Is there such a thing as Social Media FREE??? I have seen the problems with people getting lost in the sea of comparisons, feelings of being left out, the time it seems to steal, marriages that have been broken, the addiction…so I have elected to NOT play in the social media field. Do I feel I am missing out??? I don’t think so, but everyone has their own opinion.  I invite you to read the following stats and make your own.

TO BE or NOT TO BE

My daughter has never been one to join the crowds and didn’t want a phone or anything that would associate her with the “typical teen.”  We basically had to force her to have a phone when she went to her first home-away camp last year. She is now sixteen and still just uses her phone to text, call or play puzzle apps. She is not the typical teen.

I know teens are glued to their phones on snapchat, instagram…but while my daughter was on a two-week trip to Hawaii with complete strangers that were all teens, she was teased that she doesn’t do social media. None of the teens could believe it.

My daughter works at our local aquarium & the majority of her coworkers are college graduates or in their early twenties. She has been asked by many of them to join social media group chats & she tells them she doesn’t do social media. Many of them have told her how smart that is & expressed that is why she must be so happy. They have all told her to avoid it. That says something! If anything, it gave my daughter a reply to the teens she was being badgered by. My daughter stood her ground and expressed how she doesn’t need it and would rather not have that distraction in her life.

You go girl!!

THE ISSUES:

FOMO  “Fear of Missing Out” is a HUGE draw to the social media world. 

Social media addiction is a growing phenomenon not only in the United States but worldwide. The average person spends nearly 2 hours a day using social media, which amounts to 5 years and 4 months of his/her lifetime. In that time a person could run more than 10,000 marathons or travel to the moon and back on 32 separate occasions. For teens, social media time spent could be up to 9 hours every day  [mediakix]

95 million photos are uploaded to Instagram a day. WOW!! That is a lot of facetime!

There are 175 billion pins on Pinterest.That’s about 25 pins for every man, woman and child, young and old on the entire planet. (Marketing Land)

Every second, more than 500 hours of video is added to YouTube.

90% of drivers admit to using smartphones behind the wheel. Of those respondents, 50% reportedly use their smartphones to check social media.    SCARY.

According to the University of Chicago, social media is more addicting than cigarettes.

Does Social Media Cause Depression?
Studies show that users with “heavy use” of social media have between a 13% and 66% higher chance of being depressed. This could be due to the lack of “real-life” relationships users are making. The online relationship doesn’t have the same emotional satisfaction that you can get with real-life relationships. [creditdonkey]

 

TEENS & SOCIAL MEDIA: I just pulled up a statistic on teens and social media & it said nine out of ten use social media—that is 90%

A 2018 study found that teens who spend 5 hours per day using their phones were almost twice as likely to exhibit depressive symptoms than counterparts who dedicated only 1 hour on their phones.  Interestingly, the relationship between excessive mobile use and depression appears to be strongly linked to gender, with 58% more females than males experiencing depressive symptoms. [mediakix]

If prolonged exposure to screens wasn’t bad enough for people’s sleep, social media addictions are making it even harder for people to get a good night’s sleep. 45% of people check social media instead of sleeping, and roughly 10% of teens check their phones more than 10 times per night. [mediakix]

“Social media addiction is a mental health problem… Excessive usage [is] linked to relationship problems, worse academic achievement and less participation in offline communities.” –BBC

“The American Academy of Pediatrics has warned about the potential for negative effects of social media in young kids and teens, including cyber-bullying.” –Forbes

“Survey results found that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness.” –Child Mind Institute

“Too much passive use of social media – just browsing posts – can be unhealthy and has been linked to feelings of envy, inadequacy and less satisfaction with life. Studies have even suggested that it can lead to ADHD symptoms, depression, anxiety and sleep deprivation. ” –UNICEF

 

KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE—

Here is a link to some pretty crazy statistics https://www.guardchild.com/social-media-statistics-2/

like 55% of teens have given out personal information like photos or descriptions online to someone they don’t know. WHAT!! That is terrifying.

60% have created profiles or personal sites.

GOOD TIPS

How Much Time Should You Spend On Social Media A Day?
Experts suggest limiting your social media use to just 30 minutes per day for the least amount of mental health side effects as a result of too much social media use.[creditdonkey]

Good article on the good and bad of social media  https://smartsocial.com/negative-effects-of-social-media/

I hope this post has sparked some thought on social media awareness. 

Happy day to you.  -H