Health hazards of social media
Social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram in particular, have come in for a sharp criticism recently for their hazardous effect on health. This came to light following the confessions made by an ex-employee whistleblower Frances Hugen, whose testimony and quizzing were flashed across all international news channels recently.
Yes, despite social media being platforms that help meet friends, exchange ideas and greeting, share information and even for learning, their frequent unrestricted and unsupervised use especially by youngsters could pose a risk to health.
Facebook has 2.85 billion followers, 340 million of whom are from India. One may therefore guess their reach and impact, both for the good or otherwise. A disturbing post, multiplied several times by the large number of subscribers, can create deep impact on the minds and leave many deeply engaged or disturbed. Social media has been used as a useful tool to raise awareness on one hand, but stir up the herd mentality and whip up political and social upheavals. And what if the original post or information was “untrue” or biased?
Several essays have been written on the health hazards of social media. Negative body image and depression seem common outcomes, as most people posting their “perfect” pictures on the beach or parties can make many viewers feeling jealous or depressed.
Significant anxiety has been traced to a phenomenon called FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). They are frequently looking at their hand-held devices out of fear that something is “happening” that they want to be a part of all the time. This sometimes hooks you into an “addiction”.
The other more frightening adverse effects are cyber bullying, anxiety and depression. The whistleblower stated very candidly how several youngsters (and not just youngsters!) wait anxiously to see the number of likes or appreciative comments they have got before switching off.
And how, if the last comment of the day happens to be a negative or disturbing one, the night’s sleep gets disturbed, the user waking up with anxiety to switch on the cellphone first thing in the morning to see what “follow up” comments or messages have come in. And this goes on till one gets bullied, exhausted or ignored, and then pushed into depression.
When Frances Haughen was asked why she turned a whistle blower, this is what she had to say, “When we realized Big Tobacco was hiding the harms it caused, the government took action. When we figured out
cars were safer with seatbelts, the government took action. And when our government learned that opioids were taking lives, the government took action. I implore you to do the same here”.
Most addicts do not quite realize how and when they got addicted, and the social media giants have undertaken much research to learn that!