4 ways social media affects your health

It's true! Spending too much time on social media can affect your mental health.

Lead illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The emergence of social media has allowed us to become masters in keeping ourselves occupied for several hours on our cell phones.

Social media has become a platform to connect with people globally, but its overuse can make you feel lonely and isolated.

Not only that, but obsessively checking Instagram posts and Twitter feeds can knock your self-esteem and can also lead you towards poor sleep.

Here are several ways in which social media can negatively affect your health.

Self-esteem

We always compare ourselves with others, sometimes we accept it and sometimes we don't. However, we might get insecure about others by stalking their Instagram or Facebook posts.

This could lead us towards the feeling of self-doubt.

According to The Independent, a study was conducted by the University of Copenhagen and it was found that many people suffer from Facebook envy.

'When we derive a sense of worth based on how we are doing relative to others, we place our happiness in a variable that is completely beyond our control,' Dr Tim Bono, author of When Likes Aren't Enough explained in Healthista.

Social connection

As a human being, it is important for us to get socially connected with people and meet them in person.

But the excessive use of social media can restrain us from getting out and get social and make friends out of Facebook.

Memory

It is always good to see old memories of past events on Facebook that make you remember certain tidbits from your life.

But have you ever realised that you are not able to enjoy each and every moment you spend with your loved ones as you are busy taking pictures for social media uploads?

'If we direct all of our attention toward capturing the best shots for our social media followers to admire, less will be available to enjoy other aspects of the experience in real time,' said Dr Bono.

Sleep

It is important for all of us to sleep for at least 6-8 hours to charge our body.

But we keep scrolling social media and spend our night chatting with our friends.

This keeps us away from our power nap. Not only this, but the light from our cell phone can affect our eyesight.