Social media: How much is too much

1  “I hate you!” the wild-eyed teenage girl shouted as she kicked her father before biting his arm. This was the second time that week that Zoey had flown into a violent rage because her parents had taken away her access to social media.

2  At our psychiatric clinic, when her parents, David and Amanda, came to enlist our help for her sake, they described Zoey as a sweet, happy girl and a good student. She loved playing soccer, hiking, and taking mountain bike rides with her dad. David and Amanda, supportive parents with college degrees and their own tech business, were startled by Zoey’s social media addiction. “It all started after she came home in seventh grade with a notebook the school had given her,” they said. This brand-new computer, provided for classwork, contained many online chat apps.

3  Soon they noticed Zoey was devoting her late-night hours to chat rooms and seemed fascinated by videos and online games. Their daughter changed from a sweet, innocent child who enjoyed spending time with them into a rude, angry terror. Her academic performance declined, and sadly, she ended up needing psychiatric treatment.

4  Given that the teenage years are a time of dramatic change for most kids, Zoey may have been headed for trouble with or without social media. It’s also true that many students use social media responsibly without compromising their health or school performance. However, growing evidence shows that social media impacts some human needs, and absorption in the digital world can generate a number of psychological problems – from addiction to depression. Young people are especially in danger of a breakdown.

5  One human need considerably impacted by social media is social connection. No doubt, social connection is an essential part of being human and also a significant factor contributing to happiness and health. Thanks to social media, we are the most connected society ever in history. Worldwide, approximately 3.5 million emails are sent per second. Predictably, the younger you are, the more you text. Yet the rise of social media is problematic, for it goes along with an apparent decline in mental health. More people have reported symptoms of being depressed in recent years than in the 1980s. Today’s teens, in particular, are more likely to have trouble sleeping and more likely to need a professional for their mental health problems.

6  Certainly, numerous other factors may be driving this trend, but preliminary research links depression with social media usage. A University of Houston study found that the more time college students spent posting and chatting online, the greater the chance they would experience mild depression. The researchers attributed this to something called social comparison. When we compare ourselves to others online, it hurts our self-confidence. We think everyone is doing better than we are. But this is misleading since other people usually post only their successes and good news.

7  It has also been discovered that spending too much time online is interfering with or even causing withdrawal from face-to-face encounters. That is troubling because we know that we can get physically and psychologically ill if cut off from human influence. We improve our emotional state largely through being out in society. Not getting the right kind of human contact and support at key developmental periods of childhood may lead to serious emotional and psychological problems.

8  Another basic need impacted by social media is the need for novelty. Our human brain is biologically prepared for novelty, which, in turn, has helped us survive disastrous environmental change. Unfortunately, this natural thirst can become obsessive in the information age, in which every post, text, email, and online photograph is an opportunity to experience something new. As with an ardent chocolate lover at a candy store, the many choices are too stimulating, even exhausting.

9  Social media, which feeds our needs for connection and novelty, risks causing social problems and also undermining people’s mental health. If kids develop compulsive texting and social media habits, like Zoey, they can suffer badly. It’s high time that educators and families rethought how to change the extent to which we expose our children to social media. As for David and Amanda, they would do anything to have their sweet, loving Zoey back. 

社交媒体：何种程度算过度

1“我恨你们!”那个怒目圆睁的十来岁女孩一边踢她爸爸，一边吼道，然后还咬了爸爸的胳膊。这是那个星期佐伊第二次大发脾气，因为她爸妈不让她使用社交媒体。

2 在我们的精神科诊所里，当佐伊的父母，大卫和阿曼达，为了佐伊来向我们寻求帮助时，他们说佐伊曾是个可爱、快乐的女孩，还是一个好学生。她爱踢足球、徒步旅行，还喜欢和爸爸一起骑山地自行车。大卫和阿曼达都是大学毕业生，拥有自己的科技公司。作为一直鼓励、支持女儿的家长，他们对于佐伊的社交网瘾感到吃惊。“这一切都是从七年级时她把学校给她的一台笔记本电脑带回家开始的。”他们说。这台供完成课堂作业用的崭新电脑里装有不少网上聊天软件。

3 很快，他们就注意到佐伊把深夜时间都花在了在聊天室聊天上，而且似乎对视频和网络游戏也很入迷。他们的女儿从一个喜欢和父母在一起的可爱、天真的孩子变成了一个粗鲁、易怒的讨厌鬼。她的学习成绩退步，而且令人痛心的是，她最终需要接受精神治疗。

4 鉴于青少年时期是大多数孩子发生巨大变化的阶段，无论有没有社交媒体，佐伊可能都会出现问题。而且，许多学生确实能自律地使用社交媒体，并不会影响自己的健康或学业。但是，越来越多的证据表明，社交媒体会对人们的一些需求产生影响，而且沉溺于数字世界会引发一些心理问题——从网络成瘾到抑郁。年轻人尤其可能发生精神崩溃。

5 深受社交媒体影响的一种人类需求是人际交往的需求。毫无疑问，人际交往是人类的一个本质特征，也是影响幸福和健康的一个重要因素。由于有了社交媒体，我们成为有史以来联系最密切的社会。每一秒钟，全世界发送的电子邮件将近350万封。可以预见，你越年轻，发的短信越多。然而，社交媒体的兴起也引发了问题，因为随之而来的是心理健康的显著恶化。与20世纪80年代相比，近几年来有更多的人表示他们有抑郁症状。特别是现在的青少年，他们更容易有睡眠障碍，而且更可能需要专业人士帮助他们解决心理健康问题。

6 当然，可能有众多其他的原因推动了这种趋势，但是，初步研究表明抑郁和使用社交媒体有关。休斯敦大学的一项研究发现，大学生在网上发帖和聊天的时间越多，他们患有轻度抑郁的可能性就越大。研究人员把这归咎于某种被称为社交攀比的现象。当我们在网上把自己和他人相比较时，我们的自信心就会受到伤害。我们认为每个人都比我们过得好。但这是误导，因为其他人通常只把他们的成功和好消息发到网上。

7 人们还发现，花太多时间上网正在干扰甚至使人放弃面对面的交往。这一点令人不安，因为我们知道，假如我们脱离人际影响，我们的身心都会出现问题。很大程度上，我们通过融入社会来改善我们的情绪状态。在儿童成长的关键期缺乏适当的人际接触和人际支持可能会导致严重的情绪和心理问题。

8 受社交媒体影响的另一种人类基本需求是对新鲜感的需求。人类的大脑天生追求新鲜事物，这进而又帮助我们在恶劣的环境变迁中生存下来。遗憾的是，在信息时代，这种与生俱来的渴求会变得难以抑制，因为每个帖子、每条短信、每封电子邮件和每张网上的照片都是体验某种新事物的机会。就好比一个狂热的巧克力爱好者来到糖果店里，众多的选择会成为过度的刺激，甚至使人疲惫。

9 社交媒体满足我们对人际交往及新鲜感的追求，同时也存在导致社会问题以及损害人们心理健康的风险。如果孩子们像佐伊一样，形成了强迫性的发短信和使用社交媒体的习惯，那么他们可能会深受其害。现在是教育工作者和家庭重新思考我们如何调整孩子们的社交媒体使用程度的时候了。至于大卫和阿曼达，他们愿不惜一切代价来换回他们可人的、有爱心的佐伊。