Electronic Communication's Negative Effects on Mental Health
This essay explores the darker consequences of electronic communication, focusing on three key areas: damage to self-image, cyberbullying, and loneliness. Drawing on sources from BBC, CNN, and academic research, the paper argues that social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram fuel unrealistic body standards, enable anonymous harassment, and allow lonely individuals to substitute online interaction for meaningful face-to-face connection. While electronic communication has made interaction faster and more convenient, the essay contends that its psychological toll — including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation — represents a serious and growing public concern.
- Introduction: The Rise of Electronic Communication: Electronic communication's benefits and growing psychological downsides
- Social Media and Self-Image: How social media distorts self-image and drives harmful comparisons
- Cyberbullying and Its Psychological Impact: Cyberbullying harms victims and perpetrators alike
- Loneliness and Social Media Use: Lonely users turn to Facebook but remain unfulfilled
- Conclusion: Electronic communication's harms are serious and likely to worsen
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What makes this paper effective
- The essay maintains a clear three-point argumentative structure — self-image, cyberbullying, and loneliness — making it easy to follow and logically consistent throughout.
- It uses specific evidence from named sources (Roxby, LaMotte, and a university study) to ground each claim, demonstrating basic academic sourcing practices appropriate for the level.
- The treatment of cyberbullying is notably balanced: the paper considers the psychological effects on both victims and perpetrators, showing nuance beyond a simple victim-focused analysis.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the use of integrated evidence — each body paragraph introduces a claim, supports it with a cited source, and then elaborates on the implications. This claim-evidence-commentary pattern is a foundational technique in academic writing and is executed consistently across all three body sections.
Structure breakdown
The essay follows a five-part structure: a brief introduction that names three harms and states the essay's focus; three body sections, each devoted to one negative consequence of electronic communication; and a short conclusion that restates the main arguments and offers a cautionary note about the permanence of electronic communication. The conclusion avoids introducing new material, appropriately synthesizing rather than extending the argument.
Introduction: The Rise of Electronic Communication
Due to technological advancements over the years, the way human beings communicate has changed tremendously. Today, email, texting, social media, online chatting, and video calling are common methods of communication. Nonetheless, while electronic communication has made communication faster and more convenient, its downsides cannot be ignored. Electronic communication has increasingly threatened in-person, direct human interaction as people ever more frequently choose to interact online. More importantly, it has contributed to reduced self-esteem, cyberbullying, and loneliness. These negative consequences constitute the focus of this essay.
Social Media and Self-Image
One of the major disadvantages of electronic communication, according to Roxby, is the negative impact it has on self-image, with young people being the most affected. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and other popular social networks are now common platforms of communication. Through these platforms, users can post and share as much content as they desire in a day. Broadly speaking, social media users post content — mostly in the form of images — to celebrate or show pride in their bodies, spouses, partners, everyday experiences, and achievements. People will often post images showcasing their perfect bodies, flawless skin tones, newly acquired attire, fancy travel destinations, recently purchased cars, elegant homes, and so forth. In other words, virtually everyone on social media is in the business of impressing other people.
For individuals without the seemingly ideal life depicted on social media, such content may lower their self-esteem or self-image. For instance, by comparing themselves with what they see online, some people may begin viewing their body shape as imperfect, consequently resorting to attempts to look like everyone else. As noted by Roxby, the demand for cosmetic surgery has increased substantially since 2008, with younger people increasingly seeking more appealing physical looks. People may also start living a life of deception — taking unnecessary loans, engaging in extravagance, and moving into homes they cannot truly afford — simply to impress others. Regrettably, much of the content people post on social media and its effect on body image is far from realistic. For example, filters allow people to make their images appear finer online than they do in real life. On the whole, the desire to fit in may have negative psychological impacts on an individual, such as depression and body image anxiety — a clear indication of how electronic communication can deteriorate mental health. It is important for individuals to accept who they are, regardless of what others think.
Cyberbullying and Its Psychological Impact
Electronic communication has also led to cyberbullying. According to LaMotte, cyberbullying affects not only teenagers but also college students. With social media, individuals are now exposed to all manner of messages, including demeaning and intimidating texts. Because electronic communication offers anonymity and virtual distance, some people have a tendency to harass others through offensive comments. Cyberbullying occurs in contexts such as heartbreaks, unwanted sexual advances, illness, family difficulties, and financial problems. In the online environment, people experiencing such difficulties face the risk of being targeted by cyberbullies, who may also attack a victim's physical appearance, background, gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, and behavior.
For victims, cyberbullying can have severe psychological outcomes. Cases of cyberbullying ending in suicide are not uncommon (LaMotte). Victims may experience stress and depression, ultimately developing suicidal thoughts. Others may resort to substance abuse. For some, cyberbullying may increase the risk of aggression, hostility, and criminal behavior. This further illustrates how electronic communication can lead to disastrous outcomes.
Cyberbullying affects not only victims but also the bullies themselves. As demonstrated in a survey of 265 female college students, bullies are four times more likely to suffer depression compared to non-bullies (LaMotte). Bullies also face a greater risk for substance abuse. The reason why bullies experience psychological and behavioral difficulties similar to those of their victims may be related to guilt — in other words, even though bullies may gain some gratification from harassing others, they eventually feel guilty for the harm they inflict.
Conclusion
Overall, electronic communication has resulted in negative impacts that cannot be ignored. With the increased popularity of electronic communication, people face growing risks of diminished self-esteem and cyberbullying. Electronic communication has also endangered meaningful human interaction, as many lonely people would rather turn to social media to cope with their loneliness than engage in face-to-face communication. The unfortunate reality is that electronic communication is here to stay, meaning these problems may only intensify over time.
Works Cited
LaMotte, Sandee. "The Health Risks of Cyberbullying in College." CNN, 3 March 2015, http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/02/health/cyberbullying-in-college/. Accessed 17 April 2017.
Roxby, Philippa. "Does Social Media Impact on Body Image?" BBC, 13 October 2014, Accessed 17 April 2017.
"Does Facebook Make You Lonely?" Science Daily, 9 October 2014, Accessed 17 April 2017.
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