With billions of people on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat everyday, the constant scrolling, liking and commenting can cause more stress rather than the relaxation it is often mistaken for. Oftentimes, people want to come home from a busy day and just scroll on their phone, hoping for a moment of peace and quick entertainment but instead end up feeling more stressed and still scrolling multiple hours later.
One main factor that creates the sense of stress over entertainment on social media is the comparison factor. Social media is just a highlight reel with people showing only the best moments and achievements in their life which can lead to viewers feeling inadequate and comparing themselves and their own lives to the influencers they see online. This also connects to the people posting the videos or photos, feeling the need to post only perfect things for the world to see, which makes it difficult to be authentic and realistic. This can also lead to a lot of other deeper issues surrounding mental health, body image and anxiety.
While the idea of scrolling on social media may seem relaxing, the hundreds of videos and constant uploads can cause viewers to feel information overload and become extremely overstimulated. Pretty much all the videos on social media are meant to catch your eye and grab your attention, causing the viewer to need to process so much information, and the brain moves on quickly from video to video, which can cause stress and anxiety with the need to keep up with all the topics being spoken to you. According to Yale Medicine, the constant use of social media is an addiction that overstimulates the brain’s reward system and also affects many other things, such as sleep schedules and attention problems.
More often than not, what someone thought would only be 10 minutes spent on social media transforms into multiple hours. While the videos watched may have been entertaining or even relaxing at the time, the time wasted creates more stress later on. That time could have been spent doing school work, but it turned into a waste of time. According to the American Psychology Association teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media per day. This is shocking due to the seven hour school day, sports, clubs and social lives many teens also have. This means that time for social media is snuck in during any free periods and time spent scrolling before bed.
Along with the stress of being involved with watching different social media platforms, there is also the stress of cyberbullying. On many TikTok or Instagram videos, if you look in the comment section, you will see many targeted comments that are played off as just a joke, but in the long run, these comments normalize cyberbullying in a way. While a lot of times it can be funny, especially for the viewer, there are some people who may feel personally targeted by a comment. This is part of the reason why people choose to only post the best moments of their lives and not be realistic with social media, which then leads to insecurities and comparisons.
Overall, I think that social media can be a really important place for people to share ideas and their lives. There are many cool stories revolving around social media, and it can be a creative outlet for many people. With those points being taken in, I think that with the current overuse of social media, we are currently in a time where it creates more stress over providing simple entertainment and relaxation.
