A friend recently mentioned an article regarding social media to me which I found extremely interesting. Okay so I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to social media, I moan about it yet I spend god knows how many hours on there. You name it, I use it... Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest...the lot!
My friends and I have had numerous lengthy conversations regarding social media and the effects that they have on people. Our timelines are full up with people posting pictures hoping that this photograph exceeds the amount of 'likes' than the previous vain one, people travelling the world posing for photographs with drugged up tigers and the odd self pitying status about a failing relationship with someone that they probably should've dumped six months ago.
The article discloses that mental health problems and social isolation among young adults are at an 'epidemic levels'. Social media platforms were designed to aid people in connecting with one another, however they are having the opposite effect causing users to feel more alone. Seeing certain aspects of other people's lives on social media can evoke feelings of envy and make comparisons to their own life.
Young adults who visit various social media sites 58 times or more were more prone to falling foul to these issues. This means visiting each social media platform a minimum of just once a day could increase your risk of feeling socially isolated by three times.
When we are bored, feeling isolated or lonely we turn to social media to fill that social void however it is having the opposite effect which could be detrimental. As humans we are inherently social beings, however the more time that a person is spends online is limiting them from face to face interactions.
Not only has social media had an effect on people's metal well-being, it has also unearthed numerous other issues; cyber bullying, online harassment, privacy etc. Many companies perform background checks before considering hiring an employee, this could include checking a prospective employees social media. Posting something undesirable on a social site could drastically affect their chances of getting the job. Not long ago I actually had to remind someone I know of this, they had posted an extremely personal status about someone out of anger and named and shamed them. Some things that are posted online can and will come back and haunt you weeks or years down the line.
Despite slating social media above and the findings linking social media and mental health, something it has done is revolutionise the way people communicate with one another and has remodelled the way businesses interact with their consumers.
Companies are now using them to advertise their products or services to build a base and a relationship with potential customers. Gaining a good social media presence can be extremely powerful, it can help businesses to understand the market so they are able to tweak products or strategies. As well as being cheaper than your usual marketing tools, i.e. radio, TV commercials, print ads etc, which are now outdated. It's also a good tool for consumers to receive a quicker response when contacting businesses to make a complaint, when having to complain or ask a business a question I always use Twitter. Another pro for social media is gaining support for online petitions, it's an effective way to reach hundreds of thousands of people.
Although I may have grumbled just slightly throughout this post about social media, no one can deny that it's not had a immense impact on our culture and in business and no doubt I'll still be hitting the 'Like' button for years to come.
Love Charlotte (Self professed social media addict!)
The rants, quips and anecdotes of a twenty-something year old
(original article: http://news.sky.com/story/status-update-social-media-makes-us-feel-more-lonely-10792266)
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