There is certainly no shortage of studies analyzing social media use, and some of the latest numbers indicate that the average person spends nearly two and a half hours on social media each day.
In the U.S., the average American checks their mobile device nearly 160 times a day, and almost half of Americans say they watch user-generated social media content more than they watch movies or television through streaming services.
Like most aspects of technology, there are positives and negatives associated with social media use.
Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, assistant professor of human communication studies at Cal State Fullerton, and Ester Gonzalez, associate professor of information systems and decision sciences, have seen both sides in their research when it comes to social media and its interconnectivity with communication and relationships.
One of the effects Suwinyattichaiporn has found, specifically for Gen Z users, is a possible negative effect on mental health, or what she refers to as online social comparison. This is when users develop anxiety associated with seeing other people’s heavily filtered and highly curated lives online.
“The main negative effect is mental health issues, and that typically comes from online social comparison processes,” Suwinyattichaiporn said. “They assume that everyone else is having a great time, while they are not, so it causes a lot of anxiety, particularly in Gen Z.”
Another negative effect Suwinyattichaiporn cites is a decrease in attention span. Gen Z has grown up with information at their fingertips that is delivered in bite-size pieces within seconds. But she has seen this effect in older generations as well, and shortened attention spans can lead to other challenges.
“It affects other parts of people’s lives, including interpersonal relationships,” Suwinyattichaiporn said. “So, when it comes to communicating in real life, people … apply similar short attention spans to listening to people, and they…
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