Are We Addicted to our Smartphones?

Social media is a fun interactive tool people use on a regular basis because you can do so many things from sharing pictures, videos, news, and more, it is easy to see why people get addicted. Of course, there are some negative sides to using social media. How does social media affect our lives and minds and how can it become an addiction? First, Instagram is the worst social media network for mental health. Next, social media affects our mental health in many ways.

And lastly, social media causes addiction to your phone and it is a risk to your mental health is real. Some of the addiction effects could be helpful in a way, but many researchers feel some may not be good for you.

First, Instagram is the worst social media network for mental health. In Source 1, “Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health” by TIME Health, they say “Instagram is the worst social media network for mental health and wellbeing, according to a recent survey of almost 1,500 teens and young adults.

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” (Health, Pg.1). In this quote, TIME Health did a survey on which social network is the best. YouTube received the highest marks for health and wellbeing, while Instagram received the lowest marks for health and wellbeing. In Source 1, “Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health” by TIME Health, they say “And unlike YouTube, the other networks were associated with increases in depression and anxiety.

” (Health, Pg.1).

In this quote, YouTube did not associate with increases in depression and anxiety. It got high marks for bringing awareness of other people’s health experiences. Instagram is not making awareness of people’s health experiences better. In Source 1, “Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health” by TIME Health, they say “Other research has found that the more social networks a young adult uses, the more likely he or she is to report depression and anxiety.” (Health, Pg.2). In this quote, the more people on certain social networks, the more likely to report certain issues. Because Instagram is not a popular social network, there aren’t any people reporting or posting much on its network. Instagram does not have enough people on it for it to be popular. It does not get the attention YouTube does. It’s associated with high levels of anxiety, depression, bullying, and fear of missing out.

Next, social media is affecting our mental health in many bad ways. In Source 2, “6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health” by Alice G. Walton, she says “The more we use social media, the less happy we seem to be.” (Walton, Pg.4). In this quote, there was a study years ago founded on Facebook that linked both less happiness and less life satisfaction as people began to use Facebook more in one day. Facebook conjures up a perception of social isolation, which provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling such needs by allowing people to instantly connect. In Source 2, “6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health” by Alice G. Walton, she says “It’s no secret that the comparison factor in social media leads to jealousy.” (Walton, Pg.4). In this quote, people are getting jealous by seeing what other people post. Other people will be posting stuff such as vacations and perfect families. People that see this post think to themselves and start to become jealous for what that certain person has because the one who sees it doesn’t have it.

In Source 2, “6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health” by Alice G. Walton, she says “A couple of years ago, a study found that more friends on social media don’t necessarily mean you have a better social life.” (Walton, Pg.5). In this quote, you may think you have a social life with your friends on social media, but you really don’t. Having a better social life is experiences everything with your friends in real life. Using a social network is not a social life, just a communicator used to connect with friends and chat online. Your social life will not increase, but it will decrease. You are not experiencing a real conversation with your friend in real life so maybe if you were to meet, it would be way different to the point that you both are shy to each other. Social media will affect the way you react to certain things. It will train your mind to do things in a certain way. And as you feel the effects of not having a real-life in social networking will make you become unhappy and lifeless.

Lastly, social media causes addiction to your phone making your mental health at risk. In Source 3, “Phone Addiction Is Real -- And So Are Its Mental Health Risks” by Alice G. Walton, she says “Most of the students, who could plan what day they’d give up their phones, felt some degree of anxiety.” (Walton, Pg.5). In this quote, students are being experimented on giving up one’s smartphone for a day. Just starting the experiment, students start to feel a degree of anxiety because they are too attached to their phones. Their phones were their main tool to tell time and hold notes, but now since they don’t have it, they feel like they are missing something in their life. In Source 3, “Phone Addiction Is Real -- And So Are It's Mental Health Risks” by Alice G. Walton, she says “About 48% of those who spent five or more hours a day on their phones--a lot of time by any measure--had thought about suicide or made plans for it, vs 28% of those who spent only one hour per day on their phones. (Walton, Pg.6).

In this quote, people that spent more than five hours on their phones tend to have thoughts of suicide because their social life is on the low scale. There are no traces of other activities or objects that are raising the mental health issues, the main thing that raises it is phone addiction. In Source 3, “Phone Addiction Is Real -- And So Are Its Mental Health Risks” by Alice G. Walton, she says “Earlier studies have also looked at activity in the addiction circuits of the teenage brain when they’re actually interacting with social media. (Walton, Pg.6). In this quote, the addiction to phones and social media is affecting teenagers' brains. During this study, they found that this was caused by the brain having this activity from participants in Instagram. Their brain chemistry changed and looked more like non-addicted controls. According to a growing number of studies, it’s looking more and more like this pastime is addictive. That this addiction is linked to some serious mental health risks.

In conclusion, social media is also possible that people with poor mental health are drawn to multiple social media platforms in the first place. There have been reports recommending the introduction of pop-up “heavy usage” warning within these apps or websites, something 71% of respondents say. Next, another way social media is affecting our mental health is in this study looked at how people feel using Facebook and how they think they’ll feel going in it. The participants in this one almost always felt worse after using it, compared to people engaging in other activities. And lastly, the problems phone addiction is happening is because teens are spending more and more time, not talking in real life, but Instagram-ing and Snapchat-ing. Doing other activities except for using your phone all the time have a lower risk of both depression and suicide. Social media is addictive, causes many issues for our mental health, and isn’t a good network to use for your life.