Psychological Effects of Social Media Essay

Introduction

Within the last twenty years, the world has probably experienced the most drastic sociological and environmental shifts, such as the emergence of the internet and social media. In this sense, one may readily argue that social media have changed the structure of society. Subsequently, the psychology of individuals has also been affected by social media (Mukhamedova, 2020). Although social media has improved our communication in our environment, there are many negative psychological impacts of social media such as anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic issues in extreme cases.

Body Paragraphs

Humankind is widely considered a social creature that tends to rely highly on each other. In other words, the emergence of society itself has been based on the social aspects of individuals. Families, groups, provinces, cities, and countries have all been formed with this approach. Accordingly, I agree with the statement, which is "environmental problems are behavioral problems" (Scott, 2019, Chapter 1). Also, there have existed and anonymous, saying that we have a similar character with five close people that are constantly in our social environment (Groth, 2012). In this sense, individuals tend to be affected by their environment. Arguably, if an individual starts spending time with painters, after a while, the individuals can think of or start painting as well. Moreover, research findings infer that drug use and the environment are highly interrelated (Ompad & Fuller, n.d.). When considered the fact that drug use creates a specific type of character that relies on pragmatic needs to get more drugs, one can already assume that the environment has a great impact on the behavior of an individual.

When considered the impacts of social media as an environmental issue on people, one may argue that the effects of these brand-new assets may vary according to the frequency of usage. That is, there is a drastic difference between individuals who use 8 hours a day, and 1 hour a day, respectively. In this sense, scholarly researches have already proven the drastic negative impacts of social media as a socio-environmental issue among our society and family (Mukhamedova, 2020). More specifically, excessive usage or exposure to social media in our environment may highly result in psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep patterns, and so on. In this sense, I do not consider myself an excessive user. I believe that we are social creatures; therefore, neither do I not want to lack such an asset of our century, nor I want to use excessively because I already know its negative impacts.

When I presented the same issue to my close friend, she did not agree with me on that social media as an environmental issue has drastic negative impacts on us. On the contrary, she claimed that she made all her relations and friends through social media. At this point, I could not agree with her as I believe otherwise, according to credible articles. On the other hand, awareness is considered what makes us progress. At this specific discussion, I thought that she had not been aware of the possible negative impacts of social media on our environment and our behavior.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the paper presents insights into the environmental and behavioral negative impacts of social media in our century. When considered that human tends to create the basis of society, environmental and sociological effects have a great influence on our behavior. Accordingly, excessive usage of social media is known to have a negative impact on human behavior, as per researches. Although social media has improved our communication in our environment, there are many negative psychological impacts of social media such as anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic issues in extreme cases.

References

Groth, A. (2012, July 24). You're The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://businessinsider.com/jim-rohn-youre-the-average-of-the-five-people-you-spend-the-most-time-with-2012-7

Mukhamedova, D. (2020). Psychological Aspects Of Addiction To Social Media, Computer And Computer Games. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(02), 319–324. doi: 10.37200/ijpr/v24i2/pr200338

Ompad, D., & Fuller, C. (n.d.). The Urban Environment, Drug Use, and Health. Handbook of Urban Health, 127–154. doi: 10.1007/0-387-25822-1_7

Scott, B. A. (2016). Psychology for sustainability. New York: Routledge.