The Impacts of Social Media to Mental Health｜社群媒體對於心理健康的影響
國立東華大學英美語文學系
108學年度曾珍珍教授紀念獎學金—英文短文獎得獎作品｜
108 Academic Year Award-winning English Essay of Prof. Chen-chen Tseng Memorial Scholarship,
Department of English, National Dong Hwa University
It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the boom of Social media and how it has become a necessity in our life. People use it for long-distance communication, entertainment, and many more. The usage is simple and versatile for all ages, and most people choose to use social media instead of phone service nowadays. But why is it important to talk about social media? Our generation is already living in a world where social media is taking over our social capability. It is crucial for the people of our generation to be knowledgeable about the impact social media could bring to our mental health and real-life sociability.
社群媒體的蓬勃發展以及它如何成為我們生活必需品的現象已愈來愈難以忽視。人們藉社群媒體進行遠距交流、娛樂等各種活動。它的使用方式對各年齡層都十分簡單多樣，以至於如今多數人更傾向使用社群媒體而非電話服務。但為什麼談論社群媒體如此重要呢？我們這一代已處在一個由社群媒體掌管我們社交能力的世界。充分了解社群媒體可能對我們的心理健康和現實生活的社交能力帶來的影響對於我們這一代來說至關重要。
When we talk about social media, we think of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube. People use all these applications to connect with others from different parts of the world or simply for entertainment, like memes, celebrity gossip, and funny videos. People with similar interests assembles in cyberspace where they can meet and chat. Even though operating in front of separate screens, people from different countries, languages, ages, or even lifestyles have similar interests in the online world. It’s the easiest way to connect and talk to people about things we’re passionate about, but it’s damaging to our mental health when we keep spending excessive time in the online world. Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, and Jeanne Segal, authors of the article “Smartphone and Internet Addiction,” stated that maladaptive use of smartphones can disrupt sleep and cause serious effects on our mental health, memory, the ability to think clearly, and the reduction of cognitive and learning skills.
當談論社群媒體時，我們會想到Facebook、Instagram、Twitter、Snapchat和YouTube等網路平台。人們使用這些應用程式與世界各地的人互相交流，或是單純為了梗圖、名人八卦和搞笑影片一類的娛樂。擁有相同興趣的人聚集在一個可以見面和聊天的網路空間。即使是在各自的螢幕上操作社群媒體，但來自不同國家、不同語言、不同年齡層、甚至不同生活方式的人們都對網路世界有著相似的興趣。這是與人們聯繫並交流興趣最簡單的方式，然而花過多時間在網路世界會對我們的心理健康造成傷害。《智慧型手機與網路成癮》一文的作者們勞倫斯．羅賓森、梅琳達．史密斯和珍妮．席格表示，不當使用智慧型手機會影響睡眠，從而嚴重影響我們的心理健康、記憶力、思維清晰度，並降低認知和學習能力。
Another problem with it is how it grew into an obsession. Social Media provides us with bite-sized chunks of recognition from likes, followers, and comments on our posts. We are enticed to receive an acknowledgment from strangers on the other side of the world by showing filtered pictures that look different in the real world; all of that because every single person wants to look better than how they look in real life. The obsession with being perfect all the time in the internet world lowers our self-esteem in real life, resulting in a high percentage of depression, anxiety, and frustration problems in the early adolescence. It’s no exaggeration to say that our generation is on the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades. According to American psychologist Jean Twenge, rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011, and much of this deterioration can be traced to our phones. The rise of smartphones and social media has caused a great change in our lives, and it has the highest impact on the people who grew up with it. Teenagers nowadays don’t even go out as much as we used to anymore. Why should they when the entertainment and connections with friends to satisfy their boredom and loneliness are at the palm of their hands?
另一個問題是人們開始迷戀社群媒體。貼文中所獲得的按讚數、追蹤人數和留言都是社群媒體給予我們的一種小小認可。我們被引誘去獲得來自世界另一端的陌生人的認可，於是展示了套上濾鏡、看起來不像真實世界中自己的照片；這一切只因為每個人都想在社群媒體上呈現出比現實生活更好看的自己。在網路世界中一直保持完美模樣的執著降低了我們在現實生活中的自尊心，導致青春期初期的青少年們出現憂鬱、焦慮和沮喪問題的比例居高不下。說我們這一代正處於數十年來最嚴重的心理健康危機邊緣絕不誇張，根據美國心理學家瓊．特溫吉的說法，自2011年，青少年的憂鬱症狀和自殺率急劇上升，這種惡化很大程度上可溯源至我們的手機。智慧型手機和社群媒體的興起讓我們的生活產生巨大的變化，而這對於與其一同長大的人們影響最為深遠。現在的青少年甚至不像我們往年那麼常外出。何必呢？反正能消除無聊及孤獨感的休閒娛樂和與朋友的交流工具就在自己的手上。
This brings attention to sociability. Adolescence is the stage of life between childhood and adulthood. It’s the perfect phase to develop the fundamentals of biological growth and social transition. Concurrently, social media is eating away at the ability for people to connect properly in real life. Several studies show that depression can lead to negative mood, difficulty in enjoying chosen activities, and reduction of the desire for social interaction. Furthermore, some people may even feel isolated when they spend too much time alone with their phones. These symptoms will make it much worse for people to find new relationships. Excessive use of smartphones can also cause sleep deprivation, which will pose a risk to our mental health.
這引起了人們對於社交能力的關注。青春期是連接童年和成年之間的階段。這也是建立身體發育和社會性別身份轉變基礎的完美階段。同時，社群媒體正侵蝕著人們在現實生活中適當交流的能力。多項研究顯示憂鬱症會導致負面情緒、對自身選擇的活動難以樂在其中，和降低社交互動的慾望。此外，當人們花過多時間與手機獨處時，有些人甚至可能會產生孤立感。這些症狀使人們更難建立新的人際關係。過度使用智慧型手機也會導致睡眠不足，進而對我們的心理健康構成風險。
Social media has become a part of our lives, but it doesn’t mean it should control our lives. Generation Z needs to realize that there’s more than just magic screens in our lives. Getting on social media all the time just because we’re bored doesn’t seem like a good idea in the long term. Focusing on family members and friends, establishing new connections in real life, limiting screen time, or finding new hobbies can also be a solution to treat addictions to social media.
社群媒體已然成為我們生活的一部分，但這並不意味著它應該控制我們的生活。Z 世代需要意識到生活中不僅僅只有這神奇的螢幕，僅因無聊而不斷使用社群媒體從長遠看來似乎不是一個好主意。關注親朋好友、在現實生活中建立新的人際關係、控制螢幕使用時間或找尋新嗜好也可以成為治療社群媒體成癮的方法。
Works Cited
Blanco, Joel A., and Lynn A. Barnett. “The Effects of Depression on Leisure: Varying Relationships Between Enjoyment, Sociability, Participation, and Desired Outcomes in College Students.” Leisure Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 36, no. 5, 2014, pp. 458-78, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267396961_The_Effects_of_Depression_on_Leisure_Varying_Relationships_Between_Enjoyment_Sociability_Participation_and_Desired_Outcomes_in_College_Students.
Robinson, Lawrence, et al. “Smartphone and Internet Addiction.” HelpGuide.org, 2019, https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm.
Twenge, Jean M. 2017. “Have smartphones destroyed a generation?” The Atlantic, September issue, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/.
英文作者｜Author：英美語文學系 饒欣而｜Sherlyn Feodora, Department of English
中文譯者｜Translator：英美語文學系 楊禹婕｜Kate Yang, Department of English