The impact of social media on human mind

 

 

What role does social media play in a pandemic period?

According to a recent study conducted by Concordia University researcher and neuroscientist Najmeh Khalili-Mahani, 700 respondents said their use of social media as well as dissemination platforms has increased.

The study finds that the strong link between stress and screen addiction was because the latter provided some people with a place to take refuge from the stress caused by the pandemic.

However, this reality is not the same for everyone since for some, too much use of social media is rather the cause of several mental disorders.

Several people have reported a deterioration in their mental health in Quebec, but also abroad. A second study of 1,577 adults and 214 healthcare professionals in Wuhan, China, reports that spending more than two hours a day watching COVID-19-related news on social media is associated with a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with anxiety depression.

"About a third of respondents said they spend more than two hours a day on social networks", can we read on the site.

 

Are there behavioral changes related to the use of social networks?

According to Guy Desrosiers, director of the Pause your screen campaign , set up to raise awareness about the overuse of screens, behavior change is very relative to everyone, and depends greatly on the use made by them. people, but also in relation to the attachment that everyone has vis-à-vis social networks.

“People end up letting social media take over. It can affect life. There is a fear of being separated from our device. People are constantly thinking about where their device is and if it's nearby. “They would then be affected by mobidependence, he specifies. (Telephone interview, October 5, 2020).

In addition to changes in personal behavior, more general changes also occur. “This reinforces real time, velocity, the production of digital traces, data and artificial intelligence. The influence is much more than individual ”, notes André Mondoux, professor and head of the Digital Media Baccalaureate at UQAM. (Telephone interview, October 5, 2020)

 

Would there be an increase in media use in the second wave?

According to a survey conducted between March 29 and April 3, 2020 by Statistics Canada, three-quarters of Canadians aged 15 to 49 spend more time on the Internet compared to the time dedicated before the pandemic.

In fact, 66% of them spend more time watching television and 35% of them spend more time playing video games. “Social media tends to isolate and radicalize, but there are other dynamics that come into play which means that social media cause this phenomenon, but are also caused by these phenomena”, mentions Mondoux.

This trend towards isolation is said to have started before the health crisis, not to mention that the first wave reached all-time highs in terms of social media use. The statistics of the use of social media are not likely to exceed those of the first wave according to the professor. “I don't think there will be an increase during this second wave,” he concludes.

 

How does social media affect our brains?

Social media are very complex machines, but with very specific mechanics. The designers of these know all too well how to retain the average user on their applications, an effective method that has many impacts on our brain, says Desrosiers.

“The companies that offer us these services trade this information to third parties, sometimes it will be to organizations that will influence our choices as a society. They are all in competition. They have created tools to keep us active as long as possible, hence the commitment signals (likes, sharing, etc.) are not trivial […] These are mechanisms that generate dopamine . […] It generates the fear of missing out (or fear of missing something in French), it continues to attract us, we must be aware of that, it is organized by the companies living on our attention. People who post post great things, there is a pink bezel environment which is not reality, it is only one side of the information and it is chosen by the algorithms. "

 

What type of people are most at risk?

Regarding the age group of people most affected by the problem, it seems that those who have not reached their mid-twenties, would find themselves more affected by the misuse of social media.

"The development of the brain is completed at the age of 25 at the stage of self-control, it is no longer only the stimulation of pleasure, we have self-control stimulators that tell us, yes it's fun, pleasure , but here I have to do something else. There are also people who lack self-confidence who will realize themselves on social networks and online gambling. All that is time that we borrow from something else and that can make it unhealthy, ”says Desrosiers.

 

What is the best way to protect yourself without stopping to learn?

In order to avoid an abundance of stress and anxiety like this, it would be better to diversify the source of the information that we read, that is to say to inform ourselves elsewhere than on social media, explains Desrosiers.

“If we get information on social media, it's one-sided information (…) We are not really informed. You have to search your sources, information can be commissioned, so you have to validate your sources of information. To form a good opinion, you have to know all sides of a coin, favorable and unfavorable. This is how we form a complete opinion. "

In this regard, the INSPQ recommends that people, during this pandemic "promote the use of screens that allow one to be physically active", in particular active video games and visual exercise sessions, in order to keep their morale afloat. .