Impact on Relationships
There exists a correlation between the amount of time an individual spends on social media and their perceived feelings of loneliness and social isolation
Wirtz, D., Tucker, A., Briggs, C., & Schoemann, A. M. (2020). How and Why Social Media Affect Subjective Well-Being: Multi-Site Use and Social Comparison as Predictors of Change Across Time. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(4).
When a device is present when people are communicating, it reduces their ability to develop trust, empathy and connection.
Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2012). Can you connect with me now? How the presence of mobile communication technology influences face-to-face conversation quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30(3), 237–246.
People who prioritise in person socialisation see improvements in their mental and physical health as opposed to those who rely on social media as a primary form of socialisation
Rouxel, P., & Chandola, T. (2023). No Substitute for In-Person Interaction: Changing Modes of Social Contact during the Coronavirus Pandemic and Effects on the Mental Health of Adults in the UK. Sociology
Impact on Mental Health
58% of young Australians think their mental health is getting worse, with 42% citing social media as a major reason
Headspace National Youth Mental Health Survey 2020
People who use smartphones for more than four hours a day are more likely to experience higher rates of stress and anxiety
Daniyal, M., Javaid, S. F., Hassan, A., & Khan, M. A. B. (2022). The Relationship between Cellphone Usage on the Physical and Mental Wellbeing of University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9352.
Engaging in hobbies and interests outside of work and school is correlated is correlated with better mental health
Mak, H. W., Noguchi, T., Bone, J. K., Wels, J., Gao, Q., Kondo, K., Saito, T., & Fancourt, D. (2023). Hobby engagement and mental wellbeing among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries. Nature Medicine, 29, 1–8.
Impact on Focus and Productivity
Using our brain as soon as we wake up has the result of skipping essential brain wave functions which promote productivity and critical thinking
Rai, J. (2024, August 12). Council Post: Why You Should Stop Checking Your Phone In The Morning (And What To Do Instead). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2021/04/02/why-you-should-stop-checking-your-phone-in-the-morning-and-what-to-do-instead/
Huamans cannot physically multitask to a high standard - instead humans switch from tasks which incur costs in time, accuracy and stress
Madore, K. P., & Wagner, A. D. (2019). Multicosts of Multitasking. Cerebrum : the Dana forum on brain science, 2019, cer-04-19.
Receiving notifications when engaging in focused work can reduce someone's IQ by 10 points
G Wilson, "The Infomania Study' 2018, Porter-Novelli
Impact on Sleep
Using our devices before bed can prolong the amount of time it takes to get to sleep and interrupt natural sleep patterns
Sinha, S., Dhooria, S., Sasi, A., Tomer, A., Thejeswar, N., Kumar, S., Gupta, G., Pandey, R. M., Behera, D., Mohan, A., & Sharma, S. K. (2022). A study on the effect of mobile phone use on sleep. The Indian journal of medical research, 155(3&4), 380–386.
Sleep disruption has many short and long term health consequences, including psychological and physical issues
Medic, G., Wille, M., & Hemels, M. E. (2017). Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nature and science of sleep, 9, 151–161.