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More than two hours on social media report poor mental health, anxiety and depression

Many people who regularly use platforms like Facebook or Twitter report high stress levels



Image Credit: Supplied

Spending more than two hours per day on social media report poor mental health, including symptoms of anxiety and depression.

On top of increased rates of anxiety and depression, spending too much time on social media can lead to poor sleep while numerous studies have shown that increased use of social media has a negative effect on sleep quality.

A social media expert said on Saturday that many psychiatrists are deeply concerned about the impact that social media has on mental health. Some believes that the constant distraction of social media contributes to shortened attention spans, a private TV channel reported.

In addition, many people who regularly use platforms like Facebook or Twitter report high level of stress, she added.

Social media is often described as being more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol. With the worst social media apps being Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat when it comes to addiction. TikTok is the latest social network with addictive qualities, she said.

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Replying to a question she said social media is a modern phenomenon, revolutionizing the way that consumers seek information, communicate with one another and interact with businesses.

There are three billion active users of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram, with numbers increasing at an estimated one million each day.

It might be a bit hard to believe at first but social media has had many negative results in the past few years as well, she added.

She said, this one probably comes as no surprise, but social media helps you to form unrealistic expectations of life and friendships, moreover it physically isolates people as mostly everyone prefers to stick with electronic gadgets to stay active on social media only.

The social media platforms severely lack online authenticity. Social media has done a lot of good things. It helped people to reach out to like-minded people on the internet. It has helped in the advancement of businesses and organization.

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It has also improved the way people learn nowadays. While this can be a good thing sometimes, overuse of it also comprises negative impact of Social Media as well, she opined.

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