Social Media Is Making Kids Less Social, In A Bad Way.

Some of the benefits of social media outlets are undisputable, namely by providing the ability to quickly connect with long-lost friends, enabling far-flung friends and family to stay in touch, and allowing people around the world to take action on issues and causes close to their hearts.

But Millennials, specifically, are so addicted to social media that their real-time relationships are suffering.

That’s according to a 2015 study conducted by photo-sharing app Flashgap, and the results have been confirmed by subsequent studies.

The Flashgap study found that 87 percent of Millenials were so busy scrolling through their social media sites that they have completely missed out on face-to-face conversations; 54 percent fear they will be left out if they don’t constantly check those outlets; and a whopping 76 percent of females check their social media accounts at least 10 times while socializing with friends.

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Cell phones and other mobile devices have “the potential to divert individuals from face-to-face exchanges, thereby undermining the character and depth of these connections,”says a 2014 report conducted by Virginia Tech University.

Social media sites can also cause emotional and psychological upheaval. A study conducted earlier this year revealed 42% of those who use social media sites admit to feeling jealous when their posts don’t receive as much attention and “likes”as a friend’s.

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Posts and reactions to those posts not only have the potential to create feelings of jealousy, but also inadequacy.

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For example, Tedi Gilmartin was among a number of Millenials who gathered together earlier this year to discuss the impacts of social media sites on their lives. She reported feeling “really sad about my life a lot because I see friends travelling and feel I should be doing that too.â€

“Social media has made it easier to distract yourself,”noted another member of the panel.

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“It’s harder to relax — like, to sit by yourself for 10 minutes would feel like torture to most people,”agreed panelist Taren Gessel.

But for all the negative effects on people’s emotional well-being and relationships, there are some benefits users may not otherwise have had — at least, not as easily or visually.

Gesell, for one, found that constantly being on social media sites provided the motivation he needed “to lose a lot of weight.â€

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But thoughts are conflicted. On the one hand, we’re able to interact with more people now than ever thanks to these online outlets. On the other hand, even with Emojis, posts miss many of the nuances and subtle non-verbal cues that provide context in face-to-face conversations. These misinterpretations can lead to explosive reactions and sometimes even bring an end to some relationships.

There is obviously a healthy balance, but as social media takes over more and more of our lives, the more negative effects it seems to reveal.

What do you think?

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