Social Media has quickly become one of the most prevalent issues among high school students. It has been the biggest form of communication among teenagers across the globe in recent years. Most apps are able to provide direct messaging as well as very consistent entertainment throughout the day. The real question we have to ask ourselves is whether these applications are a net positive for us young adults.

I sent out a survey to just over 30 of my highschool peers asking them to reflect on their own personal use of social media. There was a wide range of answers ranging from thinking their time spent on social media was completely useless, to students having very productive periods of time using social media. The overall consensus was that social media was a bigger waste of time than it ever could be as a productive tool. When Junior Rivi Berro filled out the survey she answered saying she only finds social media useful “for communication purposes.” This seemed to be a common theme among most of the responses. Many after Berro were also quick to recognize the limit of benefits these apps can provide.

To put it simply, the time that social media apps waste far outweigh any positive productive values they may have. This is not only my opinion, but the idea that these apps are a waste of time is shared by most everyone of my peers. While everyone can recognize that they are wasting their time they still choose to use them more and more frequently. When asked why the use continues even after they are able to recognize that it is wasting their time, many respond with things like “addiction” or “keeping up with my friends.” While reasons like this for staying on social media might be true it does not change the fact that it is still wasting our time.

The “infinite scroll” is something that most all frequent social media users have experienced. The dopamine high that these apps give is becoming increasingly more dangerous for these students. A 2020 study conducted on a workplace in India, “How Social Media Affects Student Productivity,” found that workers who used social media more frequently were easily distracted from their work, not meeting their deadlines, had a tendency to seek approval, and experienced sleep deprivation, back pain, and eye strain. These symptoms along with a ton of other negative effects make social media not even worth the time spent on it.

I am not alone in being unable to recall a single time where I have come out of a hour plus long scrolling session and been pleased with my use of that time. The effects of this wasted time are inhibiting social growth as well as completing school work or even simply spending quality time with loved ones. While social media can be a fun and entertaining way of getting a good laugh or communicating with friends it is most certainly not a net positive for young adults. Time wasted on these various apps is time you are unable to get back.

That is exactly why I recommend to everyone regardless of age to limit your time on social media as much as possible and spend your time in much more productive and overall enriching ways.