How does social media affect health? 

Posted onJune 2, 2021

Have you ever wondered what happens to our body when the Internet slows down? It turns out nothing good. This is the conclusion reached by Swedish scientists, who found that slow video loading causes stress as much as watching a horror movie or solving a complex mathematical problem. By itself, slow internet speeds up your heart rate by 40% and increases your blood pressure noticeably. An assessment of the physical and mental health of active Facebook users, carried out by Californian scientists, showed that the more likes users put, the worse their health was, and the more often they refreshed the page, the more likely they were diagnosed with mental disorders.

But what happens to the lives of people who do not use social networks and use gadgets minimally? A little research on the topic allowed us to say that such people spend more time with friends, receive relevant information from them and, as a rule, begin to feel better. And yet we must not forget that communication affects our health in the same way as exercise – and the reality is that today it is social networks that provide it, giving amazing opportunities to overcome isolation.

Why do we check the pages of the former in social networks?

It seems that everyone does this – sometimes on purpose, and sometimes, as if by accident, finding themselves on the page of someone who-cannot-be-named. Some consider this a form of masochism, others do not see anything terrible – and both points of view, of course, have a right to exist. But still: why do people do this?

No, not at all because they dream of reuniting with an ex-partner. Psychologists think that the natural and often subconscious desire of each person to increase their self-esteem is to blame. Former partners, especially if the relationship has been long, become a part of us, so sometimes we want to return to this part, which, although left in the past, is still available on the Internet. The second likely reason for this behavior (which, however, does not exclude the first) may be that regularly returning back – if the separation was painful – allows us to accept the situation, let it go and move on.

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