You and your husband are sitting by the fire. The kids are actually home (a definite rarity). And everybody is together.
Sort of.
Your son is following the latest scores on Twitter. Your daughter is messaging four people on Facebook. Your husband is doing research on LinkedIn.
And you…
The secret’s out. You’re happily stalking your best friend’s new middle-aged love story on Facebook. From the dramatic “kissing pictures” to the unraveling drama with the new boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend he’s had to block, you just can’t get enough.
Yes, that’s our lives in a nutshell. Welcome to the reality of the social media revolution.
While this normal activity seems fun and harmless, it most certainly isn’t. In truth, social media may be silently wrecking your health and your life in the simplest of ways.
Check out these five ways social media can actually negatively affect your health. Are your habits on the list?
1. Accidents From Facebook
Yes, accidents. Before you dismiss this concept as one that is “not going to happen to you,” think about this. It just might sound familiar.
It’s a quick drive. Just before you reach your desired destination, your phone lights up with a Facebook message. The anticipation is driving you nuts. “It’s fine,” you think. “There’s no one in my lane, right?”
Wrong. That very move just might kill you -- even if there are no other cars in sight.
You see, one of the greatest ways that social media affects health comes in the form of accidents while driving.
Consider this tragic example.
It was December of 2013. The holidays were in full swing and Kari Jo Milberg was driving on the highway with kids in tow. Unfortunately, Milberg’s life changed in an instant.
That’s because Milberg crossed into oncoming highway traffic while driving. The result was the death of her 11-year-old daughter and two 5-year-old nieces.
One would ask just what causes someone to cross into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed. Was she trying to break up a fight between the kids? Did she have a heart attack? Had she had a seizure?
Nope. The answer is all-too-common.
She was Facebooking.
When Milberg’s phone was recovered near the scene of the accident, investigators discovered that she had been involved in a Facebook chat just minutes before the crash.
Terrifying.
And this is just one example of a simple Facebook message turning into tragedy. Yes, this could happen to YOU. So always remember that Facebook or any other technological message can wait. It’s not worth the negative health consequences of a serious or fatal accident.
2. Cravings
Ok, so we all crave a little chocolate at times. But did you know that we actually crave social media too?
It’s true. People crave social media to the point that it has become an accepted part of just about everything. And this is a mystery to scientists.
In an attempt to solve this mystery, UCLA neuroscientists studied just why people crave Facebook as a distraction (kind of like that family night we just described).
“The brain has a major system that seems predisposed to get us ready to be social in our spare moments," said Matthew Lieberman, a UCLA professor of psychology and of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences in a press release. "The social nature of our brains is biologically based."
So really, we’re wired for it. And unfortunately, our cravings for Facebook and other forms of social media are only growing larger.
But when does this fascination become an actual addiction?
To answer this question, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale was created. According to Medical Daily, “the scale can facilitate treatment research, clinical assessment and can be used for the estimation of Facebook addiction prevalence in the general population worldwide.”
The process revolves around just how much Facebook affects your life, work performance, and other factors, according to Medical Daily. It even analyzes a person’s desire to stop using Facebook repeatedly without success and how some are faced with a troubled feeling if prohibited from using the site.
How bad are your cravings? Makes you want to monitor your media, doesn’t it?
3. Social Isolation
While social media may seem warm and fuzzy, it leads to isolation when we least expect it. And studies are proving this true.
According to Daily Mail, “a…study from the University of Michigan psychologist Ethan Kross shows how online social media, rather than making us feel connected, contributes to loneliness and reduces overall life-satisfaction.”
According to Daily Mail, “Kross and his team discovered that the more time participants had spent on Facebook, the less happy they felt over time.”
This is because when we use social media, we’re not really present. So we are literally isolated amongst people. Strange concept, huh?
There’s a way to counter this. The next time your family has a “together night” (like the one we described earlier), try a social media free evening. Your kids will be annoyed, but at least the family will be together in the traditional sense.
4. Eye Damage
We spend hours following social media on our smartphones. However, this habit may come with consequences when it comes to our precious eyes.
The culprit here is what is known as blue light. That’s the light that your phone gives off.
According to Business Insider, “direct exposure to blue light can cause damage to the retina. The American Macular Degeneration Foundation warns that retinal damage caused by blue light may lead to macular degeneration, which causes the loss of central vision — the ability to see what's in front of you.”
To eliminate this risk, download an app on your smartphone that filters blue light. After all, no social media extravaganza is worth compromising your vision.
5. Insomnia
Did you know that social media can actually interfere with sleep? That’s right, a sleepless night will only get worse if you turn to Facebook as a distraction.
A 2014 research paper based on workshop conferences at Nottingham University detailed studies on social media and insomnia. The findings clearly point to a need for change in terms of sleep hygiene and social media.
Experts think that the solution to social media and insomnia is to set boundaries in terms of use before bedtime. The paper states that “looking at the research provided related to social media use and insomnia, the only solution according to many professionals is to turn off all technology and to not use social media at least 30 minutes before intending to go to sleep.”
So think twice before you surf social media sites just before bed. After all, you need those important zzz’s.