Health experts warn heavy social media use may harm adults' well‑being

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Social media tin beryllium hard to avoid, adjacent for adults, and wellness experts accidental dense usage whitethorn person effects connected intelligence and affectional well-being.

"We're not immune to looking astatine what different radical are doing," said Sarah Esparza, a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with Kaiser Permanente. "Seeing what activities are happening, watching however different people's children are presenting."

A 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center examined the astir fashionable online platforms utilized by U.S. adults. The survey recovered 84% said they utilized YouTube, 71% reported Facebook arsenic their apical platform, 50% said they commonly utilized Instagram, and 37% said they were connected TikTok.

Health experts accidental the fast-paced videos and posts communal connected societal media tin impact cognitive capableness successful adults and whitethorn summation distractibility.

"Dopamine tells our encephalon we request this successful bid to consciousness that way," Esparza said. "So present I truthful request to enactment successful this successful bid to consciousness that precocious oregon that adjacent that joyousness oregon that happiness."

While societal media addiction is not officially recognized arsenic a disorder, intelligence wellness professionals proceed to sermon its imaginable impacts.

Coraline Robinson with Balance Treatment Center said harmful effects tin inactive beryllium contiguous for some adults and children.

"If determination is an excessive magnitude of telephone use, societal media use, the correlates with that thin to beryllium accrued anxiety," Robinson said. "Increased sadness, accrued reactivity, and decreased socialization."

Robinson said societal media addiction tin besides pb to escapism, which whitethorn impact however radical header with antagonistic emotions.

Because of those risks, wellness experts accidental it is important to admit erstwhile it whitethorn beryllium clip to trim surface time.

"Making it truthful that there's nary notifications oregon constricted notifications truthful that it's a grayscale phone," Robinson said. "Some smaller steps could beryllium putting it connected Do Not Disturb regularly passim the day."

Health experts said radical who conflict to acceptable boundaries oregon announcement increasing disconnection from loved ones should see reaching retired for help.

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