A UTD survey found that over 50% of students reported some negative effects from social media use. Photo by Ryan Magee | Video Editor
On a typical weekday, psychology freshman Isa Hernandez
finishes her homework at around midnight, and then uses Instagram and Twitter
for about an hour before going to bed. Like other UTD students, she may
experience lower self-esteem and lose sleep due to social media use.
A fall 2018 Student Wellness Center survey of over 1,000 UTD
students found that 75% of respondents spend one to five hours on social media
per day.
Hernandez said she has always used social media very little,
and uses it after her academic work is completed. She said one of the negative
effects of social media for her was negative body image and a small amount of
self-esteem issues.
“I think it’s the type of people that everyone wants to be,
like those travel bloggers and stuff, that everyone follows and wants to be. I
think that would be the main cause of those negative effects,” Hernandez said.
“On social media I tend to be a little bit more stressed, tense almost.”
In the survey, 20% of respondents said social media use
interfered with sleep and 15% said it negatively impacted their self-esteem.
When she has more time, journaling and painting are two activities Hernandez
said she does in place of using social media. She has been journaling for six
to seven years.
“It’s mostly for me about coping mechanisms and how you deal
with negative self-image generally, not just with social media,” Hernandez
said. “I have less anxiety and less stress for sure when I’m doing things that
are not social media.”
To prevent distraction while studying, Herandez uses an app
called Pocket Points which earns the user points for staying off their phone
for allotted time blocks. Those points can then be cashed in for coupons from
clothing stores and food brands.
“I like to do mine in hour chunks or if I feel like I really
can’t concentrate really well then 30-45-minute chunks,” Hernandez said.
Business administration freshman Taylor Vaughan said she
uses Instagram and Snapchat. She has been using Snapchat since 2013 and
Instagram since 2012. She said she spends three hours daily on social media: an
hour on Instagram and two hours on Snapchat.
“Sometimes it’s overwhelming to constantly be checking it,
and there’s just always that pressure to look the best, act the best and be the
best,” Vaughn said. “Also, a big thing is time, because if I’m spending that
much time on social media, I’m not having enough time for other things.”
Survey respondents chose Instagram as the most negative
social media platform, with 38% saying it had the biggest impact on users.
Vaughn said the negative effects of her social media impact her studying and
academic success as well as the amount of sleep she gets. She said she utilizes
screen time on her phone to set limits, particularly at night when she needs to
go to bed.
Computer Science freshman Kamden Wilson said he spends
approximately three hours per day on social media: about an hour and a half on
Snapchat, an hour on Twitter and then about 30 minutes on Youtube and other
platforms. Wilson said he does not use Instagram, but Snapchat appeals to him
because it contains his group chats and is how he talks to his friends
“I don’t really keep up with streaks anymore…there just
wasn’t really a point,” Wilson said. “If I wanted to talk to somebody I don’t
need to consistently send a picture every day, and if you’re keeping a streak
with a random person, it’s not really genuine.”
Of nine different media platforms, Snapchat was voted as
having the fourth most negative environment/impact on users, according to the Student
Wellness Center Survey. Twitter took third place, with 15% of respondents
choosing it as the most negative platform.
Hernandez said she uses Twitter mostly for news, and gets
about 60% of her news from Twitter and 40% from other news sources.
“I think social media informs my political opinions a little
bit, but I like to be educated on that kind of stuff,” Hernandez said. “So I
read a lot from a lot of different sources because everyone is going to look at
it differently.”
Vaughn said she usually hears about social issues on
Instagram.
“I don’t read the news or anything, but if certain things
come up usually people post about it,” Vaughn said. “And if there’s news for
organizations I’m in, those will be on Instagram.”
Kacey Sebeniecher, the Director of the Student Wellness
Center, encourages students to use social media in moderation.
“Know when to disengage, when its not healthy for you,” Sebeniecher said. “Make those boundaries for yourself that I am only going to engage in something positive, and if it becomes too negative for me then I’m just going to take a break.”
Graphic by Alesandra Bell | Mercury Staff