My thesis for my bachelor was on how social media's cognitive and emotional impact on millennials and generations Z users. it attempts to understand how social media users are influenced, impacted and react to negative experiences online. Indeed, with the rise of social media popularity, social media users may express mixed feelings while remaining skeptical about how to react to particular situation online.
This research was divided into three objectives:
1- To explore how social media impacts users on their decision-making abilities.
2-To recognize how emotional invested social media users are.
3- To détermine how negativity online affects them in real life.
New standards set by Social media.
The outcomes of social media are physical and mental (Zhukova, 2018). According to a few studies, girls use more social media than boys. Social media impacts girls' emotional well-being
more than boys (Cara Booker, 2018), although it equally impacts the general condition of one’s psychological and emotional state. Furthermore, mental well-being has been defining by mental health practitioners to describe experience of a person’s internal life that are often regarded as troublesome, perplexing, or out of the norm. Pew Research centre (2014) found that girls use 61% of Instagram and boys at 44%; additionally, girls use 51% of Snapchat and boys 31%; we can thus see that girls dominate visually oriented social media platforms. Researchers assume that girls make comparisons between them and others. Mai-Ly Steers (2014) reported that comparison-making seems to be the fundamental source of social media's harmful effects. Considering social media as a new technology, there have been little study to determine the long-term effects, positive or negative of its use. Several studies have found a strong link between social media use and an increase of low self-esteem, poor quality of sleep, anxiety (Heather Cleland Woods, Holly Scott; 2016).
Social Media users will post their "best photos", according to Fadi Yamout, Jenny Issa and Alia Ghaddar (2019), that researched "Beauty Standards set by Social media and their influence on Women's Body image", the primary activity on using social media in Lebanon is to expose photos with the accessibility of free picture alteration software such as "RetoucheMe" or "FaceTune”. As a result, it offers to the user a perfect face and a perfect body, without the need for image editing skills; User will share the more attractive photos of them.
Thus, Photos and videos are a highly direct kind of online self-presentation and have grown in power as a type of online social money (Rainie, Brenner, & Purcell, 2012). However, the major cause of concern is the capability to modify SMs images by means of retouching techniques and, as a result, the likely harmful impact that these "perfect pictures" may have on the body image of (young) SMs users. Sullivan (2014) mentioned that they standardise an “unrealistic” body ideal; Thus, they act as examples for young womens it can cause negativity online and offline.
According to research, social media platforms users frequently modify their looks in the contents they publish on SM, and this behaviour is noticeably popular among young females (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008; Philly Renfrew Center Foundation, 2014). Previous body image study has searched the impact of exposure to idealized slender bodies in commercials, periodicals, television, and music videos on young women's body image (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008; Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004; Irving, 1990).
As stated, Richa (2019), the Lebanese University researched students who were exposed to pictures of perfect models with the "ideal shaped"; the findings of the study disclosed that many of the students were dissatisfied with their bodies and changer their diet, leading to eating disorder; from a survey conducted by the university, most of social media users will go on a diet if they are concerned about their body image.
More than 400 million active users have uploaded roughly 80 million photographs a day since the launch of Instagram in 2010 (Kleemans, Daalmans, Carbaat, & Anschütz, 2016, p. 93). Thus, almost all the pictures posted and seen by Instagram users are beautiful photos with filters. Burnette, Kwitowski, and Mazzeo (2017) investigated the association between young girls' usage of social media and body image; as a result, nearly 90% of participants in this survey reported using social media at least regularly, and half reported visiting social media sites many times each day; per the survey, participants compare themselves to friends and influencers content on social media.
Social Media as a significant means of communication
Social media acts as an extension of its common use for communication; Indeed, according to F1 social media user rely on those platforms to “keep in touch” with relatives and often takes the place of the face-to-face interaction. F1 mentioned that sometimes she doesn’t feel the “need to contact or see friends and family in real life” to socialize du to SM. The structure of SM platforms may foster an atmosphere that encourages users to actively interact in an online context. All respondents said they used SM every day continually. Social media is a way of communication for individuals with friends and family on different platforms. The social media “Instagram” and “WhatsApp” were often mentioned when asked, “how often do you use social Platforms and how do you use them” as well as “which social media do you feel the most comfortable and secure with?”. WhatsApp was one of the most cited platforms for communication and safety regarding how individuals keep in contact with their friends and family and share personal information; F7 stated while touching her hair nervously “WhatsApp is probably the platform where I feel the most comfortable and secure because I used it only to communicate with my close friends and family and there are no pictures”. WhatsApp is used by most of the participants to communicate with less concern than other platforms; with a more rapid answer, F3 said, “I use WhatsApp to text my family on group chat as it is an easy way to have contact with them, also with my friends as we plan our nights and meetings through this platform.”. M3 also mentioned WhatsApp as “a more friendly and private” platform to exchange.
Regarding Instagram, five out of the ten participants stated that it was the platforms they were using the most, due to the fact that they were sharing picture, videos, “memes” and communicate throughout this platform. F1 stated that she was using Instagram as “a mean of communication”, accordingly F3 said that it was the platform she was using the most because she could see what her friends and family were doing “instantly and respond to them”. As discussed previously Millennials and Generation Z are the early adopters of technology and are innately tech-savvy (Judd; 2018), thus those generations spend a third of their time online to the extent that it has become the mean of communication to remain in touch with friends and family as the participants confirmed.Thus, Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, (2008) stated that thanks to social media we have been able to spread messages through online communities. Additionally, the digital age has resulted in various communication tactics that differ from face-to-face interaction, as well as new ways of expressing oneself (Ellison et al., 2006; Zhao et al., 2008).
Social media addiction
Social media represent a large part of our daily life habits; as stated by all the ten participants, they spend several hours on different platforms; When asked, “How often do you use social media?” F4 said, “I use them daily, usually 4 hours daily.” F7 added “every time basically”, which demonstrates “a need to be connected” according to M3. Their body language changed for F1, F2, F4, F7 and M1. When mentioned, the hours they spend on social media platforms, they all suddenly moved from their chair, in addition M3 pressed his lips together when mentioned his time spend on SM and how “connected” he was.
It confirms the lightening and holds that social networks have on users; The need to be actively involved and online for most of their time. According to research, 6% of the world’s population has at least some level of Internet addiction; Yet internet addiction is not a formal psychological symptom (American Association of Mental Health). Indeed, researchers developed a scale to measure the online field of “online addiction”. Even if all the participants know they spend several hours online, they have difficulty controlling themselves. M2 mentioned that it was “crucial” to be always connected so as not to miss any news and that he needs to be “aware of what is happening in the world directly”. Accordingly, that demonstrates that Millennials and Generation Z, as per Frison and Eggermont (2016), need to fit in organisations leading to a larger fear of missing out.
In addition, M1 stated “the information is always updated on Twitter which makes it easier to get information on live”, which M2 confirmed when asking “In what ways do you navigate on social networks?” he replied, ‘I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is grab my phone and go on LinkedIn to check news and what happened in the business world.” he smiled and laughed briefly while saying “I know it is bad to check my phone directly, but I am used to it”. On the other side F2 mentioned blushing “when I spend an hour on social media platforms without even noticing” which demonstrates that social media can affect users without them even being aware of it; It proves that excessive usage of social platforms can lead to distraction and a loss of attention and time. Social media users are so familiar with technology that they spend a significant amount of time speaking on social media platforms. According to Harrington (2013) posting content online to seek attention of other is here demonstrated, as all the participants are connected online each day to “keep in touch” with relatives. Additionally, many social media platforms have been developed to facilitate the exchange of information and the creation of content in an online setting (Chen et al, 2011). As peer Ridings and Gefen (2004), social media users use various social media platforms to communicate with other users online, such as online forums and communities, referrals, rating, and review; Individuals are drawn to the internet to exchange knowledge and obtain social support. As states Bridgestock (2013), there is several reasons why young people use social media. For a better understanding on behaviour of social media users and acknowledge how individual learn from negative experiences and or dismissive emotions. However, there is little research on social media addiction among youths and its impact on how they express themselves in real life and socialise, which may lead to negative effects and feelings of rejection in the future.
Trust on social media
When coding the interviews of the ten participants, an important topic came out of it, trust in social media. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, trust is "to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable." and "to have confidence in something". This feeling of trust can, thus, affect users emotionally as a certain level of trust has been built up, and when this is breached, a sense of betrayal and insecurity can emerge. This level of confidence emerged during the interviews on two topics; in the first instance, when asked, "Do you feel influencers are the cause of negative impact to social media? If so, how?" M1 replied, "Yes and No", this ambiguity reflects a state of uncertainty or hesitation in his speech. Additionally, his answer for influencers has caused a negative impact; he stated that they were "influencing" the young generation to consume "useless products", but that it was SM users' "duty" to not fall into the "misinformation" online. On SM, influencers promote items with special offers, but for M2, it can cause negative effects because users trust "too easily" and can be "fooled" by "counterfeit products". F5 mentioned that some influencers promote "false habits" or "fake perfect lifestyles" such as "perfect families" or "perfect bodies". She assumed that they expose "what they want to share," but by doing this, trust and confidence decrease toward them as users feel "bad" and question themselves on their habits and lifestyle; F5 said, "I questioned myself if I was good enough", which refers to a feeling of rejection and has an emotional impact on their future decisions.
In the second instance, trust with data arose from the interviews; M1 and F7 expressed their distrust of cookies and the personal information that platforms have about us and our surroundings. F7 stated that she was "uncomfortable" sharing too much because she does not know if these photos can be deleted in the future; M1 mentioned "safety" and paying "attention" to laws and settings on SM for our "protection".
This notion of trust online may have direct consequences for SM users in their real life even during their decision-making M3 stated that there was “apprehension” and a need to check everything before taking a decision or to “agree” on something both online and offline when asking “How does social media affect your relationships with others online and offline?”. According to previous studies, trust in social media is an important but not sufficiently researched and developed topic with user emotions. According to Lee Rainie, Janna Anderson and Jonathan Albright (2017), negative online experiences influenced by trolls, harmful messages, and unrealistic standards may result of users' mistrust online.
Social media pressure
According to the Cambridge dictionary, pressure can be understood as "a difficult situation that makes you feel worried or unhappy". As several participants (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7) mention the "pressure" that social media has on them and their daily lives, we can thus identify an unhealthy relationship for users. Social media pressure has been accompanied by a gender gap since girls feel more affected than boys online. F2 stated that when expressing her "disappointment" about SM and influencers that portrayed the "perfect girl" on TikTok sharing content that explained how to become "that girl", F4 added that they set up "unrealistic" standards that make her less self-confident and which once leads her to change her hairstyle because of a TikTok trend. F2 mentioned "body dysmorphia" due to SM pressure on young women. "Body dysmorphia" can be linked to Fadi Yamout, Jenny Issa and Alia Ghaddar (2019),that researched "Beauty Standards set by Social media and their influence on Women's Body image", where they portrayed social media users' behaviours about how they post their "best photos". These findings also support Ava Korbani and Jessica LaBrie (Central Catholic High School, Lawrence, MA, USA; 2021) about "Toxic TikTok Trends" that showed body dissatisfaction among young females. F5 does not post pictures or videos of her because she is afraid of the online "judgement" and the pressure of SM toward having a beautiful life and habits. When asked, "Do you feel filters/ photo editing on social media has affected your mental health/ self-esteem?" she replied that she questioned herself about "being normal" and shared with us that she started doing more sport and "started a diet" to look like the "social media standard perfect girl". When sharing her experience, she looked away from the camera while giving a confident speech. Concomitantly, online content adds pressure on users and affects them in real life. It is a cause of negative impact which may have reversible repercussions in the future.
LIMITATIONS AND IDEAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Regarding limitations, gender was not pursued enough in this study. As there is a gendered interaction between SM and users' emotions, I believe it would have substantially influenced the findings. In the middle of the 80s, the pace of development in human emotion research was rising; Stephanie A. Shields (2012), at the time, she started to investigate the connections between gender and emotion, and her colleagues at the International Society for Research on Emotion reminded her consisted gender differences in producing and reading facial expressions of emotion, in emotion understanding, experience and that it was "inconsistent and typically inconsequential". Beliefs regarding emotion serve as the foundation for generalizations about our own and others' emotions and personalities.
Furthermore, because this was a qualitative study, the sample size was quite small, which impacted the study's generalizability. Thus, social networks have increased over the last two years during this unpredictable situation. This situation, nonetheless, has become the new reality, and it may be expected that the behaviours individuals adopted during the pandemic are here to remain; As a result of the lockdowns, individuals are making effective use of their technological devices. According to Hawes et al. (2020), depending on the amount of time spent on social media, it might cause anxiety. Time spent on applications has grown by 20% (2020; A. Hutchinson). In reaction to COVID-19, data traffic has increased by 50% (2020; M. Sweney). These findings indicate that consumers will experience increasing social media and technology use issues due to Covid 19.
Future quantitative research on this subject would allow for data collection in Europe.
It would also be impactful to gain knowledge on SM usage, whether (1) recreational, (2) private, or (3) professional, changes regarding their online approach and emotions in real life and impacts them in the long term. Furthermore, an additional study might investigate if gender impacts individual emotions differently, the reasons for utilizing SM as a resource for
It would also be impactful to gain knowledge on SM usage, whether (1) recreational, (2) private, or (3) professional, changes regarding their online approach and emotions in real life and impacts them in the long term. Furthermore, an additional study might investigate if gender impacts individual emotions differently, the reasons for utilizing SM as a resource for
communication and external resources, and whether this influences their decision-making process and real life. Further, what would be the users' reaction if the effect of the platforms is far too powerful and has negative repercussions and the decision to use them?
The practical implication of this study is that social media platforms set up content moderators; it will also impact how users navigate on platforms and how they behave and communicate on them.
The practical implication of this study is that social media platforms set up content moderators; it will also impact how users navigate on platforms and how they behave and communicate on them.
CONCLUSION
The question at the heart of this study concerned the emotional responses of Millennials and Gen Z to negative online experiences. It aimed to understand how SM influences user emotions and how negative experiences impacted participants cognitively. Using a qualitative research methodology, the study determined that SM impacts Millennials and Generation Z behaviours and emotional well-being while navigating platforms daily. This study highlights SM's extensive utility for communication to keep in contact with friends and family while connecting and exploring online, users making use of SM, and how it impacts their emotions, judgements, attitudes, and real-life perceptions. The impact of digital technology may not be tangible, but it directly affects young generations who use it as an example and a means of sharing and connecting. Future research could study the impact of gender emotions on SM usage and utility and the result of continuous technical improvements on how we use SM for interaction to grasp these findings better. Additionally, more studies could be made on how small changes to the platform’s settings may have a larger effect on user experiences while being a safe place.
The existing literature lacked critical information on the interaction between SM, consumer, and technological innovation within the emotion and negative influence setting; Additionally, users' responses to a negative impact on SM lacked perspective on the situation. Both SM usage and utility were found to link with how and why SM influences users positively and negatively emotionally and how they respond to it in this study. The key findings highlighted the impact and pressure of SM on its users and how their reactions in real life are modified. The fear of missing out is significant and drives users to interact and act according to the image they want to project online. Thus, socialization users' skills are affected by their omnipresence through SM settings that lead them to close in on themselves and lack trust in the environment surrounding them.
