Social Media and Your Brain
Do a quick Google search on how social media affects your mood, and the results make it seem like all the social media platforms will plunge you into depression. Facebook shows everyone’s perfect life and exotic vacations. Expertly curated selfies abound on Instagram. But, if you look at the actual research, the results aren’t that simple.
All social media platforms are not created equal. The relationship between social media use and depression is complex, depending on what platform you use and how you use it — it can make you feel lonely and down, or it can make you feel more connected and supported. This is especially true with Snapchat. It’s pretty new to the research world, so it hasn’t been studied for that long. But, it may be that Snapchat affects your brain in a fundamentally different way.
TEACHERS: Guide your students to practice civil discourse about current topics and get practice writing CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) responses. Explore lesson supports.
Learn More…
ARTICLE: Facebook Blues: How You Use the Site Can Make You Depressed, Say Research (KQED Science)
GUIDELINES: Feeling Lonely? Too Much Time On Social Media May Be Why (NPR)
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