Social media is addictive and an overdose might just make you go insane, Like cigarettes and alcohol and can have an overall negative effect on young people’s mental health, says a new report. Instagram is the most detrimental social networking app for young people’s mental health, followed closely by Snapchat, according to a new report by the Royal Society for Public Health in the UK.
Social media channels Instagram cause anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and bullying, according to the survey. YouTube was found to have the most positive impact, while Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter all demonstrated negative affects overall on young people’s mental health. Instagram draws young women to compare themselves against unrealistic, largely curated, filtered and Photoshopped versions of reality, “Instagram easily makes girls and women feel as if their bodies aren’t good enough as people add filters and edit their pictures in order for them to look ‘perfect’,” an anonymous female respondent said in the report.
On top of that, Instagram and Snapchat – both image focused apps ranked worst for mental health – due to its establishing feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in young people. The photo-uploading platform was found to harm perceptions of body image, increase the fear of missing out and have a detrimental effect on sleep.
Giving up on social media is nearly impossible today. The survey report by RSPH reports something which a lot many of us already know, but, often fail to come to terms with.
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