Side effects of social media. by Isabel

Side effects of social media. by Isabel - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

Social media has impacted the way I learned in so many ways. comparing how I learned pre pandemic to now is crazy. Everything changed including my learning style, the way I take notes, the way I study, etc. Because of my ADHD, it was very difficult to learn because I was going off what the teachers would tell me how to learn instead of them teaching us how to learn in our own ways. I started to notice that certain teaching styles that used to work for me back then no longer work for me.

My junior year was remote and although I was occupied with doing the work at home and taking care of my siblings, I was alone and isolated. I didn’t talk to friends that I usually would have at school. If we did talk, it was only through text. I didn’t know this at the time but being on my computer and phone all the time was damaging me. I felt sad seeing everyone at school or at fun places that I couldn’t go to. In the article Social Media and Mental Health by Lawrence Robinson and Melinda Smith, it states, “We need the companionship of others to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge impact on our mental health and happiness. Being socially connected to others can ease stress, anxiety, and depression, boost self-worth, provide comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even add years to your life”. When I would be scrolling through Instagram or Tik Tok, I would compare my life to others and would get jealous because I wanted to live other people's lives and I was forgetting to live my own. It made my mental health worse because there were things that I wanted to try in my own life like DIY projects, painting my hair, going out with friends or eating healthier but I couldn’t because of us going on lock-down.

Because of social media, I have been able to unlock new hobbies and interests. For instance, I started watching physiological videos and now I find psychology interesting. I bought books that talk about how our small actions can change people's current moods. I read the book How full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath & Don Clifton which talks about everyone having an invisible bucket on the top of their head and we all have an invisible dipper. When we say or do something positive for someone then a drop of water is added to their bucket and if the person's bucket is overflowing then that means they are extremely happy. This metaphor is really helpful to think about because this not only applies to people’s daily life but can be implemented everywhere you go like work or school. If we acknowledge what good they do instead of putting them down for their failures then everyone would be able to be more comfortable with expressing themselves instead of staying quiet.

Although social media can show us new hobbies and interests, social media can become a major distraction for younger teens and adults. In the article Impact of Social Media on Our Attention Span and its Drastic Aftermath it states, “With our attention spans eroded to approximately eight seconds in our digital landscape, we have learned that to consume is to skim. Most of the text content is forced to be skipped”(Ashrof). There have been many times where I have scrolled on Tik Tok for a long time and I have noticed that now not all of the videos are seven seconds. Tik Tok has added a new feature where videos can be 3 minutes long but because a lot of people are used to watching seven second videos their attention span has decreased. A lot of social media platforms push videos like this so every time someone watches a video they get a hit of dopamine which causes the user to keep watching for hours on end. Dopamine is the reason for us feeling pleasure, satisfaction and motivation. The only problem is a lot of people rely too much on dopamine which can shorten our attention span as a result. This can cause problems like not being able to pay attention in class, not sticking to a study routine, having selective hearing, along with other problems.

All in all, social media can be a platform where we all learn new interests and connect with a variety of different people from other backgrounds but it can also make us feel alone and isolated from the world. Everyone needs to find a good balance of using their phones for a little bit and then turning it off by doing other things like reading, painting, going outside with friends and so much more other things. What I started to implement in my life was turning off all notifications specifically for social media platforms which has helped me focus on my daily tasks without getting distracted. I even started reading for a couple minutes out of my day which helps me comprehend more in my classes. Changing small things in your life like reducing your screen time on social media from an hour to 30 mins can help.