Social Media and its Affect on Your Brain 
"Social Media and its Affect on Your Brain"
Social Media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are popular worldwide, but studies show that they may be affecting your brain in ways you didn 't know. Studies have linked excessive social media usuage to increased spending, overeating, low self-esteem and much more. The popularity of social networking sites has rapidly increased over the past few years. Social networks provide many kinds of services and benfits to its users like helping them to connect with new people, share opinions with likeminded people, and stay in touch with old friends and colleagues. Browsing these sites can make you feel connected to a larger community, but such an easy connection can have its downsides. New research found that it might make you spend more money. Heavy social media use might be correlated to lower self-control, which marketing experts believe could lead to higher spending. Columbia University Professor Keith Wilcox says "Ultimately, the way you counteract this is by raising your self-awareness". Excessive use of social media is also found to alter your appetite. According to 'Women 's Health ', food photos can activate the brain 's reward center and compel viewers to overeat. One study suggests that even looking at food images after a meal can trigger hunger. Social media use also messes with your ability to think independently. One study from HP labs found that people were more open to peer pressure with social networks. Subjects were more likely to change their minds about "liking" certain things if enough time had passed and they could see that the other side was even moderately popular. Additionally it also hurts your self-esteem. When two German universities joined forces to investigate social networking, researchers discovered that one in three people surveyed felt worse (lonely, frustrated or angry) after spending time on Facebook due to perceived inadequacies when comparing themselves to friends.
Social Media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are popular worldwide, but studies show that they may be affecting your brain in ways you didn 't know. Studies have linked excessive social media usuage to increased spending, overeating, low self-esteem and much more. The popularity of social networking sites has rapidly increased over the past few years. Social networks provide many kinds of services and benfits to its users like helping them to connect with new people, share opinions with likeminded people, and stay in touch with old friends and colleagues. Browsing these sites can make you feel connected to a larger community, but such an easy connection can have its downsides. New research found that it might make you spend more money. Heavy social media use might be correlated to lower self-control, which marketing experts believe could lead to higher spending. Columbia University Professor Keith Wilcox says "Ultimately, the way you counteract this is by raising your self-awareness". Excessive use of social media is also found to alter your appetite. According to 'Women 's Health ', food photos can activate the brain 's reward center and compel viewers to overeat. One study suggests that even looking at food images after a meal can trigger hunger. Social media use also messes with your ability to think independently. One study from HP labs found that people were more open to peer pressure with social networks. Subjects were more likely to change their minds about "liking" certain things if enough time had passed and they could see that the other side was even moderately popular. Additionally it also hurts your self-esteem. When two German universities joined forces to investigate social networking, researchers discovered that one in three people surveyed felt worse (lonely, frustrated or angry) after spending time on Facebook due to perceived inadequacies when comparing themselves to friends.
Cited: Beres, Damon. "5 Weird Negative Effects of Social Media on Your Brain." rd.com. The Reader 's Digest Association, LLC. 2014. Claudia. "6 Reasons Why Social Networking Is So Popular These Days." brandigity.com. November 28, 2012. Brandigity, LLC. 2013. All Rights Reserved. Henderson, Maureen. "3 Reasons You Should Quit Social Media In 2013". Forbes.com. December 29, 2012. Jung, Brian. "The Negative Effects of Social Media on Society and Individuals." smallbusiness.chron.com. Milwaukee, Demand Media, Copyright 2014.