Can Social Networking Sites be Hazardous to your Health?



Posted: Thursday, April 09, 2009

by Jonathan Blood Smyth

At a time when information is available at the click of a mouse, and webcams that allow us to speak with relatives halfway across the world, the internet is often praised for making our lives easier. Social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and the BBCs myCBBC become wildly more popular over the past few years, generally to great avail. Facebook, however, has recently come under fire from psychologists, health experts, and even biologists, who claim that spending so much time talking to people online is having a negative impact on our health.

Experts are now warning us that new research suggests that we dont have nearly as much face-to-face contact with others as in the past, and it is making us more and more isolated. In a recent issue of Biologist, the journal of the Institute of Biology,  Dr Aric Sigman explains that our body oxytocin levels have declined as a result of less physical interaction. Oxytocin, also known as the cuddle chemical, is a chemical that our body produces when we bond with another person. The fact that it is in decline shows that we are not bonding with others on a regular basis, which can have serious consequences.

Sigman warns that our deep dedication to the virtual world can increase the risk of both physical and mental health problems such as depression, dementia, cancer, strokes, and heart disease " not exactly something we consider when we are checking our emails. Spending too much time on MySpace  has also been said to change the ways that our immune system and hormone levels are regulated. In essence, it all comes down to the way we live our lives " with more and more people choosing to work from home rather than interact with others at the office, the relationships we forge become more superficial and less meaningful, which has a negative impact on our body.

Psychologists also warn us about what this means for family systems. Research reveals that children as young as five years old are regular internet users, which, according to experts, undermines the childs ability to learn to interpret body language and acquire vital social skills. Often the parents themselves are not good role models either. Dr. Signman was quoted as saying "Parents spend less time with their children than they did only a decade ago. Britain has the lowest proportion of children in all of Europe who eat with their parents at the table.

While most of these allegations (about physical health, in particular) have not been back up by detailed scientific research, there is an element of truth to each of the warnings. Common sense dictates that spending much time behind a computer screen is not good for your health, especially if you dont have exercise and physical social interaction.

Social networking sites therefore have pros and cons, like everything else in life. They can be seen as a negative influence makes us more anti-social and isolated. Or they can simply be seen as a great tool to reconnect with old friends and classmates. The bottom line: do everything in moderation. As long as we maintain a social life beyond the blogosphere, there is no reason for us to log-off.

Andrew Mitchell, clinical editor at the Osteopath Network, writes papers about musculo-skeletal conditions, drug-free treatment, pain management and how to find a Newcastle Upon Tyne osteopath. He is interested in the treatment of back pain, neck pain and injury and pain management.
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