Your phone buzzes in the middle of conversation, and you're scrolling through the vast feed of notifications you've received from Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram to see if there's any real interesting news. Yet, you do the same thing on your computer a few seconds later, while trying to get in that assignment you've been working on by tomorrow. Your friend stops you, "Have you been listening to me?" Surely, you may have had this encounter once or twice to a lesser degree, though this hyperbolized situation is nothing but a reminder.
The age of social media has taught users the art of multitasking, something our generation has started to pick up on very frequently. Opening that Facebook icon and seeing the list of comments on the photo you posted the night prior fills you with a sudden shock of euphoria--the delights of being known and seen amongst your whole network of friends, or acquaintances. For some, this is the consequence of a social networking era, and it can, in many cases, replace the main modes of personal communication. But not to worry. At least now you can still catch up with your group's daily exploits while balancing your office or school work, or while you're still with other friends who value your physical presence.
We can become so drowned in the sea of networking, we may forget about our present environment or the tasks at hand. In a study done at Stanford University, researchers suggested that frequent media multi-taskers were prone to many distractions and experience a difference in their style of information-processing, as opposed to those who don't frequently multi-task with social media. According to the results, the latter were able allocate their attention more effectively despite many distractions. This evidence shows how much frequent social media use can alter our modes of thinking and attention span. It's no wonder we see students popping Adderall in the library to get through a night's worth of studying. They may not be frequent users of social media, but nonetheless, they are still involved in a community of people whose habits shift to this mindset, which affects the people around them.
Researchers at two German universities also found a highly negative influence of Facebook on users' moods, ravaged by intermixed feelings of envy and isolation. Amongst the 600 participants in the study, it was found that photos of social interaction and vacationing were the second most common cause of resentment and envy. It is not abnormal to feel so disenfranchised when you see a bunch of your friends out and about, and maybe you're just missing it.
Obviously, there's a price to pay for trying to be in four places at once. We want to be able to focus our attention on that one thing, but we value our "social lives" too highly. It's like trying to get fit but you can't avoid the high fructose syrup foods that satisfy your late night cravings. So if you've lately been feeling those drifts of melancholy or you can't seem to pinpoint why you can't focus on an important project, it might be wise to take a little hiatus from the social media for a day or two to see how your head feels.
