Use Of social media increases stress and anxiety : Study

Kolkata: Social media is emerging as a major brand promotion platform for corporates, mainly because of the entranced engagements of the targeted audience with social media. While this is an opportunity for brand connect with customers, such deep engagements also have certain cons as far as the psychological impact is concerned. To find out the engagement profile and its impact on the targeted audience, SastaSundar.com initiated a survey-based research on ’The Impact Of Social Media On Life’ through Brandbuddy Engage Analytics, prior to launching their collection of authentic and minimally processed Healthbuddy Granny’s Herbs Potli. “

Social media sites have given people an incredible opportunity to make new friends, reconnect with old friends and acquaintances, share ideas, content and photos. Not only has it been instrumental in connecting people & updating them with the major events around the world, but also has contributed to the overall personality development of individuals through the propagation of informative articles. But the survey undertaken by us revealed some interesting facets where we a majority of the respondents admitted that usage of social media increases stress and anxiety, ” said Mr BL Mittal, Founder & Executive Chairman, SastaSundar.com. ' This Brand Buddy report on social media highlights people’s dependence and inclination towards this virtual sphere.

 The findings of the survey reveal that indeed social media affects the life and thought pattern of its users, ' he added. The participants agreed that they did face stress and anxiety issues due to excessive social media engagements and consented that the regular intake of genuine stress-relieving herbs can lead to a practice that promotes healthier lifestyle among people. The key findings wer that one-fourth of the sample spend countless hours on social media, around 50 per cent spend at least two hours a day on social network sites, while an overwhelming 84 per cent agree that social media engagements interfere in daily life.

Sixty percent of the total sample agreed that it is creating anxiety issue and an overwhelming 90 percent agreed that it is interfering with their sleep and triggering anxiety. For 52 percent of participants, the symptom of stress is sleeplessness while for 14 per cent, it's the increased consumption tobacco/alcohol and for two per cent it’s binge eating. One - third of the respondents said they resort to tobacco or alcohol to deal with stress while 29 percent spend time with their loved ones to do so and 26 per cent take herbal supplements to handle stress.

Over 70 per cent respondents said they were aware that genuine herbs are e?ective in reducing stress. “ The results we received show that because of spending a lot of time on social media and even late night browsing, people have suffered from anxiety issues and hampered their daily activities. For the majority of them, the most prominent symptom of stress is sleeplessness.

The participants also agree that genuine quality herbs can effectively calm the nervous system and reduce stress. They also believe that the regular intake of genuine stress-relieving herbs can help lead a healthy life, ' stated Mr Mittal. Despite all the positive impacts, social media, however, is a two-edged sword. While social media acts as a boon for organizations in advertising their products and services, the sites can distract people from the course of regular commitments and responsibilities, he said. Similarly, students who spend hours on social media deprive themselves of their valuable study and play time.

This sort of harmful addiction often makes people drift apart from their dear ones. Social media's heavy influence on the thought patterns, habits, and relationships teamed with the constant lure of virtual representations often make people sacrifice their real life moments. They also tend to grow an ego-centric, narcissistic, and prejudiced wall around themselves that paves way for insurmountable stress, anxiety, and other negative behavioural patterns. A total of 800 users have participated in the survey; the advantage of this sample is that the participants are active internet users who testify the authenticity of the findings. (UNI)