As a Brand and Marketing Specialist, Daniel Gallagher understands the power of all media in guiding opinions, changing emotions, and motivating behaviors. Fake news and disinformation are not new phenomena. Invented facts were published more often than news after the printing press was created in 1450.
But cyberbullying FOMO (the fear of missing out) and social media disorder (or SMD) are unique to the present generation of young people. SMD is defined by NIH.gov as a behavioral addiction that is associated with depression, loneliness, narcissism, low self-esteem, poor sleep quality, and low academic performance. This mental health disorder is caused by increasing and uncontrollable attempts to share and interact online… especially on social networking sites.
Daniel Gallagher has witnessed firsthand the social anxiety and depression associated with young people who spend more time online and less time making accurate, face-to-face contact.
Understanding Social Media Comparison
The desire to belong is a natural tendency even more prominent in young people. While social media can make connecting with others more accessible, it can also attract many young people who are already suffering from anxiety or loneliness. The unique problem with those spending lots of time posting on or scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok is that they tend to become self-critical.
Even a healthy young person, with his/her own worthy and unique talents and personal attributes, will start to self-compare. Social media comparison is a powerful moderator of moods. Envy can lower self-esteem, while the time spent on social media begins a cycle of isolation, loneliness, and depression.
Social media comparison can lead to more severe physical disorders in young people. These include eating disorders, overspending, and general disassociation with those within their immediate environment.
Helping Young People With SMD
While Daniel Gallagher admits he is no psychologist, he does believe there are some simple actions that parents and friends can do to help young people who are fixated on their Facebook likes, their number of social media friends, or trying to “look like” their favorite influencer.
Understand that social media may only be a symptom of an existing challenge, such as depression or low self-esteem. If this is the case, then, of course, parents should seek medical advice from their family physician. Early and positive intervention is critical in these cases.
Next, if there is any predatory behavior, cyberbullying, or online reputation destruction present in the young person’s life, the involvement of school administrators, other parents, and local law enforcement may be critical to the health and safety of all participants.
Finally, Daniel Gallagher suggests that parents constantly offer other avenues for young people to spend their time. This may include setting parental controls limiting a young person’s online time and the websites they can visit. Communicate to young people that self-comparison can be psychologically damaging and that the photos, videos, and posts you see on social media may not always present an accurate picture of reality. Many social media posts are actually ‘fake news’!
