Augmented Use of Social Networking Sites May Induce Negative Effects on Users’ Mental, Emotional Health

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An increase in social media use has triggered researchers to focus on the correlation between certain parts of the online experience, such as negative interactions via social networking sites, and increased levels of addiction, depression and low self-esteem in users.

Constant advancements in technology facilitate instant accessibility to social networking sites, which may contribute to the increased number of users who are addicted to these sites.

Across the globe, adolescents rely on social networking sites as a supplement, or even substitute, for basic social interactions. The interpersonal interactions users participate in online, such as "adding friends" and commenting on pictures, oversimplifies, yet mirrors what would normally be interpersonal interactions.

As some researchers note, the differentiation between online and offline interaction is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish. The nature of our constantly plugged-in society only fuels the fire, encouraging adolescents to connect with organizations and institutions, in addition to their numerous personal contacts on social networking sites.

Allison Druin, an information studies professor at the University of Maryland, attributes the rise in social media addiction to the endless access opportunities these sites provide to children and adolescents.

Addiction to social networking sites resembles drug and alcohol addiction.
Among social networking sites, Facebook is the most-used site in the world. More than 500 million users spend more than 700 billion minutes on Facebook each month. About half of these users log into the site at least once daily.

Various experts around the world have conducted research seeking correlations between psychological behavior and Facebook addiction.

A Turkish study created a Facebook Addiction Scale (FAS) to quantify addictive behaviors. The participants - all college students - rated each item on a scale of one to five. The items asked to users' feelings related to Facebook in terms of thought processing, behavior, attitude, loss of control, withdrawal, relapse and rejoining.

Researchers added up the score for all items; higher scores signified greater levels of addiction to social networking sites. The most frequent indicators of Facebook addiction were mood alteration and decreased performance on academic work.

Addiction to social networking sites resembles drug or alcohol addiction. Users displaying addictive tendencies generally experience similar symptoms as drug addicts or alcoholics. This was demonstrated in a study conducted at the University of Maryland.

The study required participants to abandon social media for an entire day in order to observe the physiological effects of separation. After 24 hours without access to Blackberries, laptops, iPods and television, participants reported feeling anxious, jittery and miserable, much like alcoholics and drug addicts.

Susan Moeller, study facilitator and journalism professor at the university, attributed the withdrawal symptoms to decreased communication with friends and family, rather than physically accessing the media. Facebook was the most predominantly missed social media source.

One study, which examined psychosocial behaviors of Internet use in seven European countries, broke down the demographics for Internet Addictive Behaviors (IAB). The study found that Dysfunctional Internet Behavior (DIB) is affected by several psychosocial factors. Reports of DIB were more frequent in adolescents whose parents had lower education levels, users who began using the Internet at younger ages, and users who frequented social networking and gaming sites most.

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The most common negative social networking experiences are denied friend requests, deleted posts and Top Friends rankings disparities.

Facebook allows users to maintain existing relationships, stay in touch with long-distance loved-ones, and network with new contacts. Research shows that Facebook may facilitate or intensify problems in social relationships and create negative sentiments for users. The negative social networking site experiences include:

• Denied or ignored friend requests.
• Deleted messages or identification tags.
• Ranking disparities on Top Friends applications.
• Personal surveillance of profiles.
• Ignored questions or comments.
• Disparaging remarks posted on message boards.
• User discovered gossip about himself/herself on a third party message board.
• Removed friends.
• Denied access to join a group/created undesirable group about the user.

As social networking sites have become a part of everyday life, the distinction between online and offline experiences is minimal. Druin explains how children who with the greatest exposure to technology take negative social networking experiences most personally, due to the nature of their highly connected childhoods.



In the same way older generations modeled behaviors from television shows, children and adolescents today model their behaviors after the norms on social networking sites. In previous generations, family and community were the primary underlying messages in the media. Family values were accentuated in television shows and other media outlets.

Conversely, today's adolescents have grown up with television shows that highlighted achieving fame. Some popular shows that glamorize fame include Hannah Montana and American Idol. The emphasis on acquiring fame - even if only for the metaphorical 15 minutes - is reflected through younger generations' social media use. Today, it is normal to find young children uploading a myriad of videos on YouTube in hopes becoming the next Justin Bieber.

 

Scholars in British Columbia have found decreased empathy in individuals who are constantly plugged-in. This is because the parts of the brain that control empathy can only learn when individuals "do nothing." Today's adolescents are constantly engaged with the Internet and social media through mobile devices, tablets and laptops. Thus, younger generations have more difficulty differentiating between negative social experience online and offline, because social networking has become an integral part of their reality.


Psychological effects of using social networking sites depend on users' purpose for logging on.

Users participate in social networking for two purposes: social relationships and parasocial relationships. Social relationships are defined by reciprocity of interaction between users. Friends connecting and interacting with each other on social networking sites have social relationships. Parasocial relationships lack this reciprocity in online interaction. "Ordinary" users who follow celebrities without returned awareness of their profiles have parasocial relationships, or one-sided relationships.

Researchers found that individuals using social networking sites to network benefit from building large human networks, strengthening social bonding and promoting social trust. Social networking solely for entertainment purposes typically evidence higher levels of loneliness, Internet addiction and social distrust.

Druin explains that based on some user's specific needs, social media outlets can function as support groups. Though social networking sites use may incite positive reinforcement through forums and chatrooms, negative experiences are always a prevalent threat for users.

Self-identity fulfillment helps predict social networking site users' addictive tendencies.

In order to predict addictive behaviors, researchers completed a study to find a relationship between active members of social networking sites and addictive characteristics. The study focused on individuals between the ages of 17 and 24 years old -  a demographic group with significant individuals exposure to technology for the majority of their lives.

Two characteristics researchers focused on were feelings of self-identity and belongingness. Self-identity refers to an individual's perception in relation to certain behaviors. Belongingness was defined as the necessity for "being involved with, accepted by and valued by others."

The study found that placing high value on feelings of self-identity and belongingness was a predictor of addictive tendencies. Users who self-identified as active members of social networking sites and felt a need to belong to the social networking community were more likely to exhibit addictive behaviors.

This study was conducted in 2009 and the demographics for social networking site users have changed drastically since then. In the video below, Mashable gives a more contemporary depiction of who is using social media today and how they are doing so.



More than 4,700 participants from 120 different nations responded to Mashable's survey. Some noteworthy figures included:

• Roughly 40% of respondents were introduced to social media via Facebook.
• More than 77% of respondents use 2 to 5 social networking sites.
• 43% of respondents indicate Facebook is "a necessity."

Exposure to harmful material on social networking sites affects behavioral outcomes.

Courtesy of mirror.co.uk

In March 2014, UK resident Danny Bowman attempted suicide because of his obsession with taking "selfies." Bowman, who was 19 years old at the time, was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Though Bowman's case was not a unique occurrence, it raised questions about the connection between social media addiction and other psychological issues.

Seventy percent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 access social media daily, according to a survey conducted by CASA Columbia.  The survey revealed the following statistics about teenagers who access social media on a daily basis:

• They are five times likelier to use tobacco.
• They are three times likelier to use alcohol.
• They are twice as likely to use marijuana.

Forty percent of the survey participants reported seeing individuals under the influence on social media. Users exposed to such images were four times likelier to use marijuana than those who had not been exposed. This statistic reflects a potential negative effect social networking sites may have on the psychological and emotional state of children and adolescents.

The Internet is an ever-expanding universe, providing endless sources of information to its users. With every technological advancement, children are exposed to the Internet at a younger age. The increased prevalence of adolescent members on social networking sites may affect children's psychological development and understanding of social norms.

Researchers will continue to observe the correlations between social networking site usage and detriments to users' mental health. As technology continues to become a more integral part of modern society, researchers will be provided with more opportunities to support the current theories - social networking sites can have serious negative effects on the mental and emotional states of their users.