The Social Effect

It’s been about 10 minutes since I checked my social media. How about you?

Generation Y is all about social media and it’s great that I can share a glimpse of my experiences with others and visa versa but when does it become too much?

When do we get to the point where we decide to set down the phone and actually live and enjoy the moment?

At one point does living become first and sharing our lives second?

More importantly, what is our addiction to social media doing to us?

Like those great food photos on Insta? According to Women’s Health, those photos can actually activate your brain’s reward system and make you want to overeat, even if you’re full.

Social media stats published by Georgia College show a quarter of teens (also considered Gen Y) are using social media at least 10 times per day.

What about feeling connected?

Yes. You do get to see the lives of those who you may not be able to see so often but while you see their daily life, are you as connected as you think you are.

One study by Cornell University points to no. It actually makes it hard for us to distinguish a meaningful relationship with casual ones formed through social media.

How about that list of things you need to get to at work?

Research shows that social media, specifically Facebook, took away 1.5% of productivity in the office. So instead of checking your news feed 5 times a day, you may want to lessen that if not you may have yourself to blame for overtime.

While Snap, Insta and Facebook are awesome and I am an especially huge fan, sometimes opting not to check your feed may help you live in the moment, maybe be more productive and have more genuine conversations.

So ask yourself again, when is the last time you checked your social media.