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UNIT 8 Social Media
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UNIT 8
Social media is having a worrying impact on sleep and our mental health
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1 Today’s teens and tweens have built up an impressive amount of daily screen time. Figures put it at between six to eight hours a day for 11-15 year-olds, and that’s not including time spent on a computer for homework. In fact, even the average UK adult spends more time looking at a screen than they do sleeping, according to one analysis.
2 This trend is now exposing some worrying results and, staying hot on the heels of social media’s popularity, researchers are interested in the impact it is having on many aspects of our health, including sleep, the importance of which is currently gaining unprecedented attention.
3 Ever since the meteoric rise of social media,
research has been interested in its impact on
society examining the relationships between
technology and mental health looking at the
good and the bad. What is unclear, however, is
the exact causal direction: does increase social
media use, or does social media use increase
depression? It could be working both ways,
making it even more problematic as there’s a
potential for a vicious circle. The more depressed
a person is the more social media they might
then use, which worsens their mental health
further. Put another way, an increase in social
media is associated with an increase in the
likelihood of depression, anxiety, and a feeling
of social isolation.
4 But there’s another worrying impact. In
a 2017 study of over 1,700 young adults, they
found that when it comes to social media
interaction, time of day plays a fundamental
role. Engagement during the last 30 minutes
before bed was found to be the strongest
indicator of a poor night’s sleep being
completely independent of the total amount
of time of use in the day. Something about
keeping those last 30 minutes tech-free, it
seems, is crucial to a restful slumber.
5 There are several factors that could explain
this. A now well-told caution is that the blue
light emitted from our screens inhibits our
melatonin levels – a chemical that effectively
tells us that it’s time to nod off. It could also
be possible that social media use increases a
person’s anxiety as the day goes on, making it
hard to switch off when we finally go to bed.
Or a more obvious reason might be that social
media is deeply alluring and simply reduces the
time we have for sleep.
6 And so it seems there is a merry-go-round
of interrelated issues at play. Social media is
linked to increased depression, anxiety and sleep
deprivation. And a lack of sleep can both
worsen mental health and be a result of mental
health issues.
7 A lack of sleep has other side-effects. It has
been linked to an increased risk of heart diseases,
diabetes, obesity, poor academic performance,
slower reaction times when driving, risk
behaviour, increased substance use… the list
goes on.
8 What’s worse is that when it comes to sleep
deprivation, it’s usually young people who
are most adversely affected. That’s because
adolescence is a time of important biological and
social changes that are critical to development.
9 If social media use is exacerbating anxiety and
depression, it could then, in turn, impact sleep.
If you lay in bed awake comparing yourself to
other people’s posts, you might well believe
that your life is somewhat drab in comparison,
which could make you feel worse and keep you
up.
10 Social media use is growing and changing so
quickly, that it is difficult to keep up. To combat
any downsides, it’s clear that moderation is the
key. We should all ring-fence particular times
throughout the day in which we can distance
ourselves from our screens. Parents need to
have set places in their homes where devices
can or cannot be used, so it’s not a fluid situation
where social media is bleeding into every part
of your life without any buffer zones.
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Σάββατο 23 Μαρτίου 2024
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