We are nearly a fifth of the way through the twenty-first century and our society's technological advancements are staggering. We've developed countless cures for diseases, innovative forms of alternative energy generation, and supercomputers whose processing powers are almost impossible to comprehend. But in our quest for the ultimate advances in technology, we have unknowingly created one of the most powerful drugs in the history of mankind. In fact, it's been proven to be one of the most harmful as well. Since it's inception, diagnosis of eating disorders have risen, the rates of depression have increased, and even the number of teen suicide have skyrocketed. This drug, despite it's well known and proven effects on the human mind, is still one-hundred percent legal almost everywhere in the world. In fact, it's not only legal, but it's one of the most widely used drugs as well.
I'm talking, of course, about social media.
Don't think social media is a real drug? Researchers at UCLA used an fMRI scan to look at exactly how social media affected the brain. The study found that when teens receive a "like" on a social media platform, the brain showed "greater activity in neural regions implicated in reward processing, social cognition, imitation, and attention." (Dapretto et al., 2016). The same pathways are also activated by plenty of other drugs, such as alcohol and marijuana.
Not convinced of the dangers yet? In a study conducted by Florida State University, researchers found that the more time women spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to develop an eating disorder. (Forney, Keel, Mabe, 2014). Finally, according to data from the Center for Disease Control, suicide rates among teens have been steadily increasing since the year 2000. (This, of course, is due to a multitude of different factors, however, it is important to note that it correlates with the emergence of social media.)
But most of us don't need science to know that social media is addicting. Who doesn't love when their Instagram picture hits a new record of likes? Or when a tweet of yours blows up and you get a ton of new followers? As social creatures by nature, we thrive off of getting these notifications, ringing up on our phone. It makes us feel good to know that someone likes what we're doing. In fact, we like it so much so that we've become almost obsessed with it. I know girls who will sit on their phones for hours editing a picture for Instagram so that it gets the most likes. I myself have even occasionally spent embarrassing amounts of time on a tweet in hopes it'll make me twitter famous (I really am so close).
Not only does it consume hours upon hours of our day, it's also changed how we live. When's the last time you went out without seeing everyone taking obscene amounts of pictures on their phones? You can't even go to a concert anymore without seeing waves of kids holding up their phones to update their snap story with eight hours of quality footage (Complete with insanely high definition audio, too). Then, there's those who like to bombard Instagram every day with new pictures, boomerangs, and stories that they've already uploaded to their Snapchat.
It seems as though nobody can see how deeply this is affecting the world. We live in an age now where we no longer experience life as it is, but rather through the lenses of our phones.
Sadly, it's even begun to change who we are. Success and fulfillment are now measured in the number of notifications we get. It no longer matters how happy you really are or what your life is really like. All that matters now is how it looks. There's Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram stars who make everyone believe they lead these perfect lives.
"Why can't I look like her?"
"Why can't I have that guys life?"
We all want everyone to think our lives are truly that great too. We do everything we possibly can to make everyone to think we're funny, smart, and popular. We constantly post pictures with filters to hide our self-imposed "flaws" in hopes that maybe someone will think we're attractive. We post videos of us going out constantly and having fun, even though we spend the whole night by ourselves on our phones. We share every little detail of our lives, just so that someone might be the slightest bit envious of us. All that matters anymore is other people's opinions of us. Self-worth and confidence in oneself now hold no weight. While we humans have always desired approval from our peers, social media has amplified that desire into an almost physiological need. What started as a great way to stay connected with our friends and the world has turned into a portable self-destructive cancer that now consumes our lives.
So what can we do?
PUT. YOUR. PHONE. DOWN.
Log off. Go outside. Take a walk. Exercise. Have face to face conversations.
READ A DAMN BOOK.
Stop trying to please everyone with videos and pictures of your life. You determine your self-worth, no one else does. Stop doing things for the sole purpose of impressing strangers. Take time and actually enjoy the world that was given to you. Life was never meant to be experienced through the screen of a phone. It was meant to be lived through the beautiful senses you were born with.
So put down your phone, get out, and smell the damn roses.
Dapretto, Mirella, Patricia M. Greenfield, Leanna M. Hernandez, Ashley A. Payton, and Lauren E. Sherman. "The Power of the Like in Adolescence." SAGE Journals 27.7 (2016): n. pag. The Power of the Like in Adolescence - May 31, 2016. SAGE Journals, 31 May 2016. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.
Mabe, Annalise G., BS, Jean Forney, MS, and Pamela K. Keel, Ph.D. "Do You “like” My Photo? Facebook Use Maintains Eating Disorder Risk." Wiley Online Library. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.
