Why You Should Limit Social Media Use Now

While social media can be a fun way to stay connected with friends and family, there are some potential downsides that you should be aware of.

Blue Light Exposure

One of the biggest concerns is the blue light emitted by screens. This blue light can have harmful effects on your eyesight, and it can also disrupt your sleep cycle. Don't believe us? Studies show that most people who spend an average of two hours on social media are more likely to experience sleep problems. Those problems include difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, and feeling tired during the day.

Studies have found that blue light exposure suppresses melatonin production more than any other color of light. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate our sleep cycles, so blue light exposure can really mess with our natural sleep patterns, affecting our ability to focus and learn. A Harvard study in particular showed that exposure to blue light over green suppressed melatonin twice as long as the green light. So if you're spending hours scrolling through your feed, you might not be doing your brain any favors.

Neuroimaging studies, in mice, found that blue light actually causes neuronal death in the brain. The blue light wavelength is able to penetrate all the way to the brain's learning and memory center, the hippocampus. So blue light not only affects our ability to sleep, but also our cognitive function. Studies in flies showed that blue light caused neurodegeneration and a significant reduction in lifespan when exposed to blue light on 12 hour cycles.

Does it matter what time of day you look at blue light?

According to the researchers, artificial blue light exposure has the greatest effect on melatonin production when it's experienced in the evening. So if you're spending time on social media right before bed, you're more likely to have difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Do longer periods of exposure to blue light affect you more?

It turns out that the answer is yes. The researchers found that people who were exposed to blue light for two hours or more had greater melatonin suppression than those who were exposed for shorter periods of time. How many of you spend an average of 5 hours or more on your phone each evening?

Culture of Comparison

Another potential downside of social media is that it can foster a culture of comparison. When we're constantly scrolling through our feeds, it's easy to compare our lives to others and come up short. You probably already know this, but the seemingly perfect lives you see portrayed by your old high school friends don't really exist.

Your friends, like you, are likely subject to the same anxieties, desires, and inclinations so many people associate with portraying an online life. In other words, what you see on social media is often a curated version of someone's life designed to gain the most likes, comments, and shares because ultimately, that's what social media is designed to do. It's a platform where people can share their thoughts, experiences, and lives with others, but it's important to remember that what you see is often not the whole story.

A study from the University of Copenhagen found that people who passively use social media are lot more likely to compare themselves to others, which can lead to feelings of envy. The study found that people who use social media the most are 3 times more likely to feel envy than those who use it the least. So, if you find yourself feeling envious of others when you're scrolling through your feed, it might be time to take a break.

What is envy?

Envy is defined as “a feeling of discontented longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.” In other words, it's that icky feeling you get when you see someone else with something you want. And while a little bit of envy can be motivating, too much of it can lead to negative consequences like depression, anxiety, and even physical health problems. It should be noted that envy is distinct from jealousy in that it's not motivated by a fear of loss, but rather by a desire to possess what someone else has, which invariably creates feelings of ingratitude.

Why is ingratitude so detrimental?

Gratitude has been linked with a host of benefits including increased well-being, improved sleep, lower levels of stress and anxiety, and even increased lifespan. So it makes sense that the opposite of gratitude—ingratitude—would have negative consequences. What a state to hold onto, one that drains your time and energy, when you could invest your time appreciating the little things or better yet, creating a life worth living by living it.

This brings us to our last point.

Sometimes, social media can just be a huge...

Waste of Time

Like anything else, it's important to use social media in moderation. If you find that you're spending hours upon hours scrolling through your feed without really getting anything out of it, it might be time to take a break. There's nothing wrong with taking some time for yourself and disconnecting from the online world. In fact, it might be exactly what you need.

If by some chance you have stumbled upon this article, you have probably already recognized it not to be the first or the last suggesting that time invested in social media prevents people from actually living their lives. In the hours you spend on social media a day, you could learn a new skill, start a side hustle to make some extra money, read a book, spend time with loved ones or accomplish something you've always wanted to do.

In conclusion, social media can be harmful to your health if you're not using it in moderation. Stay safe out there.