Social Media and its Various Platforms
Social media is the online communication platform that links up the community for interactions, information sharing and public collaborations (Chaffey, 2016). There are various prominent examples of social media.
For instance, Facebook which is a popular website for social connectivity that requires the users to make profiles, upload their photos and video, sharing of information thereby linking users to their colleagues, family members and friends (Chaffey, 2016).
Another example is Twitter which is an open microblogging facility that permits registered members to share short posts known as tweets (Chaffey, 2016). Members of twitter send tweets and follow other users.
LinkedIn is another social networking platform mainly designed for business people. The goal for LinkedIn is to permit registered members to create networks of professional people who are trustworthy.
Snapchat
Snapchat is an application for mobile messaging which users apply to send photos, texts, drawings, and videos. There are other examples of social media that includes WeChat, WhatsApp, Viber and Pinkest (Chaffey, 2016). Regardless of the various benefits associated with social media, there is a strong correlation between heavy use of social media platforms and development of various health conditions such as depression, fatigue, and anxiety.
Depression and Heavy Use of Facebook
Heavy use of Facebook makes the users develop depression (Chowdhry, 2016). The use of Facebook is directly proportional to the severity of depression. Approximately 25% of those who use Facebook for more than one hour daily and visited various platforms at an average of 30 times weekly are highly vulnerable to depression (Chowdhry, 2016). Besides, both frequency of visits and the extent of usage time necessitates to development of depression.
However, patients suffering from depression frequents to Facebook to fill the void. Consequently, increased usage of Facebook aggravates the depression condition. Many young Facebook users use the platform to elicit the distorted notion that they live successful lives. The notion that others lead more meaningful life makes a user feel suppressed, thus developing an opinion that the user has been wasting time. The resultant envy causes depression feelings. Besides, heavy use of Facebook exposes users to cyberbullying, which is contributing factor to depression (Chowdhry, 2016). It is apparent that Facebook addiction is a psychiatric state that directly results in depression.
Anxiety from Persistent Use of Facebook and Twitter
Persistent use of Facebook and Twitter makes the users develop anxiety. Anxiety is a negative emotion that features tension, dread feelings, and hypertension (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011).
For instance, prolonged use of WhatsApp deteriorates social interaction of the users, who consequently develop difficulties in establishing physical, interpersonal dealings, thereby developing high levels of anxiety (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Besides, people who use more than seven social media platforms have higher levels of anxiety symptoms than those who refrain themselves from its usage. Use of social media especially Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter make someone feel anxious when posting something to divergent friends (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). In most cases, friends in social media platforms differ in political, religious and social ideologies. Consequently, it is challenging to post something that will please everyone. Anxiety from social media platforms is worsened when divergent users apply them to organize retributions. For instance, after a breakup, a spouse may tag the other in a photo depicting the negative consequences of relationships. Thus, anxiety is a health complication that is worsened by Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
Fatigue Resulting from Social Media Platforms
Use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and Snapchat leads to the development of fatigue, a condition which has health implications (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Fatigue is a weariness that results from emotional or physical action.
Various ailments associates with fatigue for instance anemia, cancer, concussion, acute liver failure and chronic inflammations (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Currently, there are very many social media platforms that cause restlessness to the users. For instance, immediately after a person over exploits Facebook, interest shifts to Twitter. Consequently, the user lacks time and energy to satisfy friends from multiple platforms, thus resulting in weariness and fatigue. Most users particularly of Facebook account keeps on updating their profile pictures and their locations. Besides, most Snapchat users lack a proper schedule for updating their accounts (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). If another person's post-receive many likes and comments, a Facebook user may competitively keep on updating his or her account, thereby resulting in weariness. Hence, fatigue resulting from Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat adversely affect the users' health.
Conclusion
Social media platforms serve the purpose of interconnecting people for interactions, information sharing, and collaborations. However, persistent use of a platform has various negative health implications out of depression, fatigue and anxiety. For instance, addiction to Facebook makes the user more vulnerable to depression which arises mainly due to social comparison. Many young users make their posts insinuate the meaningfulness and success of their lives. Consequently, another Facebook account member who has not gone to such heights may feel develop depression. Besides, social media platforms such as Twitter makes the users develop anxiety. For instance, many social media users and friends have different religious, political and social standpoints and thus, it is difficult to post something that will receive general acceptance. Hence, a user may be anxious about their posts. Besides, the use of social media platforms is wearisome and results in fatigue, which consequently leads to other diseases such as anemia and cancer. Hence, users of social media platforms should moderate themselves to evade various health implications that are resultant.
References
Chaffey, D. (2016). Global social media research summary 2016. Smart Insights: Social Media Marketing.
Chowdhry, A. (2016, April 30). Research Links Heavy Facebook and Social Media Usage to Depression [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2016/04/30/study-links-heavy-facebook-and-social-media-usage-to-depression/#7201da5d4b5
O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.
