I’m glad my parents banned social media when I was a kid
I grew up “under a rock.” Shockingly, it was good for me.
Growing up with limited internet access, I was often embarrassed and jealous of other girls who didn’t “live under a rock.” While my friends surfed YouTube, Omegle, Instagram or Snapchat, I was a prolific email and “g-chat“girl.
Writing that still makes me cringe. I alternately laugh and wallow in self-embarrassment reflecting on my Gmail and Google chat days, when I religiously kept up correspondence with the friends kind enough to make that extra effort to stay in touch. I envied friends who posed for photos together, “tagged” one another in their posts, or gossiped online.
I didn’t know what a blessing it was to enjoy a childhood free of the constraints, anxiety and sadness social media often brings. Uninhibited by the expectations and consuming nature of social media, I had more time for real, in-person, screen-less interaction. I had more time to spend doing the nerdy things I loved – like rereading “Anne of Green Gables” for the 10th time.
Facebook has studied the effects of its photo-sharing app on viewers over the past few years. The studies, according to The Wall Street Journal, unsurprisingly found that Instagram has detrimental effects on millions of young people, especially teenage girls.
Instagram algorithms facilitate a neverending stream of photos and videos that “can send teens spiraling toward eating disorders, an unhealthy sense of their own bodies and depression,” The Journal said, citing Facebook’s internal research. Instagram exacerbated body image issues in 1 in 3 girls, and teens consistently blamed the app for increased anxiety and depression.
Conversely, studies have shown children who experienced technological withdrawals had better nonverbal cues, and were better equipped to accept delayed gratification or engage actively in the world around them.
Tech giants have demonstrated that they are aware of the downsides to the apps they have created. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs limited his own children’s use of technology and wouldn’t let them use the iPad his company created. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, wouldn’t let his children have phones until they were at least 14. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom expressed fears about his daughter growing up with the prevalence of harassment and bullying on his own platform.
Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive, feels “tremendous guilt” for helping to create and promote Facebook’s success. He said that Facebook has been extremely damaging to society, and that he will not let his own children use it.
The tech elites’ concerns over social media are extremely telling. Who knows a subject more than its creator? Such information might surprise some people, but my first reaction to reading this was ... well, obviously!
Social media’s explosion in popularity has unquestionably played a role in increased eating disorders, depression and suicide.
Even the most prolific Instagram user will testify that social media can be incredibly toxic. In spite of this, unfortunately, many teens lack the self-control to get off the apps.
Girls are devoured by the desire to look just as beautiful and thin as the unrealistic images they spend hours scrolling through, or to have just as much fun as the other people their age seem to be having. The Journal cited a Facebook study of teens in the United States and the United Kingdom reporting that many Instagram users felt “unattractive,” “not good enough” or insecure about their friendships after using the app.
Young people feel enormous pressure to do more exciting things, or to make as many amazing friends as the other people flooding their timeline. Never mind if the friendships online are secretly phony and kept up only for that group photo with hundreds of likes.
Girls say they understand that social media is a facade, that nothing is truly as good as it seems – and yet they still struggle to believe this. Worse, their desire to live up to impossibly high standards keeps them from being satisfied with their own body, lifestyle and relationships. They morph into the “online version” of themselves, and experience anxiety and depression when they realize they can’t keep up with their own curated online image.
Body-tuned photos, fad diets and seemingly perfect models online contribute to eating disorders in girls. An eating disorder specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital estimated that nearly 50% of her patients developed eating disorders from social media.
Luckily, users are starting to self-identify Instagram’s damaging effects. Some influencers have even gained popularity for their focus on reality – such as showing unedited photos alongside face-tuned ones and un-posed photos beside posed ones. Through such transparency, they hope to convey the message that it is not normal to look like a Victoria’s Secret model.
Social media does have the potential for good, and it isn’t unhealthy for all users. . It is a powerful way to connect people, although of course it can also be incredibly divisive. And it’s a fun way to stay in touch with friends or to share favorite photos and memories.
I downloaded Instagram toward the end of my senior year of high school – once my college applications were finished, according to my parents’ rules. I confess I love using filters or taking “cute” photos with my friends. It is fun to see what my relatives and friends are up to, or to find recipes, workouts, DIY ideas and more on the app.
But like overeating your favorite sugary treats, or binge watching your favorite TV shows, some things are sweet only in moderation. Social media is no exception.