Social Media Impact

Project Description

In this project I was able to reflect on my own social media habits and review my own usage. I also researched social medias impact on society as a whole.

Social Media Addiction Survey

The results of my "AM I ADDICTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA?" quiz determined that I am:

"...fairly reliant on social media, but there are far worse culprits! Still, it's good to be reminded that UK adults spend an average of 8 hrs 41 mins on screens every day, and 4 hours of that on smartphone apps alone (mainly social media). That's about a third of each day checking apps. Do you need to rethink your social media habits and the amount of time you spend scrolling?"

I tend to agree with this result. Although I rarely check social media first thing in the morning or as the last thing at night, I do tend to check social media frequently throughout the day when I am inactive and feel bored, or when procrastinating on task that I need to complete. I will attempt to limit my social media usage and set time limits on my phone for how long I am able to use an app per day.

Interesting Social Media Statistics

The most interesting statistic I found was referring to the usage of some of the most used apps by age ranges. This chart shows how widely different the usage of these apps are depending on ages and which apps appeal to older generations vs younger generations. I find it fascinating how popular YouTube and Facebook is to older generations compared to a vast majority of the other popular apps.

Social Media's Impact on Society

Social media's impact on society is rather complex. Each user has their own personal experience with social media, especially with the development of algorithms to push media that is best suited for your interest. Social media has both positive and negative effects on society. One negative is the over-consumption of media due to constant access via smartphones, creating poor or even addictive habits of constantly checking and scrolling your phone. There is also the concern of misinformation on the internet that can go unchecked. However, there are some positives that have resulted from this. Now you can find a recipe on YouTube, bring awareness to concerning topics going on in the world, cheap marketing for small businesses, pushing funding for GoFundMe or charitable organizations, etc. Overall, I believe like many things in life, social media is a massive positive in moderation.

Lesson learned

This project allowed me to reflect on my usage of social media as well as realize the amount of media I consume. I often find myself scrolling for a bit too long, whether it's procrastinating on a project or sitting down for a meal, it is important to be aware of how much media we consume and to balance it with real-life experiences. I learned that my social media habits, while not necessarily the worst, need to be improved, and I have taken it upon myself to limit my daily consumption of social media. Overall, this project brought to light how much of an impact social media has on modern-day society and how to balance its everyday impact.

Sources

Ferrer, J. (2022, April 14). The Infinite Scroll effect — How design can hack your brain. Medium. https://uxdesign.cc/the-infinite-scroll-effect-how-design-can-hack-your-brain-996a9b8129d9

‌‌ Gottfried, J. (2024, January 31). Americans’ social media use. Pew Research Center; Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/

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