With the downfall of Myspace, Facebook was able to take over the social network empire. And like any other trend; everyone in the world seems to be connected now via Facebook. Now, we ask is that a good thing or a bad thing? On Wednesday I attended UCR’s Wellness Wednesday, which focused on the benefits and harm of social media. Social media includes all of the goodies: youtube, facebook, twitter, flickr, tumblr, instagram etc. A survey based on the student body of UCR stated that 63% of their time spent on social media is “well spent”, then a 5% went to “always” and 32% said “rarely”. Usually, like myself, we log on into these sites when we are bored or just procrastinating. While 88% of us use
facebook to maintain relationships, using too much of a social media can affect us in ways we didn’t know. Social media can cause phobia and anxiety. We are use to talking to people via internet and it can sometimes build a phobia when it comes down to talking to someone in person. We also can build a fear of “missing out”, feeling of inferiority, and competition. Loneliness is increased by using social media. If we would leave facebook temporarily, then we would miss out on all the invites, parties, outings, club meetings, and virtually anything social about your friends and or family. We all read those statuses about how great someone’s day is going or they got promoted to astronaut; those kind of statuses stir up subconscious competition and inferiority for users. It makes some users feel less accomplished of their success. Not only do we feel emotional affects but facebook does cause relationship problems, a study shows 1 in 5 divorces happen on facebook. Although there is negativity when it comes to social media there is positivity that can outweigh the bad. Here are some tips on how to keep a healthy relationship and benefit from social media.
1. Limit your time used on the internet
2. Monitor emotions and reactions
3. Don’t compare yourself to others
4. Set guidelines for relationships
5. Maintain online and offline life balance.
6. Learn to network in real life.
7. Reconnect personally today, have lunch etc.
Remember Facebook and other social media networks are an extension of your life. Anything you put on the internet stays there.