Todd 1

Samuel Harrison Todd

Dr. James Leonard

Tech Paranoia

April 1, 2022

The Psychological Effects of Social Media

With the rapid increase in availability and processing power of handheld computers and

the lightning-fast speed of cellular internet connection, came the explosion of popularity in social

media. Social media can be seen as a centerpiece for almost all persons today. It constantly

affects trends and establishes a sense of connections to those individuals around us. The rise of

social media can be first cited to My Space (Ortiz-Ospina) which was the first social media

platform to reach a million monthly users in 2004. In more modern times the internet has been

completely dominated by Facebook. Facebook has 2.26 billion users a month and has held onto

the top position for over a decade (Ortiz-Ospina). With social media being so accessible and such

a common piece of everyday life, one may wonder how this can affect the psychological aspects

of everyday life of its users.

Since the beginning of the use of language humans have constantly been looking for

ways of carrying a message over long distances. After the invention of the microprocessor the

speed in which this technology increased exponentially due to Moore’s Law (Gianfagna). With

this came the invention of the portable cellular phone and soon after the smartphone. The

smartphone allows for the download of extra applications with specific software to incorporate

an extra feature into the operating system. Naturally, websites devoted to social media became

applications available on smartphones. This led to a huge boom in the popularity of smartphone-
 Todd 2

oriented social media as smartphones were rapidly being offered better cameras to capture social

media-worthy moments.

Psychologically social media can affect people both positively and negatively. Some

positives of social media include long-distance communication, health connections, a revamped

sense of creativity, and outlets for information. Social media plays a vital role in modern long-

distance communication. With the development of an application like Snapchat, one can send an

image or video to anyone around the world and the other person can view the media. The benefit

of this is that after viewing the media deletes itself to prevent filling up storage on a device. This

can be used by family members or friends that want a sense of being there. This has hugely

impacted society as family and friends can stay in the loop of whatever the other user may have

going on in life. Social media has also caused a noticeable boom in access to health connections.

One study has found that “70% of adolescents and young adults use general social networking

platforms as sources of health information.” (Alonzo, Popescu) With online ads making up 51%

of all advertisements (Statsia) the chances, a future patient may see an advertisement for mental

help, or for any medical center greatly increases. Also, this has opened the doors for online

mental health groups to become commonplace for those who may be struggling to reach out to

others who may be in a similar situation. Social media has also led to a huge boom in both self-

expression and creativity. Online marketplaces have helped those who have a unique skill or

craft sell products that consumers enjoy, of course, most of the advertising for these homemade

products can be done on the artist's or manufacturer's social media page. The availability of

information through social media has helped to spread news and trends quickly. This has led to

many news outlets creating social media accounts for those who want to follow to have almost
 Todd 3

immediate access to the latest breaking news or stories (Shearer, Mitchell). These factors are just

a few of the positives that the huge boom in social media has offered.

However, social media has been the root of many modern problems, especially

psychologically. Some of these are seriously threatening to the health and the life of users. One

of the most detrimental social media has on its users is the feeling of “inadequacy” (Robinson,

Smith). The view an individual has of themselves is critical to a healthy mind. Unfortunately,

social media has caused many to feel that their bodies and or their personalities are just simply

not enough for anyone to accept them. This leads to depression and a negative body image.

Another negative psychological impact of social media is addiction. Studies have shown that 5 to

10% of Americans have an addiction to social media (Hilliard). Addiction is associated with the

dopamine and serotonin hits that the brain gets when using social media. Modern applications

such as Snapchat have maximized this effect leading to more Americans being addicted to their

smartphones. The addiction factor has also led to many users being physically anti-social. This

almost seems rhetorical, as one would expect social media to bring someone to be more social.

However, the glow of the phone screen pulls people from face-to-face contact and can cause

users to become socially awkward.

The Psychological effects of social media are well documented and are rapidly being

made a priority to inform the public. With the invention of such applications come the pros and

cons. One should weigh out the benefits against the harms it may cause. This could truly mean

the difference between a healthy and sickly state of mind. Though social media has truly opened

the doors for modern communication it should be viewed as a tool and not a requirement in

society. It should not become an absolute necessity; however, it is become viewed as a need by
 Todd 4

many. Society is reaching a point in which it should make a serious effort to curve the use before

humans communicate more through screens than face to face as we have for centuries.
 Todd 5

Works Cited

Alonzo, Dana, and Marciana Popescu. “Utilizing Social Media Platforms to Promote Mental
Health Awareness and Help Seeking in Underserved Communities during the COVID-19
Pandemic.” Journal of Education and Health Promotion, Wolters Kluwer - Medknow, 20
May 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8224506/.

Gianfagna, Mike. “What Is Moore's Law?: Is Moore's Law Dead?” Synopsys, Synopsys, 30 June
2021, https://www.synopsys.com/glossary/what-is-moores-
law.html#:~:text=Definition,doubles%20about%20every%20two%20years.

Hilliard, Jena. “Social Media Addiction.” Addiction Center, 17 Dec. 2021, https://www.addic-
tioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/.

Naruse, Kevin. “7 Ways Social Media Can Benefit Mental Health.” Painted Brain, 15 Mar.
2022, https://paintedbrain.org/editorial/7-ways-social-media-can-benefit-mental-health-2/.

Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban. “The Rise of Social Media.” Our World in Data, 18 Sept. 2019, https://
ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media.

Published by Statista Research Department, and May 28. “Global Digital Advertising Market
2024.” Statista, 28 May 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/237974/online-advertis-
ing-spending-worldwide/#:~:text=As%20of%202020%2C%20the%20internet,accounting
%20for%2051%20percent%20of.

Robinson, Lawrence. “Social Media and Mental Health.” HelpGuide.org, 3 Mar. 2022, https://
www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-
health.htm#:~:text=Using%20social%20media%20more%20often,depression%2C
%20anxiety%2C%20and%20stress.

Shearer, Elisa, and Amy Mitchell. “News Use across Social Media Platforms in 2020.” Pew Re-
search Center's Journalism Project, Pew Research Center, 9 Feb. 2022, https://
www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2021/01/12/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-in-
2020/.