Alvarez 1

Leslie Alvarez
Dr. Charity Nelson
ENGL 1302 101
5 December 2022

The Effect of Social Networks in Mental Health

Introduction

Social networks form a crucial part in the daily life of many people today. It can be used

to talk with friends and family, as if it is to work. As is mentioned in this statement “Social

network interactions have therefore come to be regarded as routine relationship practices”

(Blasco, et al., 1). In addition, many studies have been dedicated to demonstrating the impact that

social networks have caused in the mentality of those who are younger. Many believe that social

networks have been a new way to do things easier and that have improved the life of millions of

people. Regardless of the opinion that some people can have, social networks have shown affects

the rest, mentality, and productivity of young people. Meaning that social networks can be

cataloged as something negative due to the repercussions of their use and the distractions that

social networks can have. This investigation is made with the purpose of finding the negative

effects of social networks on the rest, mentality, and productivity of young people, and how these

repercussions interfere with their daily life.

Method
A 4-day experiment was conducted to see the mental state of a 20-year-old student of the

Texas A&M International University to being in constant use of social networks and then

withdrawn completely from social networks and test the impact this can have in the rest,

mentality, and productiveness of the student. The experiment was conducted during a course of 4
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days, from Monday to Thursday, where the student assisted at her classes in school and

continued with her normal tasks of the day while she was still in constant use of social networks.

Then from Wednesday to Thursday, the student repeats the same routine but now completely

separated from her social networks.

Results
The results of this research were divided into three categories: rest, anxiety, and

productivity; this with the goal of calculating the impact that withdrawal from social networks

has on the student used in the research. From Monday to Tuesday the student presented a low

level of rest, a medium level of anxiety, and an exceptionally low level of productivity during the

days with social networks. However, from Wednesday to Thursday, when the student left social

networks, the student presented a better academic performance due to the rest, a better mood, and

more productivity during the day.

Results
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Monday Thuesday Wednesday Thursday

Rest Anxiety Productivity

Rest
There were significant findings from the experiment that was conducted that will

recognize how social networks negatively affect the rest of young people and how this will affect

their mental health. Some theories suggest that time spent engaging with social media might
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displace other more important activities that might be helpful for mental health, such as sleep

(Scott and Woods 61). On Monday and Tuesday, there was a great level of tiredness and the

student admitted going to sleep at 2:00 a.m. early in the morning. The reason relapses in the

student, who spent more hours on her social networks, sacrificing her sleep. This creates a

disbalance in her sleep schedule, mood, memory, and efficiency in school. The student admitted

that she feels demotivated and tired due to spending more hours on her social networks. Meaning

that the necessity of constants use of social networks makes the person force themselves to stay

awake ignoring their rest and tiredness. However, in the graph, we can see that the students

shown to be less tired on Wednesday to Thursday. In addition, the student admitted going to

sleep at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday and waking up more motivated on Thursday. This

demonstrates how the student has a better rest during the days the student did not use her social

network. Therefore, is shown that social networks affect the mental health in young people

because it deprives them of sleep and rest properly, making a mess in their sleep schedule,

causing them to have a low performance in school. Therefore, this means that withdrawing from

social networks creates a better result for young people.

Anxiety
The student levels of anxiety were steady during the control phase. For a university

student, the amount of anxiety reported could be considered as normal due to an exam,

homework, or responsibilities due to university, and not with the use of social networks.

Nonetheless, the moment this student was withdrawn from social media on Wednesday, it is

notorious raise in the levels of anxiety in the student. The following statement describes one of

the examples of anxiety created for no using social networks between young people: “It is also

found that younger generation feels restlessness when they were not able to access messages of
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their social networking applications apart from their counterparts, giving rise to Phantom

vibration syndrome (PVS)” (Bashir, Hilal, and Shabir, 127). It can be known from this finding

that young people tend to develop a problem called Phantom vibration syndrome, which can be

described as the imagination that your phone is calling you even if it does not vibrate a single

time. This creates some effects such as anxiety and dependency from the need to constantly

check the phone due to being so attached to the social networks.

Another statement that will be helpful in the research about the aspect of anxiety would

be “… if social media really does impact mental health, then we would reasonably expect that

adolescents who use more social media would also report higher levels of anxiety.” (Coyne, et al.

2). The student showed that her levels of anxiety were drastically elevated when the student

moved away from her social networks. Revealing that social networks have a negative impact on

the mental health of young people due to the attachment they have to their social networks and

the necessity to be in contact with the virtual world. Even if is for constant use or for withdrawn

completely, social networks have an impact in the level of anxiety of the users affecting their

mental health. This is because young people are so accustomed to their social networks making

them dependent of it so when they are no in contact with it, this develops high levels of anxiety

in the person due not knowing what is happening in the moment or cannot communicate

constantly with others. Making think that would be better if young people keep down their

interaction with social networks to avoid develop a dependency.

Productivity
Productivity was the last significant finding from the experiment that helped to

understand the benefits of withdrawal from social networks. From Monday to Tuesday, the

student presents low levels of productivity, due to the distraction that her social networks provide
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her. In addition, the student even loses submitting some of her homework. However, from

Wednesday to Thursday, the student presented an elevated level of productivity, where she was

giving more attention to her classes due to not having to deal with her social networks,

presenting a better performance in school. In fact, the student has the time to enjoy some of her

hobbies such as reading and dancing, reaffirming that she was feeling more happy and less

stressed thanks to have zero distractions and have the time to focus something different. This part

of the investigation shows that social networks affect the mental health of young people because

it makes them spend more time on their social networks rather than working, studying, or even

doing something that young people enjoy doing. Meaning that when young people withdrawn

from their social networks creates a positive effect in the lifestyle,

Conclusion
The data gathered from this experiment help determine that withdrawal from social

networks has a notorious impact on mental health. The results shown by the experiments confirm

that is better for young people to withdraw from social networks. Is clearly shown that social

networks affect negatively because the constant use and necessity to be connected to the virtual

world creates bad habits in young people. This can be related to the carelessness from the parents

of these young people, or the normalization to be connected to your phone all the time. In

addition, it would be better for young people to distance themselves from social networks, and as

a result they can experience better stimulation in their daily life. Some examples can be that

young people can develop a better rest, mood, and productivity as was showed in the experiment.

The information gathered from this experiment is important because shows the positive outcome

that withdrawing from social networks has in mental health.

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Works Cited
Bashir, Hilal, and Ahmad Bhat Shabir. “Effects of Social Media on Mental Health: A Review.”

The International Journal of Indian Psychology, vol. 4, no. 3, 2017, pp. 125-131,

ResearchGate, 10.25215/0403.134.

Blasco, Lozano R, et al. “Social Network Addiction and Its Impact on Anxiety Level among

University Students.” Sustainability, Vol 12, No. 13, 2020, pp. 1-14,

MDPI, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135397.

Coyne, et al. “Does time spent using social media impact mental health? An eight-year

longitudinal study.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 104, no. 106160, 2020, pp. 1-9,

Science Direct, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106160.

Scott, H., and H. C. Woods. “Fear of missing out and sleep: Cognitive behavioral factors in

adolescents’ nighttime social media use.” Journal of Adolescence, vol.68, no. 1, 2018, pp.

61–65, Willey Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.07.009.