Since the beginning of the unprecedented current digital age, humans have been exposed to new challenges, benefits, and transformations in how they connect, communicate, and perceive the world around them. Navigating this new modern world, humans have been forced to adapt in order to learn how to live with rapidly advancing technology. Among the most significant innovations of this era is social media, a platform that has become deeply intertwined with everyday life. From shaping individual identities to influencing societal norms, social media offers both opportunities for connection and unprecedented challenges to mental, emotional, and cognitive well-being. The presence of social media has encouraged people to shift their lives to virtual platforms acting as virtual extensions of the human consciousness. However, this shift has also brought significant drawbacks, particularly in how individuals perceive themselves, maintain attention, and engage socially. These topics are all crucial parts of a human’s consciousness and affect their every-day existence.
Social media has increasingly distorted self-perception by fostering environments of comparison and promoting curated, often unattainable, ideals. According to the article “The Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale: Development and validation with adolescents” researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have explored the relationship between social media and the extent to which the thoughts and behaviors of individuals regarding their appearance have been affected. The article begins by describing the theoretical perspectives on body image. They first discuss an important developmental phenomenon common in adolescence to address, such as “the sense that others are watching one’s every move”. It explains the “appearance culture” among current young people and how youth are able to fall victim to the idea that appearance is the most important factor. “Young people are especially attuned to physical appearance evaluations of oneself and others, and attractiveness is often central to a sense of self-worth, especially among young women “ This sets the stage for the way that social media is able to have influence on self-perception. Social media provides endless opportunities for social comparison, comments on appearance, new beauty standards, etc., which all aid in engaging in body surveillance. Fredrickson and Roberts’ (1997) objectification theory suggests that the media and prevalence of unattainable beauty standards have caused women to self-objectify themselves due to the idea that beauty is the most important trait in a person. (Science Direct) “ Young women who engage in higher levels of self-objectification report higher body shame, greater depressive symptoms, more disordered eating, and other maladaptive outcomes (see Calogero, Tantleff-Dunn, & Thompson, 2011).” (Science Direct) It is clear that self-objectification in not only women, but also men, has adverse mental and physical problems. Social media has shown to be an environment to foster issues with self-consciousness such as social comparison, self-objectification, and perceived importance in physical appearance.
Social media has also significantly impacted attention and focus, particularly through its constant bombardment of notifications and new information. The article “The Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale: Development and Validation with Adolescents” emphasizes that social media contributes to attention and focus issues, primarily due to its addictive design features. Studies have shown that individuals who often use social media may experience difficulties with maintaining attention, and showing poor focus on tasks that require deep concentration. The continuous input and influx of information can disrupt cognitive processing making it harder for users to filter out distractions. It also mentions that the problematic use is tied to the psychological dependency and unconscious and compulsive need to check for notifications and continue addictive scrolling. All of these can potentially lead to poorer academic performance, reduced productivity and lack of conscious mental behaviors. The constant notifications, likes, and comments which create a cycle of immediate gratification trains the brain to look for quick rewards and dopamine boosts.
Another crucial part of consciousness is having social awareness and being educated on current-day information. The immediate access to information and worldwide information has also shown to have drastic effects on people’s consciousness and has brought attention to the importance of social awareness. The enormous scale of social media has been able to bring people from every corner of the world together to share information, teach, collaborate, etc. which can have adverse effects such as the spread of misinformation and manipulation. A study by Pew Research, “Views of social media and its impacts on society” shows the general opinions of different countries on how social media has affected the political and social awareness of users based on access to information because of social media. From one poll on the potential positive outcomes from social media, 73% of participants believe that users will be more informed about current events in other countries, 45% believe people will be more accepting of diverse ethnic groups, religions, and races, however only 23% believe people will be more civil in the way they talk about politics. Out of the potential negative outcomes, 84% believe it will be easier to manipulate people with false information and rumors, and 65% believe people will be more divided about political opinions. The general agreement shows that people believe that despite users being more socially aware and conscious of current-day events, there is concern over misinformation. It is clear that being socially aware includes being aware of politics because of the crucial impact politics has on society and the lives of individuals. The poll also shows that the majority of people view social media as a way to raise political awareness among the public and elected officials. (Views on social media and its impacts on society)
In conclusion, social media has reshaped human consciousness by influencing self-perception, attention, and social awareness. While it offers opportunities for connection and information sharing, it also fosters environments of comparison and self-objectification, contributing to mental and emotional challenges. The addictive design of social media platforms disrupts cognitive focus, reducing attention spans and productivity. Although social media raises global awareness and provides a platform for sharing, it also increases the risks of misinformation and societal division. While navigating this digital age, it is crucial to remain mindful of both the benefits and the potential drawbacks of social media. Balancing online engagement with conscious awareness and critical thinking can help mitigate these challenges and promote healthier interactions with technology without disrupting the natural human consciousness.
Work Cited
Sophia Choukas-Bradley a, et al. “The Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale: Development and Validation with Adolescents.” Body Image, Elsevier, 17 Mar. 2020, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S174014451930186X
White, Ben, et al. “Digital Being: Social Media and the Predictive Mind.” Oxford Academic, academic.oup.com/nc/article/2024/1/niae008/7631816
“Social Media and the Brain.” Center for Humane Technology, www.humanetech.com/youth/social-media-and-the-brain#:~:text=As%20social%20media%20takes%20on,and%20what%20we%20really%20believe
Pellegrino, Alfonso, et al. “Research Trends in Social Media Addiction and Problematic Social Media Use: A Bibliometric Analysis.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 10 Nov. 2022, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9707397/
Chen, Miao, and Xin Xiao. “The Effect of Social Media on the Development of Students’ Affective Variables.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 25 Aug. 2022, www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1010766/full
Pengcheng Wang a, et al. “Social Networking Sites Addiction and Adolescent Depression: A Moderated Mediation Model of Rumination and Self-Esteem.” Personality and Individual Differences, Pergamon, 12 Feb. 2018, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886918300746
Richard Wike, Laura Silver. “2. Views of Social Media and Its Impacts on Society.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 6 Dec. 2022, www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/12/06/views-of-social-media-and-its-impacts-on-society-in-advanced-economies-2022/
