15 Dangers of Social Media & How to Avoid Them
Through the teenage years and into early adulthood, we are still learning how to create healthy relationships and care for our well-being. For most adolescents, social media will play a role in developing life skills. Surveys show that 95% of teens and 84% of young adults use social media.
Social media can be an avenue to express yourself, connect, learn, and share. Social media is not entirely bad, but there are dangers. This post will review 15 common dangers of social media for adolescents, plus how to reduce or avoid these dangers.
Dangers to Physical Health
#1 Sedentary Behavior
Sedentary behavior means spending time seated or inactive. Relaxing is important, but so is regular exercise and body movement.
Any screen time, including time on social media, encourages people to stay sedentary for long periods of time. A heavy social media user may be sedentary for hours at a time every day. A sedentary lifestyle has negative effects on your circulation, muscle tone, bone health, and immunity.
How to Avoid
Aim to be active every day.
Break up long periods of screen time with a stretch, walk, or other type of movement.
#2 Less Sleep
A survey of teens found that almost 1/3 admit to sleeping with their cell phones next to them in bed.
The light from a cell phone, especially before bed, can disrupt your circadian rhythm (the body's internal clock that works on a 24-hour cycle). This can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Alerts on phones, like a notification from a social media app, can affect sleep quality. Another report found that more than 1/3 of teens admit waking up at night to check their phones.
How to Avoid
Set boundaries related to technology and bedtime. Some options can include the following:
Set a "digital curfew" for one hour before bed.
At night, plug the phone in across the room or in another room.
Silence the phone at night.
Limit which apps you use in the evening.
News and social media apps can cause worry, stress, or anxiety.
Gaming and social media apps are hard to turn off and lead to later bedtimes.
Dangers to Mental Health
#3 Social Media Addiction
There is no official clinical diagnosis of social media addiction. But over half of teen social media users admit it would be hard to give up social media.
Scrolling apps, refreshing feeds, and getting likes on posts give brains a chemical reward. They get a dose of "feel-good" chemicals like dopamine. This keeps users on apps longer and returning more often. A person can spend so much time using or thinking about social media that it gets in the way of responsibilities, well-being, and relationships.
The human brain enjoys activities that give them "feel good" chemicals. That is how substance use affects the brain. Too much time online can start to look like a gambling disorder or a substance use disorder.
How to Avoid
Track how much time you spend on social media. Then decide if you need to set boundaries.
Take an afternoon, day, or week off social media. Reflect on how you feel.
#4 Cyberbullying
Excessive time on social media is linked to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is verbal or social bullying through instant messaging, social gaming sites, email, texting, or social media. Over half of teens report experiencing cyberbullying.
Learn more about the consequences of bullying.
How to Avoid
The first step to reducing cyberbullying is anti-bullying education. Learning about cyberbullying and its effects can help students make better decisions.
Check out McMillen Health's anti-bullying programs.
#5 Missing Out on Face-to-Face Relationships
An important part of adolescence is developing social skills. Social media can be harmful when it replaces time with family and friends. Some opportunities to build social skills can't be recreated online.
How to Avoid
Make spending time with friends and family a priority.
When you're with other people, take a break from your phone.
#6 Less Time for Other Activities
When someone is on social media, they’re giving up time for other activities. Social media use can crowd out meaningful activities, hobbies, and quality time with loved ones. It can also get in the way of responsibilities like work, chores, or taking care of yourself.
How to Avoid
Choosing to spend time on social media is okay. But it's important to be mindful of your social media use.
Track your daily time on social media (your smartphone can track this for you!).
Add up how much time you spend each week.
Reflect on the hobbies or activities you could be spending that time on.
Decide if you need to make any changes.
#7 Social Comparisons
Social comparison is when someone evaluates themselves based on someone else's life, experiences, and characteristics. It can cause a person to have negative thoughts and feelings about themselves.
People often only see highlights of other users’ lives on social media. This can make them feel left out, disappointed, or critical of their own lives.
How to Avoid
Your social media account belongs to you. Make it a place that makes you feel good. If an account makes you feel bad about yourself or any part of your life, unfollow or hide the account.
#8 Affecting Self-Image
Teens and young adults are still learning who they are and who they want to be. Social media can have a positive effect on someone's self-image. It is a place for diverse representation and self-expression.
Unfortunately, for some users, social media or too much social media can have a negative effect. For example, Instagram's own research found that teen girls who use their platform have a poorer self-image.
If someone is already struggling with self-esteem, time on social media can make it worse.
How to Avoid
Reflect on how you feel when you use social media. There may be times in your life when a break from social media is a good choice for your well-being. If you need extra help, talk to someone you trust or a counselor.
#9 Damaging Online Reputation
The things someone posts and comments on social media can impact their reputation. Even which accounts they follow can affect their reputation. This can come up during job searches, college applications, and future relationships.
How to Avoid
Always think twice before you post.
Make your accounts private.
Think about who you add and who you follow on social media.
#10 Harmful to Mental Well-Being
According to the APA, adolescent mental health conditions have continued to rise. During this time, social media has become more popular too.
More research is needed to determine if and how social media harms mental and emotional well-being. For teens and young adults who have anxiety, depression, or another mental health condition, it is important to monitor how social media affects you.
How to Avoid
Pay attention to how you feel when you use social media. If you have mental or emotional problems, don't wait to seek help.
Resources
Dangers of Bad Content
#11 Misleading Information
A study found that false news stories spread faster on social media than true stories. This means social media users are more likely to see misleading headlines, misinformation, and fake news stories.
Incorrect information can have negative and even dangerous consequences. It affects the decisions people make about their health, finances, product purchases, and more.
How to Avoid
Evaluating information on the internet is a skill. When kids start using the internet, they need to learn how to be responsible online users.
McMillen Health's digital citizenship programs are a great resource for educating students on internet skills and safety.
#12 Scams
When it comes to online opportunities, it's good to be skeptical. The FTC reported that social media scams skyrocketed in 2021.
Social media users reported frauds such as business/investment scams, online shopping scams, and romance scams. Romance scams are when someone starts an online relationship to convince another person to send them money.
How to Avoid
If something sounds too good to be true, it might be. Always be cautious, ask questions, and do extra research before spending or sending money online.
#13 Normalizing Risk-Taking Behaviors
Risk-taking behavior can include substance use, sexual activity, criminal activity, and dangerous pranks or challenges. When social media users see risky behavior being normalized, they may be more likely to engage in it.
How to Avoid
Be picky about what accounts you follow on social media.
Think twice before recording and posting risk-taking behaviors.
Reflect on your values. Make sure your online behavior and the accounts you follow match your values.
Writing your values down or discussing them with someone you trust can help you identify what's really important.
#14 Misleading Marketing
Social media is filled with ads and sponsored content for products, services, apps, and more.
Misleading marketing is different than outright scams. Companies and social media marketers want to make money. Sometimes this means they use dishonest marketing strategies, including:
Fake or biased reviews
False product promises
Not disclosing sponsorships
Photoshopping images
Fake time-sensitive deals
How to Avoid
Educate on marketing tactics like flash sales, buzz words, and targeted advertising.
Remember that social media influencers usually promote products because they make money through affiliate links and sponsorships.
#15 Inappropriate Content
When a person interacts with content on social media, the algorithm is designed to show more similar content. Social media platforms have guidelines to keep inappropriate content off their websites.
Social media can still include inappropriate content, such as:
Violence
Hate speech
Sexual content
Dangerous challenges
In fact, in one survey, a majority of teens reported accidental exposure to pornography online.
How to Avoid
The best policy is to not ask for and not send inappropriate images or texts.
Be careful about the accounts you follow and who you message.
Don't click suspicious links.
Block or unfollow accounts that post inappropriate content.
Benefits of Social Media
Social media has benefits too. Some of these include:
Connecting with family and friends
Building relationships with peers
Practicing social skills
Finding community
Learning about and supporting important causes
Digital Citizenship Education Programs
Learn about being safe and responsible online. Our high-tech media rooms allow McMillen's health educators to teach anywhere with an internet connection.
Elementary
Middle School
High School
Ready to schedule? Click here.