Social media has taken over our lives completely. It has been dominating national debates, social discussions, news coverage, etc. Needless to say, social media platforms are known to be ripe with implications, positive and negative, specially affecting the youth.
Although, during the Covid-19 pandemic, social media turned out to be a boon as it allowed individuals to stay connected with their loved ones, helped them stay abreast of the happenings around the world, assisted many of them in their professional lives and kept millions entertained when there was nothing else to do.
However, there is a downside to this hyper-connectivity. Social media usage had increased by 70 per cent in the first five months since the beginning of the pandemic. In the same period, there was an exponential increase in the number of posts made on all the popular social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The big jump in social media usage, especially by the youth, was a major factor in the analysis that followed, reviewing the growing dependency on social media on a daily basis and the transformation of these portals into a necessity in certain age groups. Most such analyses stemmed from the direct fact that dependency on social media increased significantly in a very short span of time. Also, the dependence was largely seen in specific age groups such as among teenagers.
The social media web
The number of social media users is increasing by the second. India is home to the second largest population in the world and that makes it a favourite among social media giants, almost all of which have their eyes set on India and many have already made deep in roads into the digital marketplace in the country. And, their main target among the Indian population is the teenagers.
On an average, social media users in India spend 2.4 hours on social media every day. India boasts of 290 million active social media users who spend hours using social media apps such as Instagram. Majority of the screen time of these users is spent on various social networking websites and platforms.
Teenagers are adolescents are the ones dominating the social media user base – individuals in the age group of 13-19 years make up 31 per cent of social media users in India, as per data revealed by Statista in 2021. Users in the age group of 18-24 years mainly use Instagram and Facebook in India.
As on January 2022, the number of Facebook users in India was about 329 million users. This makes India the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size. Some estimates put the number of Facebook users in India at 450 million users.
Of these, the number of teen adults that are active on Facebook stands at 97.2 million users. India leads the way in the number of Instagram users as well with 230 million Instagram users, making it the highest in the world. Again, most of these are millennials and the gen-z users.
Impact on youth
Social media is a great way to stay connected, to know what’s happening in the rest of the world and for professional collaborations as well. It offers the perfect opportunity to identify talents, boost creativity, initiate change and digital activism, conduct research and surveys, peer motivation, etc.
However, there are many negative effects of these networking platforms and apps that are impacting the youth and society and need attention. Recently, Instagram and its parent company, Facebook came under the public scanner for their negative impact on youth. Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen also revealed that for the many social media giants, an individual is just a number that will drive their profits up. Revenue is their top priority and not mental health of individuals especially the youth.
Mental health of an individual is at risk with excessive social media usage. Studies across the world have established close links between teen depression and use of social media mainly because of the incorrect and fake impression they get from the content that is posted on these platforms seamlessly and that they believe to be true.
For instance, youth with moderate to severe symptoms of depression are twice as likely to use social media constantly. The incessant imagery that draws the perfect life of icons and influencers on social media is damaging for young individuals who are battling anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, etc.
FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out is a very real condition where an individual develops anxiety when he or she realises they are missing out something that is real. Among the youth, adolescents are very susceptible to develop FOMO by using social media.
Apart from mental health issues, excessive social media use is also a cause of concern for the physical health of a young individual. The more time youth spend on social media or in the virtual world, the less time they are able to devote to physical activities, meeting real people, eating and sleeping healthy. This leads to a host of health problems sooner or later.
Cyberbullying
Perhaps one of the biggest downsides of social media usage, cyberbullying has now taken epic proportions worldwide. Cyberbullying or Trolling is a very serious problem that is disrupting lives of young individuals. Apart from teenagers and adolescents, older unassuming individuals are also falling prey to cyberbullies and predators.
Cyberbullying has been closely linked to teenage suicides as well. And, teenagers who commit or further the acts of cyberbullying are much more likely to indulge in other delinquent activities such as substance abuse, aggression, etc.
Unregulated and mindless social media use is also affecting social relationships among the youth. With more and more time spent in the virtual world, their social skills take a backseat and interpersonal relations art home and at workplace are affected.
In fact, excessive social media or internet usage also leads to what some call as tech addiction, which is a real condition. Overuse of gadgets and social media platforms stimulates the brain in a similar manner as habit-forming substance and addictive behavioral patterns do. So, it’s very important that the youth keep social media usage in check in order to lead a physically and mentally healthy and safe life.
Checks needed
A decade ago, no one would have imagined that virtual networking platforms or social media apps will completely take over human life in this manner. Now that it has, there’s a need for a dedicated and smart social media policy to regulate usage, pin accountability and ensure the safety of users especially the youth.
The role of parents, teachers, mentors, education institutes and social agencies is equally important. Social agencies come into play when older youth have been affected. Parents and teachers need to be resolute in dealing with children and students by imposing appropriate checks and controls, explaining the risks of social media to them properly and offering support when the situation warrants.