Sleep is one the most important things which the human body needs to properly function. Sleep is necessary for our bodies to get enough rest and to repair itself for the day. It is healthy to have at least 8 hours of sleep every night to meet the optimal requirements. Failing to meet this requirement can lead to some sort of impairment in one’s life. A person’s failure to sleep enough can lead to drowsiness, tiredness, and other unnecessary behavior. “When duration of sleep drops below seven hours, and especially when it starts to move toward six and half hours or less, a number of different disorders begin to increase in prevalence,” says Dr. Dinges.(Worley). 

However, in today’s world there are many things that could distract us from our sleep. One of the most common killers of sleep is technology and its applications. These applications can be games, email, or work related. The worst of these applications includes social media. Social media has grown tremendously throughout the past decade. There are a wide variety of users from different ages and backgrounds. Anyone who has access to the internet can be a social media user. Social media has the ability to distract us from our sleep. It has become a major killer of our sleep  especially because it can be accessed by many people.

Social media is one of the most important inventions of this century. It has changed the way we can communicate on a massive scale. It is a very common type of media used in our world today. Millions of people from around the world use it to connect with family and friends. It can be argued that the invention of social media was as great of an innovation as the telephone. The creation of social media has allowed us to communicate with each other like never before. It gives people the ability to communicate in whatever way they want to. It is possible to interact with others using social media as mass media or a person can still communicate in a one to one form of communication. 

There can be however a productive use of social media. It can be used to create many opportunities for an individual. A cell phone in today’s world can be used for many purposes. It is used for more than just calls and texts. A phone can be used for email, videos, taking pictures, and browsing the internet. It can even be said that the phone has evolved to be a mini computer. “Social networks are actively used by entrepreneurs to promote their goods and services, politicians to communicate with the public, the media to publish news, public figures to broadcast their opinions to a wide audience (Husin, Khairi & Mohamad Nazeri 2021). 

Social media has a variety of productive and worthwhile uses. One of these uses is that social media can also be used for work purposes in the modern day. This is another reason why it is so applicable and used in today’s world. An example of this could be in the business field. Many people with access to technology have the ability to create their own business and promote using social media. People may also use social media to employ others for their business or to seek employment. For example, a real estate agent that may use social media to reach new customers. Social media for this reason has a great impact in the lives of many and has acted as a life changer. 

However, even for uses like this, an excess use of social media can still be detrimental to a person’s life. The excess time that is used on social media can affect one’s balance of work and life. This means that someone can spend an ample amount of time on social media which may hinder one from spending time with people they love.  “We argue that these emotional reactions, particularly in response to posts from colleagues, have the potential to influence work-related outcomes such as work–life balance, job burnout, and ultimately even job performance. This research model is based on COR theory, which suggests that SM addiction and SM reactions are resource drains that may inhibit the attainment of work–family balance and contribute to job burnout, both of which may lead to lessened job performance.”(Zivnuska)

There are also a variety of dangers with the excessive use of social media. Many people are using social media for unnecessary reasons, which can be unhealthy. People are using technology more than is necessary in the modern day. This constant use of technology can be deemed unhealthy. “Social networks have rapidly entered our daily life and have become its integral elements. On the one hand, they give us almost limitless opportunities for communication, on the other hand, they can cause irreparable harm, have a negative impact on the formation of a full-fledged personality of a person, his socialization and becoming a useful member of society (Yang & Zilberg 2020). It is necessary to observe digital hygiene: do not abuse the time spent on the Internet, carefully monitor the quality of the content being studied, do not succumb to the provocations of trolls and extremists, use all means to protect your account from intruders and scammers.” (Nadeem) Many people are using time on social media for unnecessary reasons which makes their time spent on it useless. There could be more productivity when using up one’s time in such a manner.

One’s emotional status can also play a role in their sleep. An exposure or feeling of negative emotions may cause one to be disturbed while sleeping. This disturbance will cause a person to not get the best quality of sleep. In fact, it is possible that the person may have trouble sleeping or even stay awake for that night. Stress and anxiety are very big factors of insomnia in people. The source of this stress and anxiety can come from social media. This can be from an argument with a friend online or by hearing  the news of a tragic event that just occured. “In young adulthood (i.e., 18-30) negative social media experiences, but not positive ones, are associated with disturbed sleep.”(Perez)

The emotional impact of social media on a person can also deprive one of their sleep. People anticipate the likes and reactions of their media and they value it much more than they value sleep. This anticipation may activate emotions in people depending on the reactions they receive. Having negative emotions might affect the quality of  a person’s sleep. Many people are addicted to social media in today’s world. This is because of how much they care about what people comment and say about them. This obsession may trigger negative emotions. This is not necessarily because of negative comments or interactions with others. Instead, it can be due to not getting the anticipated reaction from others. Perhaps one may expect more likes or more comments, and when they do not reach this status they feel like they are not getting as much of a reaction as they should have. “Because people post on social media to get reactions from others in the form of likes, comments, and shares, users of social media may experience emotional reactions when reading other people’s posts.”(Zivnuska)

Social media can trigger intense emotions in a person which can be negative. This means that it can directly affect sleep as the quality of one’s sleep can be affected by their emotions.

There  are a variety of social media apps that are designed to occupy a person’s time.These apps are classified as social media platforms. The most popular of these apps are Tik Tok, Instagram, and Youtube. These platforms are very engaging and can entice users to keep scrolling for minutes or even hours. This can be the way which these platforms are created. For example, Tik Tok uses an algorithm to feed viewers content that would be the most interesting to them. Each user of the platform  has a feed that is specifically for them. An example of this are people who are interested in baseball. The algorithm can detect that the person likes baseball content and it will start to keep showing them this content in their for you page. 

This can be a problem when users watch content at the time which they should be sleeping. However, there is also an issue of using a device or social media right before bed. In doing so, you can possibly disrupt your sleep pattern. This is due to the blue light that is emitted from devices such as phones and tablets. “These devices produce light on the blue end of the visible spectrum. That’s the range of colors that your eyes can see. Blue light stimulates the brain and can shift sleep patterns. After just 30 minutes of using a tablet or smartphone, we might not feel tired even though it’s nighttime.” (SuperScience) 

The system and design by which apps like Tik Tok are created are made to keep users engaged with the platform. This may lead people to use the app more than they should. Overtime, people can become addicted to these apps even if they do not realize it.”Therefore, we define social media addiction as “the excessive use and habitual monitoring of social media, manifested in compulsive usage that comes at the expense of other activities.”(Zivnuska)

The youth are the most affected by this issue as there is a higher amount of social media users that are teenagers compared to other age groups. The time spent on these apps by kids may lead to a lack of sleep. This is because the excessive amount of time spent by users on these apps may distract them from their other duties. For example, a young person may have homework they need to complete or a test they have to study for. The social media use may cause procrastination in many kids which may also lead to a lack of sleep. “In adolescence, heavy social media use is associated with poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration.”(Perez)

In conclusion, social media can be used in either a productive way or unnecessary way. Regardless of what it is used for, an excessive amount of time spent on social media platforms can be unhealthy. Many people in today’s world have developed an addiction to social media due to the design of many of its platforms, which are designed to keep people engaged on social media for a long amount of time. This excessive use of social media often leads to  lack of sleep.  This lack of sleep can harm an individual physically, mentally, and emotionally. When people trade likes for sleep, they are depriving their body’s of the rest they need.

Works Cited

Kalogeropoulis, Antonis. ‘Social Media Help Me Distinguish between Truth and Lies’: News …, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13608746.2021.1980941. 18 Oct. 2023.  

Nadeem, A. (n.d.). Understanding the tik tok addiction among young adults. http://greenwichjournals.com/index.php/NH/article/download/671/234  

Perez, E. (n.d.). Trading likes for Sleepless nights: A lifespan investigation of social … https://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218(21)00059-0/fulltext  

SuperScience (n.d). Night Light (Blue Light and Sleep Patterns). https://go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=cuny_ccny&id=GALE%7CA358849065&v=2.1&it=r 

Worley, S. L. (n.d.). The extraordinary importance of sleep: The detrimental effects of inadequate sleep on health and public safety drive an explosion of sleep research. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30559589/  Zivnuska, S. (n.d.). Social Media Addiction and social media reactions: The implications for … https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224545.2019.1578725