Lucas Chilson
10/29/2020
Throughout time, people have learned that they are social. Many people are shocked by this obvious statement but it’s true, humans are very social creatures. Communication has changed throughout time whether it was by word of mouth or handwritten letters, but humans are now faced with a new problem, isolation. With a global pandemic, humans have experienced isolation with little to no in-person social interaction. However, with the internet, we have brought down these communications barriers. People now have instant access to talk with anyone around the world. Despite all of this incredible access to communication, the world has its eyes fixed on health, and people are now asking if communicating online is a healthy practice, and if we should regulate it. Science argues both sides, but right now it is in favor of this new habit being healthy. The use of communication entirely online can be beneficial for your mental health if used properly.
In the year 180,000 BCE, had developed a way of communication known as talking. While these days we don’t think much of this method of communication, it’s remarkable to note that this “talking era” will last until 3500 BCE. The reason why this was such a long time gap is that to spread knowledge across large masses of land just by speaking is not very reliable. Historians speculate that if someone was traveling with a message only by memory, it would have been likely that the messenger forgot bits and pieces of information. Scientific American proposes a theory known as memory decay which account posits that our memories slowly disappear, fading because of a passage of time during which they have not been accessed.” What this means is that the time the messenger is traveling and isn’t actively thinking about his message, he will slowly forget some of the bits of information, if not all of it. However, once humanity hits the “print era”, the development of communication will progressively speed up. When this specific era started in “the 1800s[,] widespread literacy existed in the world.” We can now exchange information at a reliable pace so that technology can be developed. 200 years later and people now can talk across large landmasses in an instant rather than having to send a message that might be forgotten. Humanity has come full circle with communication by talking, but now instead of sending a message that will take a decent amount across a long distance, we can communicate through word of mouth instantly. But the fact that we can do tasks from the comfort of a chair from home can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and some health experts say that this can change your mental health.
The way communication has changed also changes how we think about social interaction. This also includes how mental health is affected whenever we change our means of communication. When a human is put in isolation, ”Their mental performance [will] suffer too.” BBC Future has discussed the matter of human isolation and has come to the conclusion that without any human contact, your mental state will start to decline. There are even reports of the Chinese government using human isolation on PoWs to brainwash them. The point being, if a global pandemic takes place forcing people to isolate, society has a problem on its hands. This is why the internet plays such an important role in today’s day and age simply because we would be in total isolation without it. With social media apps, people can, as the name implies, be social. But how can these apps improve mental health? Well, it's common knowledge that these apps send rushes of dopamine in a person's head. According to WebMD, “Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure.” In turn, whenever a person is on an app and they get a like on a post, they get a rush of dopamine making them feel good. This is also true in social interactions in general. In a 2006 study on social interactions with birds, scientists tracked dopamine levels when the sound of chirping was played on a speaker. Whenever a sound was played, there would be a temporary spike in dopamine levels as the bird would respond with more chirping. The reason this study is important is that the brains of these birds react similarly to the brains of many mammals, including humans. This is why communication is a must in stressful times. In isolation, people have been noted to start to demonstrate anxiety. If people can talk to each other through the internet, this would theoretically give that dose of dopamine to keep people happy, and studies have proved this theory true. In several studies performed by the California Association of Community Managers (CACM), results have shown that if the person has a decent relationship with the person and both can demonstrate a healthy conversation, mental health can be improved greatly. It is also important to note that the subjects that focused entirely on work or entertainment have shown degraded mental states. With this new knowledge, it is important to maintain a balance of work/entertainment and communication with friends to maintain decent mental health.
Many people aren't fans of this new method of communication and how prominent it is in our society. It has been said, “all things are good in moderation,” and that applies to this situation here. As said earlier, many social media sites give rushes of dopamine. Dopamine isn't inherently bad but when in excess, dopamine can lead to addictions. Some common triggers are things like drugs, alcohol, and gambling. If people put social media on that list, they might think of social media differently, but when controlled properly social media can be a great outlet for connecting with friends. There are also many concerns about cyberbullying online. It should be said first that according to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA), the minimum age for any websites that allow minors must be 13 years or older. At this age, kids should be mature enough to reasonably assess and handle cyberbullying situations. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center’s assessment on popular social media app Discord, there are relatively simple ways to avoid cyberbullying on the site, such as blocking a user or even leaving the server where the cyberbullying occurred. Many of the systems are also available on other social media apps so users should not be worried about having an incident go way too far. It is also important to note, from a mental health standpoint, that if the victim of a cyberbullying incident should ignore what is said and move on from the situation. On top of the two issues previously mentioned, other issues like insecurity and social anxiety are two other problems that are major concerns. Most of these problems can just be reinforced by social/emotional behavior from friends. And even then, social insecurities can always be helped out by a counselor.
With many fears surrounding communicating online, it can be hard maintaining healthy mental health while online. With all of the isolation that people are experiencing in quarantine, the use of online communication has been necessary for most. Nobody truly knows the long-term effects of the habits made in this technological era, so it's up to the user to decide whether they want to use technology to communicate. But for the vast majority of people who do use social media for communication, they can rest easy knowing that the new habits developed in quarantine aren't necessarily bad.
Link to full paper with citations:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j2yZhwBVRYCfCbwfnH8Ljc6k-HlWddCq_GC6R2Xz7z0/edit?usp=sharing
No comments:
Post a Comment