Facebook has faced its share of negative press in the last few years, with its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, facing Congressional hearings and public backlash over the company’s use of personal data.
Earlier this month, the public learned that Facebook’s concerning pattern of self-serving business decisions reached new heights. The Wall Street Journal revealed that company executives knew that their platforms, particularly Instagram, can have harmful effects on female youth.
Public discussion of the dangers resulted from an ex-employee’s decision to release Facebook’s internal research. The New York Times reported that, in response to the news, some company executives suggested Facebook stop doing internal research on its own products.
On one hand, it’s difficult to believe that Facebook would ignore data that suggested its product could have negative effects on young users.
On the other hand, it’s hard to believe that anyone who is familiar with social media needs data on product research to be convinced that social media can have negative effects.
And not only on young users.
Social media affects us because we are human beings, and we have feelings and emotions. Social media affects us because, as much as we wish it wasn’t true, most people care about what other people think about them.
Negative Effects of Social Media
Research on the negative effects of social media on children abound. In 2017, 15% of students reported experiencing cyberbullying, even though all states have anti-bullying laws. A 2018 Pew Research study found that 25% of youth report social media as having a negative effect on their lives. In addition, social media also influence what youth and adolescents perceive as normal.
Similar research findings exist for adults. Adults who spend extended time on social media are more likely to experience depression. Women are disproportionately affected by abusive and harassing texts. Minority men are at increased risk of anxiety and depression due to online discrimination.
Social media has damaged family relationships and is associated with increased marital dissatisfaction and divorce. Social media can damage careers. It can also influence potential clients, employers or business partners before they even meet you.
But we don’t need research studies to be convinced of these realities. Just look at the number of businesses that provide online reputation clean-up services for individuals and businesses alike.
The harmful effects of social media can be seen in countless ways.
Benefits of Social Media
To be fair, social media does offer some benefits. Social media engagement can be beneficial to children in terms of creative expression and building social networks. It can help adults land a job and create a sense of community in the workplace. It helps businesses increase visibility and facilitates branding.
Given the high rates of social media use among Americans, it’s unlikely social media is going to disappear. That means we should become more discerning producers and consumers of online content.
The most recent Facebook crisis created an opportunity for society to examine our relationship with social media. Doing so can lead us to be more informed, responsible, and constructive users of digital platforms.
Explaining Negative Effects
There are many factors that account for the negative effects of social media. Let’s consider two: being overexposed and unconstrained.
Lack of constraint produces the following reaction – we are either shocked by what people say about us online or shocked by what they say about others. Lack of constraint allows people to use social media to say things they shouldn’t – or wouldn’t dare to say in person.
When individuals feel unconstrained, they disregard the normal rules and norms that dictate social interaction. This is called the disinhibition effect. Social media provides a sense of anonymity and invisibility. This creates a feeling of being protected and leads people to say and do things they would never do in real life.
Not surprisingly, the negative effects of unconstrained social media posts increase as exposure increases. Among youth, overexposure can exacerbate existing insecurities. In adults, much like children, overexposure can lead to the painful experience of FOMO, which leads to setting unrealistic expectations for our lives, and promotes negative social comparisons.
A plethora of research about how to limit the negative effects of social media exists. Recommendations include limiting social media exposure to 30 minutes a day, unfollowing certain users, and taking a vacation from social media altogether.
In one way or another, everyone is affected by what people say about them online. It should not take a news report that follows the leak of Facebook’s product research to call our attention to the need to exercise caution with social media.