Social media has become one of the most addicting activities for young adults, with many wasting time with mindless scrolling rather than being aware of what is around them.ย
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe our generation has relied on social media to distract themselves. It can be argued whether it is beneficial or detrimental; however, few can argue that it leads to consequences, specifically regarding peopleโs mental health.ย ย
According to the National Center for Health Research, 35% of adolescents and young adults have reported using at least one social media platform โalmost constantly,โ and 54% said it was difficult to give up on social media.ย
At California Lutheran University alone, I always see people on their phones, checking their social media feeds. Frankly, it is often hard to give up social media due to its inherently addicting nature.ย
Also, 36% of adolescents and young adults have admitted to spending excessive time on social media platforms, compared to 8% who report spending too little time on them, according to the National Center for Health Research.ย
Ken Flores, a third-year student at Cal Lutheran, said he believes that whether the relationship between the user and the platform is good or bad depends on which specific platform it is.ย
โI think it depends on, one, the app and, two, how much control you have over how you can curate that. And also, like, it’s, like, a personal choice thing. I think some people want, like, subconsciously want to be worseโ for lack of a better,โ it scratches an itch, like, being, like, angry or being sad,โ Flores said.ย
Senior Jackie Shaw said she agrees with Flores’ point. Shaw said specific content a social media user consumes, can lead people to feel worse about themselves.ย
โI think for me, when it comes to sort of the mental health stuff, a lot of it does come from, like, because I’m on Twitter a lot and I get a lot of, like, current news from it,โ Shaw said.ย
According to Etactics, mental health concerns have been increasing in children and young adults. From 2009 to 2017, the percentage grew by 63% in adults from ages 18 to 25 who have reported having major depression symptoms.ย
โWe see a lot more upsetting imagery, which is both very important to see to realize how our systems are, you know, playing out who gets to do what, who’s getting hurt by who, things like that, which can, at a certain point, be very, very overwhelming,โ Shaw said.ย
There have been many studies that found an association between time spent on social media, along with the number of social media platforms used, and symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to the National Center for Health Research.ย
โI try to make a conscious effort not to be, like, the kind of person whoโ I feel like we’ve all had that person or most of our classmates even, who, like the professor is like, โokay, ten-minute break,โ and everyone immediately pulled [out] phones [and go] on Instagram,โ Flores said.ย
There was a study that found 89% of undergraduate students experience phantom vibrations, according to Etactics.ย
As defined by DermNet.org, phantom vibrations are the โfalse perception that oneโs mobile phone or other technological device is vibrating when it is not.โ
In my experience, there were a few times when I experienced vibrations coming from my pocket so I would automatically think it was my phone, but when I checked there were no notifications.ย
โPeople crave receiving notifications so much that they start imagining them,โ according to Etactics.ย
Overall, I think it is important to have a social media break once in a while to reduce stress and anxiety, and to be able to connect with yourself to things that are surrounded by you and embrace those opportunities.ย
