Social Media: Utopia or Dystopia?
- Utopia 500
- 13 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Social Media invention and prevalence represents one of the most significant changes in the formation of social environment in the 20th century. Without any doubt, in today’s digital world, social media play a huge part on everyone’s life. People of all ages, including young children use them on a daily basis and that usage shapes the way they learn, talk, interact and communicate with the world around them. Some studies around the world confirm that social media is a part of children’s life also, starting from preschool age. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Youtube etc. give the opportunity, to many young people to express themselves and further develop their creative side.
But what started as a chance for self-expression and connection with others, has now become a threat. More and more specialists are worried about how this constant connectivity affects people, especially regarding mental well-being. The negative effects extend to an increase of violent behavior and behavior of high danger, nutrition problems, reduced academic performance. As the amount of time children and adolescents spend on them increases, so do the risks. The way we use social media and we are being influenced by them are either energetic or pathetic, creative or damaging.
Well-being
Adolescents describe that there is a sense of pressure to be always online, something completely unrealistic that can provoke social-emotional distress, as they often have the impression that they are going to be socially excluded from their peers if they are not keeping up with social media news and information. Increased use of social media among teenagers is associated with a high risk of developing fear go missing out (FOMO), which can contribute to more distress. People at this age experience a strong desire to feel included and accepted and that can lead to feeling anxiety and depending their self-worth on how others perceive them. They rely on likes, comments, followers as measures of their value and on external validation, rather than internal confidence.
Additionally, social media offers unrestricted access to potentially harmful content that captures teen’s interest and can promote engagement in risky behaviors. Being exposed all the time to online content that captures drinking or drug use in a glamorized way can heighten adolescents’ curiosity and interest in trying themselves. As they are inclined to explore and experiment new things, there is the risk to imitate what they see, often without fully understanding the potential harm.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is one of the most common risks for young people. Defined as an aggressive, intentional use of social media in order to communicate false, fearful information about another person and cause harm, humiliation, suffering, fear and despair. Common forms of cyberbullying include sending mean messages or sharing inappropriate photos of others. These actions can occur through various digital platforms and social media but also through the mobile phone, for example by instant messaging or calling.
Cyberbullying can reach a much wider audience than ‘’traditional bullying’’, because it takes place online where people can express themselves freely and without any hesitation and social control. The impersonal and “secret’’ nature/character of social media facilitate these kinds of actions. Studies indicate that 20-40% of adolescents have been a victim of cyberbullying at least once, a statistic that is particularly alarming. As we can easily understand, cyberbullying is a real and really dangerous phenomenon that can have serious health consequences, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-harm, even suicidal behavior in some cases.
Mental health issues
Some studies have linked social media use to high rates of depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. Excessive engagement on these platforms has been associated with feelings of loneliness and development of narcissistic tendencies. Beyond these social-emotional effects, excessive social media exposure can lead to serious mental health challenges, like addictions. Internet and social media addiction, spending all of your time scrolling through posts and videos is an important health matter and has consequences on teenagers’ ability to stay focused and concentrated, affecting their productivity and learning ability.
At the same time, a lot of studies have confirmed a negative relation between Internet and social media and teenagers’ self-esteem, especially regarding body-image. Also, they tend to be in a constant comparison to the others, their friends or even strangers, but the more time they spend online, the less satisfied they feel with their own lives. The social comparison theory is a psychological concept stating that people determine their self-worth by comparing themselves to others. This comparison relates to lifestyle, life choices, appearance, accomplishments, health and financial conditions and often creates the impression that others are happier, more attractive and more successful. Such comparisons may trigger feelings of envy, loneliness, fostering a false perception of an idealized view of life, and sometimes they can trigger specific disorders, like eating disorders. Being exposed all the time to content associated with idealized bodies, that in reality are unrealistic and fake, can lead them to adopt unhealthy eating behaviors and patterns, totally/completely dangerous for both their physical and their mental health.
Physical health issues
But the negative health impact is not limited to eating disorders, as social media overuse has been connected to a wide range of other physical disorders, such as sleep disturbances, lack of exercise and obesity. According some studies, teenagers who use social media in an excessive way are more likely to adopt some unhealthy lifestyle practices, like avoiding physical exercise. Adolescents tend to spend all of their days in front of a screen, either their phone or their computer and as a result, they have issues like headaches, back pain, nausea, irregular heart rhythms. Additionally, nowadays, they interact with each other mostly through social media, a habit that increasingly replaces face-to-face interaction and spending tome together offline in shared activities. These kinds of activities were offering the opportunity to walk outdoors, even for just a little bit or move their body in general, while being “glued” to your phone all day, in combination with the lack of exercise, can even lead to obesity. Another huge concern of specialists is the impact of unrestricted social media use at night on adolescents’ sleeping cycles. It is scientifically proven that scrolling during the night affects importantly the quality of sleep and also artificial light from screens stimulate the brain, making it more difficult to fall asleep, leading to shorter sleep durations.
Students’ Academic Performance
Excessive use of social media can also distract students from their studies and affect their academic performance. As we addressed before, when teenagers spend large amounts of time scrolling, messaging and interacting with others on social media, their ability to stay focused on their schoolwork is getting reduced. Constant notifications provoke checking on their phone every few minutes, interrupting in this way their concentration. Additionally, it affects their ability to manage their time effectively. Poor time management leads to procrastination, missed deadlines and increased stress. The impact of problematic social media use refers to their memory, concentration, hold attention, keep information in memory, executive functioning and other cognitive skills. Studies demonstrate that the more time spent on social media, the greater the decrease in the ability to retain information.
As these effects pile up, they don’t just impact teenagers’ health or grades—they start to change how young people see themselves and everyone around them. Over time, that shifts the direction of our whole society. Something that started out as a way to connect people now has the power to remake how we all live together. So the big question is: is this digital world actually bringing us closer to that perfect future we once dreamed about, or are we drifting even farther away from it?
Social Media Reality vs Utopia
Digital utopianism, also known as cyber-utopianism, is the belief that digital technologies, particularly the Internet, can create a more democratic, equitable, and interconnected society. In the 1990s, the prevailing impression was that the Internet would give all people a voice and make it possible to shape a society based on personal expression and individual desires. However, digital technologies are not magical tools, and this idea has not become a reality. In fact, the situation worsens. Some voices are loud, while others are being shut down. Ultimately, the Internet was never about individuals, but rather about companies, large corporations, and influential individuals.
The distance between those early ideals and the reality of young people’s lives is evident. They are in a state of perpetual compare, chasing likes and being served up algorithmic content that shapes the way they behave and what they believe to be normal. Rather than fostering individuality, social media is frequently driving people toward a familiar sameness and performance, contorting the notion of digital “freedom” into a narrower form of being.
Social media platforms, such as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, are not only a cause of addiction, but also create the people we grow into. Companies that operate these platforms can predict what we see with the help of Artificial Intelligence. As a result, people are shown content that confirms their existing beliefs. For example, if someone denies the existence of climate change, more and more content about that topic will appear on their social media feed, creating the impression that they are entirely correct. It is like the reality of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In general, people on social media like to re-create themselves. They adopt a new personality, invent new identities, bodies, and lifestyles, just to be accepted and admired by others whom they don’t even know. This is a reality far removed from any utopian dream or vision.
The ideal of the open digital commons has curdled and been replaced by a squabbling collection of personalized echo chambers, distinguished from one another only by their distinct aesthetics and array of commercial incentives, powered by advertising but also ceding to whatever directives are piped down from its platform-owning rulers. Since individuals are only exposed to what confirms their beliefs, common reality breaks down and constructive conversation and social cohesiveness become even harder to achieve.
The substitution of authentic expression in place of identity performance only exacerbates this chasm. A many users — particularly adolescents — create idealized online selves, fueling comparison, insecurity and pressure to be perfect. This change shows just how far we have deviated from our original vision of authenticity and freedom on the internet.
However, acknowledging these deficiencies does not equate to giving up hope. A better digital future is still achievable with better digital literacy, more ethical platform design, and less weak offline ties. Understanding today’s problems will be the first step toward a digital world that augments, rather than diminishes, human well-being.
Bibliography
Bottino, S. M. B., Bottino, C., Regina, C. G., Correia, A. V. L., & Ribeiro, W. S. (2015). Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health: systematic review. Cadernos de saude publica, 31, 463-475.
Opoku, D., Donkor, C., Yeboah, J. N. O., & Quagraine, L. (2025). Navigating the relationship between social media use and mental health in the digital age. Discover Mental Health, 5(1), 149.
Rao, T. S., Bansal, D., & Chandran, S. (2018). Cyberbullying: A virtual offense with real consequences. Indian journal of psychiatry, 60(1), 3-5.
Richards, D., Caldwell, P. H., & Go, H. (2015). Impact of social media on the health of children and young people. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 51(12), 1152-1157.
Written by Giota Tsireka
Comments