Excessive social media 'negatively impacts wellbeing'

Excessive social media 'negatively impacts wellbeing'33 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEllie CleverleySouth of EnglandGetty ImagesExcess social media use has been linked to lowering wellbeing of young people.

We all know the feeling of doom-scrolling, the mindless numbing of the brain.

But did you know it's actually impacting our wellbeing more in the Western World, particularly for girls.

The World Happiness Report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, found that excessive use of social media negatively impacts our wellbeing.

"If you use social media for an hour a day, that's great, you're being connected," says Michael Plant, Research Fellow at the Wellbeing Research Centre.

"But the report did show a correlation between, the more time you spend on social media the greater loss of wellbeing."

Michael Plant says there is a correlation between happiness and social media use

Though the report does not know why the Western world is more impacted, it found that under 25s wellbeing in countries like United States, Canada, Australia and UK has dropped dramatically over the past decade - the same time social media has grown.

"I was originally skeptical about the negativity on social media, but the evidence is mounting up," Plant continues.

"So young people are not smoking, they're not taking drugs, having lots of sex like my generation but they do have social media.

"And the platforms are designed to maintain engagement," he added.

Sydney is a content creator focusing on fitness and helping people be their authentic selves

Sydney Grows, a fitness content creator who "fell into the role" when she started posting TikTok's since 2021 says "it's a dream".

"I am very lucky, the health and fitness industry, the people are lovely the opportunities are incredible and I feel like I am living my dream every day," she says.

Grows, who promotes authenticity with gym interactions, sporting events and more, actively tries to be a positive space in the world.

But she also knows the negative side: "I tend to block out the negative comments, I've had four years worth of practice to build the resilience.

"But you know, you'll get 100 positive comments and it doesn't sink in but then you get one negative comment and it feels personal and it hurts."

But, like pandoras' box social media has been released so is here to stay.

Plant says: "It's about being realistic and looking at yourself - the platforms won't stop you and the government, if you're an adult, won't put restrictions in place so it's down to you.

"If you go 'I am looking at other people and their life seems better than mine' then I am going to feel worse.

"So instead go 'I will go out and try to talk to people more'.

"Overall the aim is to put the social back into social media."

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Related links

Wellbeing Research Centre

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