15 Negative Effects Of Social Media On Students
Social media is rapidly changing and evolving. Over the past decade, social media have surged and considerably impacted people’s lives. The availability of the internet and smartphones has increased social media usage in everyone’s life.
It has come to the point that it is tough to live without social media. While it’s fun to use social media for posting photos, and stories, sharing your thoughts and experiences, and getting updated with the latest news and trends, you can fall into the dark side of social media too.
Social media applications such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter have made it thoughtful to connect to people worldwide. We can say that it has made a positive influence on our lives. But have you thought about the negative effects of Social media?
Can you recall the last time you put down your phone for 5 minutes and picked it up in less than a minute? Did you mindlessly scroll through the feed and post comparing your life to others? If so, you might have fallen victim to the negative side of social media.
To comprehend what negative effects social media has on people’s lives, I have narrowed down the 15 negative effects of social media below. Keep Reading it below.
The Impact of social media on Education in terms of universities, schools, and other educational institutions is relatively beneficial.
As they use social media, mostly Facebook and WhatsApp, for public and self-interest. Almost all universities conduct communication with their stakeholders, which will be effective for everyone. This is where the interest in social networks comes from.
Nowadays, each university has its own pages on all the major social networking platforms, in which students can find out various news not only from educational, but also sports, cultural, creative, social, and scientific activities.
- Grabbing more public attention is by sharing the institutional brilliancy of both teachers and students.
- Communicating with faculty members and staff by creating private official chat groups
- Circulation of various announcements, notifications, and events, especially for new admissions and new sessions.
- Share the institution’s social, ethical, and moral partnership on their pages and groups
- consistently share the facts, figures, and success stories of their brilliant faculty members and students.
15 Negative Effects Of Social Media On Students
In this growing era of social media among teenagers and students, it is necessary to know whether social media does more positively or negatively to mental health. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, almost 95% of teens have smartphones, and about 75% of teens are on various social networking sites and, about 85% are on YouTube. Here we will discuss some negative impacts of social media on students:
1. Anxiety
Instead of taking time for themselves, students are more interested in knowing what others are doing and about other’s personal life. Social media negatively impacts the thinking processes and emotions of those who use it more frequently, making them depressed and anxious. For study, job, and personal life, good mental health is crucial. As a result, it is advised to limit your time to a half-hour per day rather than waste the entire day.
2. Higher Expectations from the World
You won’t be shocked if I claim that social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are to blame for unrealistic expectations and friendships. The validity of other people’s actions cannot be verified.
In an ideal world, no one would lie on social media, but show business and promotion tactics won’t be changing anytime soon. Influencers on YouTube and Instagram are tied to these tactics in order to draw viewers. This influence can have a negative impact on the students and might lead them to succumb to self-doubt.
3. It causes social problems
Social media many times causes social problems as teenagers on social media write and comment publicly. It may hurt sentiments and, viewers may not like it. Also, there is a lot of disturbing content that can implant the wrong mindset in students. Students many times feel inferior as they tend to compare themselves with others.
4. Unbalanced sleeping schedule
One of the main factors contributing to kids’ lack of sleep today is social media. They are continuously concerned with what their friends share and post. If they are not told to stop, students can remain engaged on social media for longer periods of time which will cost them their sleeping routine. If individuals engage in these activities, particularly during or right before sleep, there is a strong likelihood that their sleep may be disturbed.
5. Victim of cyber-crime
Cyberbullying is one of the most common harassment s faced by people using social media. Teenagers using social media get attacked by hackers and thieves and, many times, get exploited and blackmailed. There are some anonymous applications and software available. To acquire data of users, such applications ask for permission and, users generally permit without giving a second thought. As a result, they use this data to earn money.
6. Social Media Addiction
Social media is undoubtedly addictive, with all the latest trends, posts, stories, gossip, and friends’ whereabouts, but too much consumption and usage of social media can lead to social media addiction.
Suppose you’re constantly checking notifications to count the likes, comments, shares, and followers and get validated with these. In that case, you feel as if it is rewarding and you have achieved something, which makes you use social media more.
Social media addiction can lead to negligence of your personal life, concealing addictive behavior, stalking others excessively promoting unhealthy behaviors.
7. Distraction from life goals
Because it’s so simple to become engrossed in social media activity, students frequently forget about their actual goals. Teenagers these days aspire to internet popularity rather than setting their sights on their dream careers by developing practical talents.
Setting and achieving objectives requires a lot of effort and drive. When we don’t feel like working hard, social media gives us an easy avenue to divert our attention. As a result, we may find that we just don’t complete tasks since finding distractions is so simple.
8. Attraction to material things
After seeing various social media posts and articles of actors and other famous personalities. As a result, teenagers tend to attract to unrealistic beauty and material things. After seeing others, students compare themselves and desire similar things that they might not be able to afford. As a result, many teenagers stole money and other items to fulfill their desires.
9. Unrealistic views
Whenever you open social media apps, whether it is Facebook, Instagram, or Titktok, you can see tons of images, posts, and travel vlogs and think how exemplary their lives are. All you want is their perfect body, but nobody knows what happens behind the screen of social media.
The portrayal of idealistic views on body image, and extravagant lifestyles has a severe negative impact on the mentality of people. It can alter people’s relationships with others in real life, causing low self-esteem.
It has gone so far that teenagers opt for extreme ways to lose weight or attain muscle fast but are clueless about body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and several other mental and health subjects.
10. Anger issues and Addiction
After excessive use of social media, students had anger issues. They had difficulty controlling their anger and frequent mood swings. Teenagers get addiction after the excessive use of social media. Many students, after the excessive use of social media, are admitted to hospitals as they face various neurological and other disorders.
11. Privacy and Data Sharing
On social media, there is no privacy of data. And also, the data shared is accessible to anyone and, people tend to exploit it. Hackers use bank account details for fraud to earn money. People tend to share details without a background check and end up regretting it.
12. Lack of Concentration
Today, it’s simple to see how social media has a negative impact on many students. Nowadays, students have a habit of accessing social media at the same time as other tasks that call for more concentration, such as academics, classwork, or homework. Although it is not multitasking, the majority of them think it is. Studies have shown that having your focus constantly interrupted hinders learning and performance.
13. Inappropriate Influence
There are many articles and posts related to social issues and current affairs. But, some of these articles contain inappropriate content. As a result, students may get influenced by anti-nationalist and elusive political practices on social media. Many political parties try to inspire teenagers to join them through social media.
14. Fear Of Missing Out
Fear of Missing out (FOMO) is a common term used nowadays on the internet and social media, where people fear missing out on essential activities if they don’t open up and be active on social media.
People experiencing FOMO think that everyone they know is having a great time outside, partying, traveling, living luxurious lives, and meeting up with friends, and you’re the only one missing all those enjoyments.
The more active people are on social media, the more FOMO they experience. It can cause psychological distress in their minds and damage their physical and mental health.
10 Positive Effects of Social Media on Students
15. Isolation
The use of social media and social isolation are statistically associated. Students especially teenagers may become anxious when they view images or recordings of a party to which they were not invited. The phrase “fear of missing out,” or FOMO, is the perfect Genz phrase for it. Teenagers who use social media frequently think they are connecting to new people, but in reality, they are disengaged from the present and their lives. That may make them feel more alone and they might really feel left out and hence social isolation.
