It can fuel anxiety, depression, and insecurities — but are there any upsides?
A year or two ago, I was at a party when one of the guests there made a comment I think about literally every day: “I think social media is going to be our generation’s cigarettes,” he said. The idea stuck with me long after I forgot his name. (Sorry to this man.) Think about it: In 2023, nobody is picking up a cigarette thinking it will improve their health, but before 1950, tobacco companies made all kinds of health claims about cigarettes before we knew any better. Back when Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter came out, it’s unlikely many people thought these social networks could ever have a downside, but a decade-plus later, research continues to come out that exposes the risks of social media use. And it’s even gotten so serious that on Monday, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy demanded Congress put a warning label on these apps — the kind of cautionary message you’d see on a carton of cigarettes — because they pose such a threat to children and teens. So maybe social media really is the new cigarettes.
From fueling insecurities and mental health problems to contributing to the downfall of democracy, there are scary unintended consequences to the platforms. Part of that is because these apps have evolved and, in turn, so has our relationship with them, but also, more research has come out the longer social media has been around.
Still, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t use any kind of social media — the Pew Research Center says that 7 in 10 Americans use at least one platform (Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, NextDoor, and the like). Are the risks of these platforms exclusive to teens, or should adults steer clear, too? As someone who spends the equivalent of at least half a workday on their phone and uses social media for both work and entertainment, I wanted to dig into what benefits there might be to these platforms — or if, like smoking, it’s better to just quit.
What are the risks of social media?
Before we give you the good news, let’s break down the bad news. As someone who is chronically online, I feel qualified to assert that there are plenty of issues with social media: It’s been linked to anxiety, depression, and lower self-esteem — not to mention that it can be a total time-suck. And of course, these platforms are hotbeds for cyber bullies. Luckily, some platforms have taken steps to battle against bullies, like Instagram, which offers tools like letting users restrict who messages them (effectively blocking them, but without the other person realizing).
In addition to the mental health concerns, there are also physical impacts to consider. In 2020, Americans spent an average of 58 minutes a day on Facebook alone, and people interact with their phones over 2,000 times per day. That can take its toll, as excessive smartphone use can lead to all kinds of sleep problems, which can in turn cause mental health issues. It can also lead to headaches and neck problems from spending too much time looking down at your screen. Incessant typing and scrolling have even been linked to carpal tunnel syndrome.
What are the benefits of social media?
Despite how many articles come out so frequently about the harms of social media, there are some proven positives to sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The upsides might seem a little obvious to those of us who use social media regularly, but they bear mentioning, because they’re backed by research. A 2014 study published in SAGE entitled Social Media Risks and Benefits noted that social media platforms “support the maintenance of existing social ties and the formation of new connections” — in other words, people use it to make new friends and keep up with old ones. Maintaining friendships is good for your health — it has been linked to lower risk for depression and high blood pressure and even living longer — and a 2017 study found that virtual friendships can be just as meaningful as face-to-face ones. This reinforces why the first part of “social” media is the word “social.”
The 2014 review also said that, more so than people who don’t use social media, users of a social network have access to more information, support, and other kinds of resources (like networking opportunities). “This, in turn, is linked to a variety of positive social outcomes such as trust and reciprocity that engender better health.” Anyone who’s ever put out a call to their Facebook or LinkedIn followers to ask for help on a project or for a recommendation knows this all too well.
Social media is also a place to learn new things, with the SAGE study noting, “information and knowledge sharing is an essential motivation for the usage of [social networking sites]” and can help people find facts they would be unlikely to uncover elsewhere (as long as it isn’t fake news, that is). The study noted that it’s also, as anyone who’s spent hours scrolling through memes or funny videos of dogs can attest, a solid source of entertainment. So there are definitely some good parts of it, despite the bad.
Is social media bad or good?
Studies have failed to come to a hard-and-fast conclusion on whether the benefits of social media outweigh the risks. Most have mixed results, pointing out that there are both positive and negative impacts. For instance, although some research has found that the FOMO and insecurity fueled by social media use can lead to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression, particularly in young people, other studies have noted that it can also be used as a mental health resource. A 2013 study, for example, found “59 percent of patients use Twitter for health counseling and 52.3 percent use Facebook for social counseling,” and that social media can lead people to learn about and seek mental health treatment. But on the flip side, a 2019 study found that adolescents who spent just 30 minutes per day on social media, compared to zero time, increased their risk of developing mental health issues because they were more likely to internalize problems.
So far, research has failed to pinpoint what, exactly, tips the scale from helpful to harmful when it comes to these virtual communities. One study posited that the amount of time you spend on the various algorithms could play a role — particularly because the longer you’re online, the more at risk you are of being exposed to cyberbullying and other negative interactions. However, even though cyberbullying “has been associated with increased depression” (obviously), most studies haven’t found a direct link between time spent online and negative well-being. In other words, you could spend five hours online and not encounter a cyberbully, or you could be attacked by a troll within five minutes of signing on. A 2021 study entitled Investigating the Role of Social Media on Mental Health also noted that online addiction is a real problem, which can decrease the user’s quality of sleep and lead to a host of issues, including anxiety and depression. For that reason, authors said it was important to consider the quantity and quality of time spent online.
There’s also been a lot of research on the risks of social media for teens and children, which makes sense because children, particularly between ages 10-12, become particularly sensitive to validation and admiration from others due to the way their brains are changing at that age, and an undeveloped prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that regulates our thoughts, actions, and emotions). Adults, by contrast, are able to regulate their emotional response to things like likes and comments better — both because the prefrontal cortex is developed and because they tend to have a stronger sense of self.
One 2015 study posited that the harm has less to do with how long you’re on an app, and more with what you’re doing on it. It found that “active interaction,” or engaging with others, was associated with generally positive outcomes, while “passive use” or scrolling, negatively impacted users’ mental health. That seems to be in line with other studies’ findings that social media’s ability to connect people is a good thing, but the constant comparison game users often get caught up with is a detriment. For those of us who are online a lot of the time, this might not seem particularly groundbreaking, but it’s a good thing to keep in the back of our heads the next time we get sucked into a doomscrolling spiral.
But perhaps the 2021 study put it best: “Social media is not inherently destructive,” the authors wrote, adding, “As with nearly every behavior, moderation is key.”
