SOCIAL MEDIA: OUR RISE OR DOWNFALL? by Charley Boyles From the minute we wake up till the minute we go to sleep, social media plays a constant and unrelenting role in our lives. Whether it’s refreshing your Instagram feed, watching videos on Facebook or checking Twitter for live updates; it is undeniable that social media has revolutionised the way in which we consume content. The benefits to social media are clear, with its ability to keep people in touch from miles away or its capability of spreading messages with a vast reach no other platform has. However, at what cost? Yougov reported in 2016 that one in four students suffer from mental health with over 70% of those suffering with depression and anxiety. According to research done by Jean M. Twenge and colleagues in 2010, during the rise of the mobile phone there was a correlation between mobile phone overuse, depression and even suicides in adolescents. With this huge surge in anxiety and depression amongst young people its relationship with the evolution of mobile phones cannot be ignored.
24 • The Nucleus • November 2018
So why are we so obsessed with Instagram? Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a common psychological state wherein one worry others are living much higher quality and desirable lives. In a 2017 study of Facebook users, Buglass et al found that FOMO mediates the relationship between increased social media usage and decreased self-esteem with users. Studies showing low self-esteem may motivate a FOMO-induced increased rate of social media network usage and an increase in online self-promotion. Essentially, we’re worried others are living better and more fulfilled lives leading us to get online and promote ourselves to give the impression ours are of equal quality. We’re often finding ourselves repeatedly checking our phones throughout the day in search of a new message or notification. This is explained by a phenomenon known as the dopamine loop. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain important in the regulation of reward-motivated
