Published: 11:51 AM, 30 September 2026
Social Media Obsession Takes a Toll on Netizens' Creativity
Yasir Arafat
In an age when smartphones have become almost inseparable from daily life, social media has transformed the way people communicate, learn, work, and entertain themselves. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X allow users to share ideas and discover content within seconds. Yet the growing obsession with social media is raising an important concern: Is constant digital consumption weakening people's ability to think creatively?
Creativity requires curiosity, patience, imagination, and the freedom to explore ideas without immediate judgment. However, the fast-moving nature of social media often encourages users to consume one piece of content after another without spending enough time reflecting on what they have seen. Instead of creating something original, many users find themselves endlessly scrolling, watching, copying, and reacting.
The problem is not social media itself. These platforms can be powerful tools for creativity. Artists can display their work, musicians can reach audiences, writers can find readers, and entrepreneurs can promote new ideas. Students can discover educational resources, while people from different cultures can exchange perspectives. The difficulty begins when social media shifts from being a tool into a constant source of stimulation.
One major concern is the shrinking attention span associated with continuous digital consumption. Social media feeds are designed to provide users with a steady stream of short and visually stimulating material. A person may watch a 30-second video, immediately move to another, read a comment, view a photograph, and then switch to a different application. This constant movement can make slower activities—such as reading a book, writing a story, painting, solving a difficult problem, or developing an original idea—feel unusually demanding.
Creativity, however, rarely emerges instantly. Great ideas often develop during periods of concentration, boredom, observation, and experimentation. A novelist may spend hours thinking about a character before writing a paragraph. An artist may create several unsuccessful sketches before discovering the right design. A scientist may spend years exploring a question before finding an answer. Such processes require time, and social media can make uninterrupted time increasingly difficult to protect.
Another issue is the pressure to imitate popular trends. Social media rewards content that attracts attention quickly. When a particular dance, joke, visual style, or video format becomes popular, thousands of users may reproduce it. Participating in trends can be entertaining and socially rewarding, but excessive imitation can discourage independent thinking.
Young people may be especially vulnerable to this pressure. Instead of asking, “What do I want to create?” they may begin by asking, “What will get likes?” The distinction is significant. Creativity driven primarily by personal curiosity can produce unusual and unexpected ideas, while creativity driven by algorithms and audience approval may encourage people to repeat whatever has already succeeded.
The desire for online approval can also affect confidence. A person who posts a drawing, poem, photograph, or video may immediately begin monitoring likes, comments, shares, and views. If the response is smaller than expected, the creator may conclude that the work is not valuable. Over time, this can lead people to avoid experimenting with unfamiliar ideas because they fear criticism or poor engagement.
Psychologists and educators have also emphasized the importance of boredom in developing imagination. When people have nothing immediately available to entertain them, the mind naturally begins searching for something to do. A child sitting quietly may invent a game, draw a picture, build something, or create an imaginary story. An adult waiting without a phone may begin observing the surroundings or thinking through a problem. Constant access to digital entertainment can reduce these opportunities for unstructured thought.
There is also the problem of information overload. Social media exposes users to enormous quantities of opinions, images, headlines, advertisements, jokes, tutorials, and news. While exposure to different ideas can inspire creativity, too much information can make it difficult to distinguish original thought from borrowed ideas. People may unknowingly reproduce phrases, visual styles, arguments, or concepts they have encountered online.
Moreover, the culture of speed can affect the creative process. Social media users are often encouraged to produce content quickly and frequently. A creator who once spent several days developing an idea may feel pressure to publish something every day. Quantity can become more important than quality. As a result, creative work may become repetitive, rushed, and shaped by the demand to remain visible.
Nevertheless, blaming social media for every decline in creativity would be misleading. Human creativity is influenced by education, family environment, economic circumstances, technology, work habits, and many other factors. Social media can actually strengthen creativity when used intentionally. A photographer can learn new techniques from other photographers. A student can collaborate with classmates across countries. A musician can discover unfamiliar genres. A small business owner can experiment with new ways of presenting products.
The key issue, therefore, is balance and purposeful use. Instead of spending every free moment scrolling, people can create boundaries around their digital habits. Turning off unnecessary notifications, setting periods without social media, and keeping smartphones away during creative work can help restore uninterrupted attention.
People can also replace some passive consumption with active creation. Rather than watching dozens of short videos, users might write a short story, compose music, sketch an idea, take photographs, learn an instrument, or build something. The goal is not to abandon technology but to make sure technology does not replace imagination.
Schools and families have an important role to play as well. Young people should be taught not only how to use digital platforms safely but also how to think independently in an environment dominated by algorithms. Assignments that require original research, creative writing, artistic experimentation, and problem-solving can encourage students to develop ideas rather than simply reproduce information.
Ultimately, creativity needs room to breathe. It grows through observation, failure, curiosity, silence, experimentation, and sustained attention. Social media can provide inspiration, connection, and opportunities, but excessive dependence on it can turn people into passive consumers of other people's ideas.
The challenge for modern netizens is therefore not to reject social media but to use it without surrendering control of their attention. A smartphone can be a window to the world, but it should not become the entire world. When people learn to put the screen down occasionally and allow their minds to wander, question, imagine, and create, they may rediscover something that no algorithm can provide: an idea that is truly their own.
Facebook has become one of the most widely used social networking platforms in the world. It allows people to communicate with friends and relatives, share photographs and opinions, follow news, and participate in online communities. Used responsibly, social media can be a useful means of communication and information. However, excessive and uncontrolled use of Facebook can develop into an unhealthy habit. When a person spends too much time checking notifications, scrolling through posts, watching videos, or responding to messages, Facebook can begin to interfere with study, work, relationships, and daily life. This growing dependence has raised concerns about the harmful effects of social media addiction, particularly among young people.
One of the most immediate effects of excessive Facebook use is wasted time. Many users open the platform intending to spend only a few minutes but continue scrolling for hours. The endless stream of new posts, videos, comments, and notifications encourages people to keep checking their screens. As a result, valuable time that could be spent studying, working, exercising, reading, or talking with family members is lost. For students, this can be particularly damaging because excessive social-media use may reduce the time available for homework and examination preparation.
Another serious consequence is poor concentration. Constant notifications can interrupt a person's attention while studying or working. Instead of completing an important task, users may repeatedly check whether someone has liked, commented on, or replied to their posts. This habit of frequently switching between tasks can make it difficult to maintain focus. Students may sit with their books open while actually spending much of their attention on Facebook. Similarly, employees who repeatedly check social media during working hours may find it harder to complete their responsibilities efficiently.
Excessive Facebook use can also have a negative effect on mental well-being. Social media often presents carefully selected pictures and stories showing people's achievements, holidays, friendships, possessions, and apparently happy lifestyles. When users compare these images with their own lives, they may feel that they are less successful or less happy than others. Such comparisons can contribute to dissatisfaction, loneliness, anxiety, or low self-esteem. It is important to remember that social-media posts usually show only selected moments rather than the complete reality of a person's life.
Another problem is the desire for online approval. Some users become highly concerned about the number of likes, comments, and reactions their posts receive. A post that receives little attention may make them feel rejected, while a popular post may provide temporary satisfaction. Over time, people may begin to measure their social value according to online reactions. This can create an unhealthy dependence on external approval and make a person's mood increasingly influenced by what happens on the platform.
Facebook addiction can also weaken real-life relationships. A person who spends hours communicating online may gradually spend less quality time with family members and friends. It is possible to have hundreds of online connections while becoming increasingly distant from people nearby. At family gatherings, meals, or social events, some individuals remain focused on their phones instead of participating in conversations. Face-to-face communication helps people understand emotions through tone, facial expressions, and body language, and excessive dependence on online interaction may reduce opportunities for these important experiences.
Sleep problems are another common concern associated with excessive social-media use. Many people continue using their phones late at night, checking Facebook before going to bed or responding to messages. This can delay bedtime and make it harder to establish a regular sleep routine. Using a phone at night may also keep the mind stimulated when it should be preparing for sleep. Lack of adequate sleep can then affect concentration, mood, memory, and performance during the following day. For students, repeated late-night social-media use can become especially harmful when it interferes with regular study and rest.
The effects may also extend to physical health. Spending long periods sitting and looking at a screen reduces the time available for physical activity. Prolonged screen use may be associated with eye strain, headaches, neck or back discomfort, and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. When social-media use replaces outdoor activities, sports, walking, or exercise, overall fitness may suffer. A healthy routine therefore requires a reasonable balance between online activities and physical movement.
Another danger is exposure to misinformation and harmful content. Social-media platforms contain enormous amounts of information, but not everything shared online is accurate or reliable. False news, misleading claims, rumours, manipulated photographs, and sensational stories can spread rapidly. A person who spends a great deal of time on Facebook may encounter such content repeatedly and may eventually accept unverified information as fact. This is particularly dangerous when misinformation concerns health, education, politics, emergencies, or other important matters. Users should therefore develop the habit of checking information against reliable sources before believing or sharing it.
Privacy and security are also important concerns. People sometimes share personal information, photographs, locations, family details, or daily activities without considering who may see them. Excessive use may encourage people to reveal more information than necessary. Such information can potentially be misused by scammers, impersonators, or other malicious individuals. Users should carefully review privacy settings, avoid sharing sensitive information publicly, and think before posting anything online. Young people can be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of excessive Facebook use. Adolescence is an important period for developing confidence, social skills, independence, and healthy habits. Constant exposure to online comparison, popularity contests, criticism, and unrealistic images can place additional pressure on young users. Parents and teachers therefore have an important role in helping children and teenagers understand that social media should be a tool rather than the centre of their lives.
Yasir Arafat studies English literature at
Northeast University, Sylhet.
