok, the purpose of social media has always more or less been the same: to make and foster connections with others.
In its defense, in the first years of social media that was the case. As mobile devices weren’t as popular and used far less, many people had to use their desktop or laptop computers to access social media.
Facebook and Twitter were the main platforms available at the time until Instagram was launched.
During this early stage of social media, constant usage wasn’t common. I remember my parents checking their Facebook feeds maybe once a day. However as mobile devices made social media more accessible, it was also utilized more.
While you can browse your Instagram feed on a computer, you aren’t able to post. Platforms like Tik Tok and Snapchat are only accessible on mobile devices.
With this dramatic change in usage, we would expect to live in a world where we feel closer to our friends and family than ever. More social media should equal more connectivity. But this isn’t the case.
Although social media is meant to bring us closer together, in reality social media drives us further apart because it creates toxic competition, generates one-sided conversation and distracts us from having meaningful face to face conversation.
Many social media users only portray one side of their lives.
To be honest, I am guilty of this trend. On Instagram, all of my posts have short catchy captions with high-quality photos that have similar filters.
They all have a “high quality” aesthetic to them. When everyone on social media is only posting the best “highlights,”, is it really an honest depiction of their real lives?
Social media today has given a platform to “influencers” to further promote negative body image standards.
In an article from Forbes, 47% of surveyed Instagram influencers felt that their work as an influencer had an impact on their mental health. 32% felt that Instagram gave them a negative impact on their body image.
These combined factors lead to the conclusion that social media promotes unhealthy body standards as well as unhealthy mental health.
Millions of users follow influencers trying to be like them in every aspect of their life. After so long those who try too hard to be someone else end up not being able to form their own personality, ideals or beliefs. Influencers present a lifestyle that is seen as almost mandatory to be “cool,” which couldn’t be further from the case.
Many users on social media, namely Instagram, strive to put their best image possible out to their followers, which generates competition and unrealistic standards.
From personal experience, I can attest to users spending hours editing their photos for that perfect Insta post. High quality combined with the best filter leads to an image that can be far from reality.
Not only is this process deceiving to other users viewing the post, it can create competition among users to have the “best” post.
In a study done by The University College London Division of Medicine, researchers found “Higher Instagram use was associated with a greater tendency towards orthorexia Nervosa.”
Orthorexia Nervosa, unlike other eating disorders that focus on the quantity of food, is an unhealthy obsession with healthy food.
Orthorexia Nervosa is a rare condition. Cases make up less than one percent of the general population. However this study found that among users on Instagram that follow health food accounts, 49% of them had symptoms of Orthorexia Nervosa.
Not only are we not authentically connecting, we’re barely even conversing.
Despite the fact that social media is meant to be “social,” many times platforms don’t allow for conversations but rather one-sided dialogue.
The inherent purpose of social media is to be a conversation between at least two people. Many users on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter don’t use the platform to generate conversations, but rather use it just to speak their own minds, share their experiences and talk about themselves.
When scrolling through my personal Twitter or Instagram feeds, I rarely ever comment on other posts. On Twitter I will stick to liking tweets and the occasional retweet. On Instagram, I scroll and like while also occasionally posting photos or posting to my story.
The only social media where I believe conversation is inherently ingrained in the purpose of the platform is Snapchat. Other than that, most platforms don’t provide a form of back and forth communication as their main focus.
Even though most platforms have a direct messaging system, many users see that an afterthought.
With the continued rise of social media and digital media as a whole, social media distracts us from having meaningful face to face conversations.
Author and MIT Professor Sherry Turkle explains that technology gives us three fantasies when it comes to companionship: we’ll have attention everywhere, we’ll always be heard and we’ll never have to be alone.
As humans, we naturally strive to find a community. Community is necessary for survival. Social media takes the real face-to-face community away from us, leaving a feeling of loneliness. Humans need face to face interaction to be mentally healthy.
When we try to substitute this interaction for digital conversion, it can result in poor mental health.
NBC reports that “People who get together regularly with family and friends are about half as likely to report symptoms of depression as those who have little face-to-face contact.”
Dr. Alan Teo, a professor of psychiatry at the Oregon Health & Science University conducted the study.
I spend an average of over 29 hours on social media per week, with a daily average screen time (total screen time, not just social media) of six hours and 26 minutes.
Despite the revolutionary change that social media has brought in terms of communication, it has also hindered our interpersonal relationships.
Communication is key in any relationship, and relying on social media as a platform for such communication won’t last.
Although social media is meant to bring us together, in reality it drives us apart. Is checking out the newest Tik Tok dance really worth forfeiting your ability to communicate better in the future?
