Social media and mainstream cinema have become an essential part of our modern society; they have been loved by almost all people around the world and we can see that even the elders around us are trying to be more comfortable using these days’ modern technologies. Social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc are used by a wide range of users for communicating with each other among friends, family members, and colleagues which is a convenient way to stay connected with your important ones, explore new things, learn new skills, and lastly, entertain oneself. Along with social media, cinema has also become highly upgraded from having to watch movies and tv shows on boring yet nostalgic televisions to streaming services such as Netflix, HBO, and Disney which you can stream your favorite shows, films, and documentaries if you have a digital device, access to the internet, and a few bucks to purchase a service. Those digital platforms and upgraded versions of cinema have brought us a significant amount of pleasure. However, excessive use of social media and constant watching of movies can negatively affect the mental health, physical health, academic success, and social life of students.
First of all, it is evident that social media and binge-watching movies can have a detrimental impact on the health of students. In the article “The Effects of Instagram Use, Social Comparison, and Self-Esteem on Social Anxiety: A Survey Study in Singapore” by Shaohai Jiang and Annabel Ngien, it says that Instagram does not necessarily increase social anxiety but it can produce a burden on users by social comparison. The results of the study show that “Social media users often compare themselves with others’ appearance, ability, popularity, and social skills. Such comparisons trigger strong psychological responses, particularly when others selectively present more positive information.” (Jiang and Ngien 5) Social media is scaringly addictive because it creates an approval culture where users try to continuously seek validation from other users, the fear of missing out on every update, and psychological triggers such as the will to check instant notifications and to scroll the infinite feed. Not only do social media applications offer a great amount of emotional and psychological distress to their young users about the portrayal of their own bodies and themselves but also those platforms are known to have a significant relationship with serious issues like cyberbullying; when a group of users bombards an individual or another group on the internet with derogatory comments, hateful messages, and threats which is the matter that is destructive for most youths’ mental well-being; causing them to have depression, anxiety, and many other psychological disorders. For cinema, Hollywood still has a number of issues that people need to be aware of; such as not considering the mental well-being of people when they try to produce something based on that group of people. Hollywood is the most famous entertainment industry in the world, yet, it is also notorious when it comes to the portrayal of cultures, misrepresentation of identities, and discrimination. While there are a lot of movies that are worth watching coming out of the factory of Hollywood every day, we can also see stereotypes and even offensive comments on certain races such as Native Americans, African American, or any race other than Caucasians. The reason why these misleading portrayals need to be spoken out is that the cinema has the power to affect young people’s minds, creating them to get ideas of wrongful actions. A large percentage of BIPOC children often has to deal with discrimination and bullying for most of their life just because of the false ideas and information the industry is spreading. The other serious issues within the industries are 1) limited representation and exclusion of the LQBTQ+ community and people with disabilities, 2) create gender-based roles and inequalities, 3) promotes unrealistic beauty standards, and 4) promotes violence usually as a way to solve for most of their problems. The adversities the children had to overcome in their lives caused by the depictions in Hollywood movies and shows are often the root causes of their later emotional and psychological distress.
It is a matter of fact that we will only be physically healthy if we are in a state of mental wellness as defective mental health can absolutely strain our physical fitness down. In addition to mental health, there are also myriad negative outcomes for our physical health from spending long periods using digital devices and watching movies. The false beauty and body norms in media drag one’s self-esteem and confidence down and make young people, particularly teenagers, obsessed with their body weights to the stage where they finally give up food and normal diets. On the other hand, spending long hours sitting in front of a screen is also the cause of many physical health problems such as obesity, trouble with clear vision, etc. In research called, “Association between Screen Time and Obesity in US Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Analysis Using National Survey of Children’s Health 2016-2017,” by Chighaf Bakour and his coresearchers, the outcomes signal that long hours of screen time significantly associated with obesity in children in the U.S but the effects are weaker comparing to those who participate in physical activities. Moreover, binge-watching movies and tv shows can also interfere with the sleeping schedule of preteens and teenagers; consecutive periods of sleepless nights are one of the most destructive factors to the health of youth. The results from the study by Liese Exelmans and cowriter, Jan Van den Bulck called “Binge Viewing, Sleep and the Role of Pre-Sleep Arousal,” indicates that although watching television on a regular basis is not harmful, a higher rate of binge-watching is associated with poorer sleep quality, increased fatigue and many symptoms of insomnia.”
When it comes to the academic success of students who are still in high school and college and have easy access to digital devices, the studies have pointed out that students failing to follow along their academic journey directly relates to using social media and being immersed in the tv shows. In the research article by Audrey Mekler, “The Effects of TikTok Use on College Students,” it is described that social media especially TikTok is highly addictive when you spend more time using them. TikTok is one of the social media platforms where you can share content of your choice such as dancing, cooking, etc, with similar features to other content-sharing applications. It is not a long time ago that it had become popular among almost all teenagers and young adults and the rising of TikTok is definitely faster than any other social media. Many students who participated in the study are the evidence that interacting with TikTok has been the main reason for them to lose track of time, destroy their ability to concentrate on their lecture or pay attention to class, and fail to complete assignments and hand them in on time. In addition to social media, a large number of movies and tv shows trying to get a spot in the mainstream serve as a distraction for students from their incomplete coursework and daily routine. The feeling of being behind our classmates that comes from poor grades on tests, lack of motivation, and decreased academic performance is all root in the movies and tv shows that keep stealing our time right in front of our eyes. The negative impacts of social media and digital cinema do not stop with just mental health; although we can learn new things from them and also them being a good source of entertainment, they serve as the main factor of declining reading habits in all ages of students where literacy skills are crucial for academic success. Although academic success is not specifically the key to our future professions, it still plays a certain important role in determining our professional careers; highlighting our potential for a particular job, and serving as a foundation for our paths. Therefore, failure to perform well academically due to wasting time on unimportant things can be a hazard to our expectations.
Lastly, social media and movie watching are also said to have a harmful effect on the social life of students. As I have written in the above paragraphs, virtual realms carefully crafted by digital devices are so addictive that it causes most young people to love to spend
their time in isolation and decrease real-life social interactions with their close ones as well as peers. It is good to give us a break from our reality when we feel burnt out, however, imbalanced consumption of digital media as a way to escape has its adverse effects. Whereas watching movies, instances in the article called “Effects of Horror Movies on Psychological Health of Youth” by Irem Sultana and her co-authors show that a large number of teens like to spend their time watching movies and that they prefer horror and action movies. Even though teens watch films for entertainment purposes, such films have impacted their minds negatively, causing young people to develop phobias, sleep disorders, wrong behaviors, etc. There is a significant number of films that romanticize aggressive behaviors, substance use, sexual activities, and unrealistic expectations either knowingly or not. Thus, those intruding things have a large influence on the minds of our youths; destroying their relationships with their peers. In spite of movies and tv shows being a form of escapism for busy students, they tend to not only disassociate kids from themselves, and their realities, but also isolate them from real-life social interaction by making students participate less in activities with their peers.
In conclusion, digital cinema and media can have a disastrous impact on the mental as well as physical health, academic success, and social life of preteens and teenagers. While both of the platforms provide students with a convenient way to their success when used in the correct method, exposure to plenty of digital devices is clearly an alarming situation for young brains. Therefore, it is important for parents, educators, and students themselves to be aware of the potential danger and risks associated with social media as well as watching movies and shows and be responsible to set boundaries with those things if needed. Another way to minimize students from wasting their time on those platforms is to limit their usage and encourage them to engage in activities such as reading, sports, and socializing with friends.
Works Cited:
Bakour, Chighaf, et al. “Association between Screen Time and Obesity in US Adolescents: A
Cross-sectional Analysis Using National Survey of Children’s Health 2016-2017”.
PLOS ONE, vol.17, no.12, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278490.
Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Exelmans, Liese, and Van den Bulck, Jan. “Binge Viewing, Sleep and the Role of Pre-Sleep
Arousal”. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, vol.13, no.8, pp. 1001-1008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6704. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Jiang, Shaohai, and Annabel Ngien. “The Effects of Instagram Use, Social Comparison, and
Self-Esteem on Social Anxiety: A Survey Study in Singapore.” Sage Journals, 6 May
2020, https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120912488. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.
Mekler, Audrey. “The Effects of TikTok Use on College Students Learning.” Bridgewater
State University: Undergraduate Review, 2021,
https://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol16/iss1/19/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.
Sultana, Irem, et al. “Effects of Horror Movies on Psychological Health of Youth.” Research
Gate, Mar. 2021, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350496890_Effects_of_Horror_Movies_on_Psychological_Health_of_Youth. Accessed 6 March. 2023.
