social media | Applied Social Psychology (ASP)

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09
Feb 22

Social Media Influences on Health

The biopsychosocial model is a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors of health and illness. This approach allows mental health professionals to acknowledge other factors that are important in explaining illness. In this blog, I will focus on the social variables within the biopsychosocial model. The social influence of others can have both positive and negative effects on our health (Gruman et al., 2017, p.194). Let’s dive into the negative effects social media has on our overall well-being.

Many advertisements distort body image and portray unrealistic ideals of beauty. Models photographed on billboards, in magazines, and television advertisements look flawless. They have the perfect smile, unblemished skin, ample cleavage, defined abs, a skinny waist, no cellulite, hairless bodies, and are covered in makeup. Most viewers, including myself, neglect to realize that we are being misled by images that are retouched and photoshopped to give them the perfect, ideal look.

The way women and men are portrayed in the media has been an ongoing, controversial issue. High beauty standards and the constant pressure of meeting society’s expectations leads to severe, harmful consequences and lifechanging decisions. We compare ourselves to models and begin to nitpick every flaw on our body. This destroys our self-confidence, body image, and causes us to feel bad about ourselves. Women feel the only way to be accepted in society and be considered beautiful is by conforming to these high, nearly impossible expectations. Most individuals get frustrated when they don’t see results immediately after exercising. Therefore, they switch to easier, quicker methods such as starvation, surgery, dieting pills, botox, lip injections, and implants. Not only can this be costly, but it is also physically, mentally, and emotionally unhealthy. The pressure of conforming to body image standards can cause eating disorders, stress, low-self-esteem, and depression.

Since social media plays a significant role in shaping our attitudes about our health, it can be used in a positive manner to promote health (Gruman et al., 2017, p.195). Fortunately, over the past decade or so, companies, artists, and influencers have promoted positive body image and self-love through social media campaigns. An example of this is The Full Body Project by Leonard Nimoy which challenges societal beauty standards by photographing nude overweight women. Plus-size models have emerged into spotlight and have been using their voice to advocate body image and inspire women of every shape to feel confident in their own skin. The overall goal of these campaigns and global movements is to empower women of all ages, shapes, and sizes, improve their self-esteem, and give them the confidence to be themselves. Although we are on the way to redefining beauty standards, they still exist.

Reference

Gruman, J.A., Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology:

Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage.

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18
Mar 19

Three sources of Media Monitoring

Nowadays, when you are in public you may constantly see teenagers, college students, and adolescents on their phones more than anything. What exactly are they on? What is occupying their time? Social media and dating apps seems to be the current social craze. Researchers found that about 80 percent of social media posts are self-focused, while around 30 to 40 percent of one’s speech is comprised of self-disclosing information about oneself to others (Mahamid & Berte, 2019).

Authors found that if someone is responding or talking about one’s own opinions, it promotes an increase in neural activity (Mahamid & Berte, 2019). Although social media is only growing, there truly is not a lot of professional assistance on how to correctly use it in a healthy or positive manner (Mahamid & Berte, 2019). Parents should monitor and time their children’s screen time on their devices because many times over the parents don’t know what websites or social media apps their children are even on. A nonprofit resource that was founded in 2003 for parents to read about reviews, different games, age-appropriate apps, books, movies, and television shows for their kids is called Common Sense Media. A link to this website can be found here: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

The founder of Common Sense is named Jim Steyer, who is also an author of the book titled The other parent: The Inside Story of the Media’s Effect on our Children. The main message of that book to parents is that the media, television, and movies all have detrimental effects on adolescents. What’s interesting is that Jim recommended in the book that parents should put their children on health media diets, but this book was published back in 2003, before Facebook or any of the big social medias were launched except for Myspace. Jim’s main goal of Common Sense is to empower parents with the proper resources and information they need about technology and the media in order for them to advocate for their children (Our Impact, n.d.). Only three years after the launch of Common Sense, it instantly became the “largest independent source for media and technology reviews” back in 2006 (Our Impact, n.d.).There are many links on the Common Sense site, this link contains a parent blog https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog and there even is a parent concerns webpage found here https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent-concerns as a source for adults to ask questions about anything related to the media or internet as a way of helping others to understand more through this digital age (Our Mission, n.d.). A few examples of some past-asked questions on the parent concerns webpage include asking about cyberbullying, questions on Youtube monitoring, and how much screen time is the right amount for their child.

The media is making more and more parental challenges. MySpace started back in 2003, where Youtube launched in 2005, Twitter started in 2006, and even Facebook changed its law into allowing 13 year olds to join in 2006 (Our Impact, n.d.). There is a drastic increase of adolescent’s time spent on their mobile devices because of these social media platforms. A study that tested the frequency of social media usage among 13 to 17 year olds found that 27% of teens are checking their social media hourly, while only 19% of teens do not use social media at all (Knutson, 2018). More statistics from this study can be seen in Figure 1 below.

Image source: https://d1e2bohyu2u2w9.cloudfront.net/education/sites/default/files/tlr-blog/frequency.png

Adolescents see more positive effects than negative effects regarding social media (Knutson, 2018). Researchers have found some common characteristics of addicted social media users such as poor impulse control, low self-esteem, depression, and feelings of social isolation (Mahamid & Berte, 2019). However, about 57% of teens do believe that social media distracts them from other tasks such as homework. This may be why texting is now considered the most favorable means of communication amongst teens even more than communicating in person (Knutson, 2018). A 2012 vs 2018 study compared the ways teens preferred way of communication, which found that the least preferred way is through video chatting at 10%. Additional information about the study can be found in the diagram below.

Image source: https://d1e2bohyu2u2w9.cloudfront.net/education/sites/default/files/tlr-blog/face-to-face-title.png

More research is being conducted to see what the correct amount of screen time is for adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics created the “Family Media Use Plan tool” that can be used for children of the ages of 18-24 months, 2-5 years, 6-12 years, and 13 to 18 year olds. The “Family Media Use Plan tool” creates a personalized media plan for your family. First you enter the name of your family, and your children’s names, and ages using the drop down menu. After that you are prompted to a page that allows the parent to decide what the device curfews are, what rooms the devices will charge in, what rooms are screen-free zones, what hours are screen free times such as before bedtime, while crossing the street, or during dinnertime, when it is appropriate to have recreational screen time, digital safety rules, and so much more. The tool allows you to selected predetermined options or you have the ability to type in your own responses to any of the categories. After the parent selects the appropriate categories and checks off the categories, the site will generate a personalized family media plan based off the results.If you want to create your own family media plan, please do so here.

Something else was created called the Media Time Calculator, which allows the parent to add their children’s media use into a personalized scale that tells you how much time is used for screen time, for chores, for reading, homework, family time, for sleep, and more. This calculator can help the child to see truly how much of their day is taken by their media use. To access the Media Time Calculator, feel free to find it here. There are also more media use recommendations provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which involve setting the appropriate screen time of high quality programs for young children who are of ages two to five to only one hour a day (American, 2016). But for children who are a bit older than the age of six, their media screen time should be strictly limited in order to make sure media use does not deter their children’s physical activity or sleep schedule (American, 2016). The AAP recommends on having different media-free times throughout the day, as well as media-free locations in your house (American, 2016). The discussion of cutting out excess periods of the media from your daily life is considered a “media diet”. There are even sites out there who provide media diet pyramids as a way to help people to see the main problem of their daily media consumption. The underlying question here is, how will you consume your media and not let it consume your life?

References

American Academy of Pediatrics announces new recommendations for children’s media use. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx

Knutson, J. (2018, September 10). What new research on teens and social media means for teachers. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/what-new-research-on-teens-and-social-media-means-for-teachers

Mahamid, F. A., & Berte, D. Z. (2019). Social media addiction in geopolitically at-risk youth. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 17(1), 102-111. doi:10.1007/s11469-017-9870-8

Our Impact. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/our-impact/

Our Mission. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission

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19
Oct 18

Dark Side of Social Media

Social media has given us the opportunity to communicate around the world. We can talk to someone across the country or hemisphere with a touch of a few buttons. With so much positive coming out of social media many don’t realize there is a dark side, and many are being affected. Cyber bullying is one of the main negative aspects of social media. In a world that can make a video go viral in matter of minutes it can alter the life of the recipient.

So, what exactly is cyber bullying? This is a form of bullying similar to what happens in social environments. The main difference is that cyber bullying happens of electronical devices, social media, and text messaging. (What Is Cyberbullying) Cyber bullying is harder to see and if the individual being victimized does not speak up it is difficult to aid. Cyber bullying is becoming more common and steps need to be taken to minimize exposure. Anything posted on social media is open to the public and parents to have discussions with their children to help protect them.

1,089 11 to 25-year old’s where surveyed and half said to have received negative commentary. (Social media firms ‘failing’ to tackle cyber-bullying. 2018, February 26) The troublesome information the survey released is that two-thirds said they would not tell their parents if something upset them online. (Social media firms ‘failing’ to tackle cyber-bullying. 2018, February 26) Kids try to handle these situations on themselves but if they don’t receive the proper help the problem keeps getting bigger and bigger. This is when individual become secluded and depressed, slowly they start to shut everyone out of their lives.

Social media is a great asset to have, it is a great tool to use for collaborations or network. What people need to keep in mind is that like everything there are negative people out in the world and many feel brave or superior sitting behind a screen. Media has created a culture that many try to mimic and if a person does not necessarily fit that description they are seen as an outcast. Re-posting and sharing information that is meant for entertainment when it affects an individual is what these social media companies need to keep track of.

Social media firms ‘failing’ to tackle cyber-bullying. (2018, February 26). Retrieved October 19, 2018, from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43197937

What Is Cyberbullying. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2018, from https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html

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15
Apr 18

Beware What You Tweet For

I’ve mentioned before how social media and technology has connected us all as a one giant community. This connection has not only changed how we interact as a group but also creates a new method for social change. Taking a look at recent “viral” causes such as the recent debate on the second amendment and firearms, people such as David Hogg are utilizing social media in order to enact social change. Through just a few taps of a finger it is possible for a regular, normal, person to get in touch with thousands of others who potentially view the situation in question in a similar light (Gomez & Zdanowicz, 2018). This new ability almost seems to bypass the need for trained social intervention activists, allowing the layman to become one all by themselves and in essence creating the perfect example of a participatory researcher, one who is involved in the work the are researching themselves.

However, this ability to reach out and capture a large group’s attention almost creates a “beware what you wish for” approach in that you may not like the results that are created. In the wake of the Parkland School Shooting a group of students took to social media demanding a change in school safety and firearm control. In a controversial response the schools enacted new policies of mandatory clear backpacks and tighter security measures. The new policy, while arguably creating a safer environment, wasn’t exactly the change that the student’s were striving for, leading to a largely angry response on their part (González-Ramírez, 2018).

My point in all of this is that while technology is great, it is important to fully understand the concepts that you are proposing be changed. In this instance the activists suffered from the flaw of having an unclear message. Most would agree that the real change that the activists were trying to achieve was a change in firearm control, legislation, and regulation. However, in an effort to make it more engaging, appealing, and to tie it to an emotional event they re-branded the message as a social change movement demanding change in school safety. This allowed the school systems to respond in a way that was beyond their desired outcome, in a way they did not wish, and are most definitely not happy about (González-Ramírez, 2018). While I am not looking to debate the merits on either said of this social change movement, the point that I am wishing to make is that while it may be easy and quick for any of us to initiate a social change movement in our own community it is also crucial that the desired goals of the movement be clearly expressed so the desired outcomes can be achieved.

González-Ramírez, A. (2018). Here’s How the Parkland Students Feel About Their New Clear Backpacks. Retrieved From: https://www.refinery29.com/2018/04/195395/marjory-stoneman-douglas-students-clear-backpacks-reaction?bucketed=true&bucketing_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Gomez, I., & Zdanowicz, C. (2018). A Brief History of how Parkland Survivor David Hogg Keeps Schooling Lawmakers on Social Media. Retrieved From: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/28/us/david-hogg-social-media-trnd/index.html

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16
Mar 18

“Social Media” Disorder

Research has demonstrated that media can influence the ways in which people behave. For example, violent media can lead to a temporary increase in aggressive thoughts or long-term imitation of aggressive behaviors (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Nonviolent pornography has been demonstrated to alter the attitudes of men and women towards their families and has even been shown to alter men’s views towards women in general (Schneider et al., 2012). Even worse, media has the power to influence an individual’s perception of societal issues due to a technique called framing. This technique refers to the way in which an issue or story is presented, either in a negative or positive way (Schneider et al., 2012). Simply put, these findings confirm the influence of media on behavior. Unfortunately, it seems that many of these influences result in negative outcomes. As such, can certain types of media exposure lead to psychological disorders, such as depression or anxiety?

To answer that question, it is important to emphasize the ways in which people can be exposed to media. No longer is media exposure limited to television, print or radio. Now, people have numerous ways in which to access media. Tablets, smartphones, computers and smartwatches are all devices that keep people “connected.” The problem is that people are constantly engaging with media activity, so the level of overall connectedness remains quite high (Khang, Kim, & Kim, 2013). With respect to this discussion, the focus will remain solely on social media usage. Additionally, an important distinction to make is that social networking and social media are not the same. While typically used interchangeably, social media relates to the capabilities of sharing, collaborating or producing content online, through a variety of platforms; whereas, social networking is specific to connecting people, more accurately described then as a type of social media (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017).

Does this near-constant connection with social media influence our emotional or psychological well-being? Interestingly, there are a few different answers to that question. In one seven-year longitudinal study, 308 of 4,142 participants (7.4%) reported symptoms of depression, which is argued to have resulted from social media use and exposure. Further, the higher the level of exposure to social media, the higher the likelihood of developing full-blown depression (Primack, Swanier, Georgiopoulos, Land, & Fine, 2009). Hawi and Samaha (2016) found that there was no relation between social media and life satisfaction, which has also been demonstrated in previous studies. However, it was found that social media does have an influence on overall levels of self-esteem, with higher social media use resulting in lower levels of self-esteem (Hawi & Samaha, 2016). It was found in a separate study that the use of multiple social media platforms resulted in higher levels of depression and anxiety; however, it was suggested that symptoms were not a result of time spent on social media but a result of the number of platforms utilized (Primack et al., 2017).

The last finding is especially intriguing, as the argument seems to typically be that individuals who spend more time interacting with social media are those more likely to experience anxiety or depression. Instead, it seems that higher levels of anxiety and depression result from the use of multiple social media platforms. To further support this argument, a national survey of 1,787 young adults found that those who reported using the most social media platforms – seven to 11 (i.e. Reddit, Tumblr, Vine) – were three times more likely to experience depression or anxiety (Zagorski, 2017). Two potential reasons for this stem from multitasking and social acceptance. With respect to multitasking, individuals are typically switching from one social media platform to another, and studies have shown that multitasking leads to poorer attention, mood or even cognition (Zagorski, 2017). With respect to social acceptance, individuals might feel pressured to keep up with current trends or the culture of each platform, thus leading to higher levels of anxiety (Zagorski, 2017).

Given all the information above, it seems plausible to argue that social media use can lead to negative psychological outcomes such as depression and anxiety. Granted, it must also be made clear that the suggestion here is not that social media causes these disorders. However, there is strong evidence to demonstrate that the risk of experiencing these disorders increases relative to the number of social media platforms that are utilized. In all, additional research must be completed to provide a better understanding of social media relative to psychological health. Without this research, a true “social media” disorder may become our new reality.

References

Hawi, N. S., & Samaha, M. (2016). The relations among social media addiction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in university students. Social Science Computer Review, 35(5), 576-586. doi: 10.1177/0894439316660340

Khang, H., Kim, J. K., & Kim, Y. (2013). Self-traits and motivations as antecedents of digital media flow and addiction: The internet, mobile phones, and video games. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2416-2424. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2013.05.027

Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social networking sites and addiction: Ten lessons learned. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3), 311. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14030311

Primack, B. A., Swanier, B., Georgiopoulos, A. M., Land, S. R., & Fine, M. J. (2009). Association between media use in adolescence and depression in young adulthood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(2), 181-188. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2008.532

Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Barrett, E. L., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., & James, A. E. (2017). Use of multiple social media platforms and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A nationally-representative study among U.S. young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.013

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Zagorski, N. (2017, January 17). Using many social media platforms linked with depression, anxiety risk. Psychiatric News. Retrieved from https://psychnews-psychiatryonline-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2017.1b16

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18
Mar 17

Social Media and Todays’ Youth

As we have advanced in technology and ways to communicate, when it comes to social media and todays youth, we are not in a place that we want to be. There are some major issues with social media and how it is negatively effecting younger people’s lives. There are several different types of social media websites out there in the cyber world. Websites such as Facebook, twitter and My Space are very popular amongst younger people and even adults. What are the issues that exists when it comes to younger people and social media? How can having a Facebook or a Twitter account can be harmful to virtually anyone? What are some ways that parents can protect their children from the issues that arise from social media and harmful websites? These are some questions that are very real and need to be addressed.

We need to know exactly why social media has so much power and influence on today’s youth. Social media has greatly affected the way todays youth spend their leisure time. However, with the rise in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, more and more people are logging in everyday just to interact and share information with friends and followers. Moreover, social media has also changed the way people socialize and interact with each other. Unfortunately, youth who spend a lot of time on social media are at higher risk for depression, low self-esteem, and eating disorders and more prone to feeling isolated and disconnected (McGillivray N., 2015).

There are websites that can affect a young person’s health but glamorizing a certain behavior that will have a negative consequence on a young person’s mental and physical health. Websites such as pro anorexia emerged as a new form of thin ideal exposure. These types of websites put a positive twist on the negative truth that anorexia is not an illness but in fact a lifestyle choice (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2007). This is a very good example on how often teens and even some adults are being misled by media through its context.

However, there are ways that we can decrease undesirable social media effects in our lives and young people’s lives. One way to decrease undesirable social media effects is by doing research and looking at different sources to see if what we are being told on one website, if in fact it’s true or not. Parents can educate their children by informing them to be very hesitant and careful on what they see on social media. Using technologies can reinforce new social behaviors and ways of thinking, including both desirable and undesirable behavior (Nelson A., 2017). Parents can also limit the amount of time their children spend on the internet and control what sites can be visible to their kids through setting parental control.

Even though social media can be a scary place for younger people, it can also be beneficial. There are countless educational websites that youth can take advantage of and use to get the help that they need in their academics. There is no doubt that the internet can either have a positive or negative effect in our lives and the lives of our children. People, especially the young, are often too open and public with personal information when online and that can have a negative effect in our lives (McGillivray N., 2015). We need to teach the youth to always limit the amount of information that they’re making available publicly. Our safety and the safety of our children on social media are mostly in our hands and we can always take precautions when posting comments, opinions and personal values online. There is always a safer and better way to socialize online, and we need to teach our youth how to stay safe and private when doing so.

References

Bardone-Cone, Anna M. and Kamila M. Cass. What does viewing a pro-anorexia websites do? An experimental examination of websites exposure and moderating effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 40(6). 2007. Pp. 537-548.

McGillivray N., Turbo Future., (2015, October 12). What Are the Effects of Social Media on Youth. Retrieved March 18, 2017, from www.turbofuture.com

Nelson, A. (2017). Lesson 9. Applied Social Psychology: Media/Communications Technology. Presented on the PSYCH 424 Course Content Site Lecture at The Pennsylvania State University.

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14
Mar 16

Social Media Affects Self-Esteem

Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been known to affect a users self-esteem. Self-esteem is defined as an individuals overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. It is a judgment of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self. The opportunities for adolescents to form and maintain relationships within social media and on the internet has multiplied within the past several years. Valkenburg, Peter, and Schouten (2006), conducted a study to investigate the consequences of friend networking sites for adolescents’ self-esteem and well-being. The researchers conducted an online survey among 881 Dutch adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age. The researchers measured social self-esteem, well-being, use of friend networking sites, frequency of reactions to profiles, and tone of reactions to profiles. The research concluded that 49.3% of the reactions to their profile were predominantly negative and 28.4% of the reactions were predominantly positive. The percentages indicate the correlation between social media and self-esteem. Lets be honest, individuals within my generation seek specific things when “lurking” on an individuals profile. Such as the men in my generation follow and seek women on social media who tend to show a lot more skin than they should. The women on Instagram who do not have any issues bearing skin have a high amount of followers over 1,000. Women lurk on a man’s page seeking for their materialistic items such as cars, money, and the way a man dresses. Instances such as these causes low self-esteem to individuals who do not portray these specific items or lifestyles on social media.

USA Today asked 23 Chicago college students about social media and 20 out of 23 students believed social media caused anxiety or added stress to an individual’s life. One female college student believed that social media adds a lot of pressure to be the perfect person, because that’s how individual’s can make themselves look online. A lot of women on social media with low self-esteem issues show their skin and wear revealing outfits to feel “better” about their own body by taking into account how many likes on Instagram or Facebook they receive. The college students have realized it is easy to portray a different version of themselves on the internet. Individuals believe the number of likes on Facebook/Instagram or retweets on Twitter is used as a tool of verification for acceptance within their group of peers. This can cause a domino effect of problems on an individuals self-esteem. An individual will post photos that are outside their character just to seek approval through likes from their peers. This may boost an individuals self-esteem temporarily, but once he or she logs off social media their self-esteem really hasn’t improved.

References

1. Valkenbur, P. M., Peter, J., & Shouted, A. P. (2006). Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescents Well-being and Social Self-Esteem. Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescents Well-being and Social Self-Esteem, 9(5), 584-590. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patti_Valkenburg/publication/6761621_Friend_networking_sites_and_their_relationship_to_adolescents’_well-being_and_social_self-esteem/links/5422d8660cf26120b7a63756.pdf

2.Tally, K. (2014, October 21). Does social media affect students self-esteem? Retrieved March 14, 2016, from http://college.usatoday.com/2014/10/21/does-social-media-affect-students-self-esteem/

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19
Oct 15

Constant Contact

Back in the 80’s (the 1980’s) MTV played music videos (I promise they did – I was there). One of the first regular shows they offered toward the end of the decade was a series called “Unplugged”.

https://youtu.be/loTSZ-fiqfk

(Lage & McCarthy, 1991)

It was a way to feature musical artists in a more intimate setting without amplifiers – hence the title. Today, unplugged has a somewhat different meaning. Unplugging is a broad way of saying that an individual is not connected to media – television, smart phone, internet, tablet, radio, etc. Often when someone says they are unplugged, they are met with a certain amount of derision or scant looks. Why would you do that?

Asking someone to turn off their phone or not access the internet for even just one hour over dinner seems to be a huge undertaking in today’s climate. We see memes pop up on our newsfeeds every day of people sitting right next to each other – sending text messages to each other! Students are gaining access to personal electronic devices at younger and younger ages. Even the baby monitors that new parents use to monitor their newborns are media devices that children are exposed to from the moment they spend their first night at home. What impact does this type of access have on youngsters? On adults? On the fabric of the family? On self-esteem/self-image?

Research completed in the last ten years shows that there is a negative relationship between viewing pro-anorexia website and the self-esteem/self-efficacy of the viewers (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2007). The participants in the study viewed the website for a mere 25 minutes! In the time it takes most people to view an episode of “The Big Bang Theory” on their DVR, women that viewed a fictional pro-anorexia website felt worse about themselves than they did prior. Put that into perspective. If one website viewing of 25 minutes can change a person’s self-image, what would viewing other websites do to other people? And since people rarely spend less than 25 minutes per day on media sources of all varieties, the messages that we are collectively being inundated with each day have a great impact on how we interact with each other and how we feel about ourselves.

Children born in the 21^st century don’t know a world without “Google”. Their access to information has been instantaneous for their entire lives. When they don’t know something, they can “just Google it”. They are never stumped trying to remember the name of the capital of Wyoming (Cheyenne) or who played Han Solo in the movie “Star Wars” (Harrison Ford). These same individuals have become so accustomed to interacting virtually through their home gaming systems and text messages that their interpersonal skills in real-time situations are lacking. I have no children of my own, but I see it in some of the children of my friends as well as in restaurants and other public places. The art of making eye-contact and interacting conversationally is virtually non-existent. What I think of as “typical teenage sulking” is now magnified into grunts, head nods, averted eyes and numerous shoulder shrugs. I get it. Virtual interactions are safer. You risk less because there’s an air of anonymity that comes with texting or playing online games. It’s easy to be brave on the end of a game controller or behind a keyboard. You can say things there that you might not be able to say in person out of concern for the reaction you would receive. Unfortunately, this leads to consequence-free actions and a lack of accountability. As an adult, this saddens me.

It’s our duty as a society to find balance. When we were children and received a new toy, we tended to play with it all the time. Once the shine wore off, we would put it away and revert back to our old favorites. The internet is like the new toy, but it is as shiny as ever. We can’t wait for it to fade. It is our responsibility to remind everyone of the old favorites and that it’s ok to put down the new toy every now and then.

Bardone-Cone, A. M., & Cass, K. M. (2007). What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do? An Experimental Examination of Website Exposure and Moderating Effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 537-548.

Lage, M., & McCarthy, B. (Directors). (1991). MTV Unplugged – The Cure [Motion Picture].

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