Social Networks: The Disintegrated Self
We do not know if, in a few years, social networks will be considered the most harmful and unnecessary part of this wonder called the Internet. The studies that have been done, that are underway, and that will continue to be done in depth, perhaps, will reveal that these networks are bad for our physical and mental health.
We currently do not have enough data to draw an absolute conclusion. However, many tell us important points about networks. It seems that they affect the psychological health of people based on their personality. Of the time they spend there. The type of social network. Or the age at which they started using them.
We also know that they can quickly become addictive, like any other substance, because they seem to act on the neural circuits of reinforcement. We have also observed phenomena of tolerance and abstinence.
Different social networks, different effects
We have all felt or understood the feeling of inferiority, worry and even anxiety that trolls can project in comments or photos edited by Photoshop. If we already suspected the negative impact of social networks on our mental well-being, a new study has harshly blamed them.
Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter appear to be able to cause serious damage to the mental health of young people between the ages of 14 and 24. Instagram is the most harmful social network for young people, according to this study published by two organizations, the Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement.
In this study, almost 1,500 young people aged 14 to 24 were asked to share their idea of the impact of these networks (Youtube included) with researchers. They had to be based on 14 different criteria. Like loneliness. Self-perception. Anxiety. The stress. Or even harassment. Instagram got the worst results.
Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter have not triumphed either. The impact of these three networks would be negative for the well-being of people. Researchers believe they are only fueling anxiety. Only Youtube would have a positive impact, even if some users consider that this portal and its content push them to sleep less.
“It’s interesting to see how Instagram and Snapchat come together in the category of poorer networks in terms of well-being and mental health. These two platforms are still very focused on the image. They seem to cause feelings of inferiority and anxiety in young people, ”said Shirley Cramer, director of the Royal Society for Public Health, one of the two organizations that carried out the study.
Instagram and the disintegrated self
Instagram can make us feel like a network with very little content. Three points are important for him: what we see there, what we exhibit, what we exhibit in photos. We don’t just follow friends or acquaintances there. Through hashtags and public profiles, we can observe celebrities and other people who have successfully made themselves known on Instagram. Anyone can see them.
It is the social network most used by young people. This involves significant risks because they are in the process of personal construction and the acquisition of values for life in society. Thus, the art show their social networks as effort or hard in studies or activity worth less than a pose.
A gap between virtual and reality
If they see a shallow, shallow person getting thousands of followers, they may think they “must have something”. And that it is important to be like him. So they’ll start acting unnaturally, putting likes on anything and being interested in things that don’t really appeal to them. Their “self”, which was already weak enough in this difficult period, can therefore end up decomposing, disintegrating.
Too many photos, clothes, houses, trips, friends, jokes, kisses, hugs. Even if it happens that one account brings a little variability, ten will follow to seek an impact through a disguise full of charm to fill the ambient void.
Sometimes we can’t resist looking at great photos. It is normal to want to watch them and to have similar ones. Just as it is normal to want to take such a trip. But what does the job market look like today? What kind of contracts do young people face in order to be successful in having a dignified life? How far is it between the images and the life that networks offer us and what we can actually have in real life? Is this really what we want? Do we need it to live?
Professionals must start to act: prevention and awareness
When the social networks you spend a lot of your time on are nothing like what you will find in reality, you will doubt the way you live. But also of society. Of the value of the effort. And work.
Young people and adults alike can find attractive values in this virtual reality that they do not see in “harsh reality”. They can therefore begin to reconsider the value of their training, their work, their efforts, their involvement in an intimate relationship, etc.
Our self-concept is built largely through references that come to us from outside. There is no doubt about it. However, on social networks, these references seem completely distorted. These networks end up making us think that we are tiny, when we have the possibility of being very tall.
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