Impact of Internet and Social Media on All Age Groups: Case Studies from a Mental Health Facility in Lagos State

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of internet and the social media on the functioning of people from different age groups, beginning with a discussion of how the internet and social media use has influenced the day-to-day productivity of man in the present generation. Several reviewed findings and interactions with patients of Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos State suggested that there is an explosion of the negative impacts of the internet and social media in terms of addiction, early exposure to pornography and sexual activities among children and teenagers, poor attention span, poor academic performance and reduced work productivity and poorer mental health.  Some personality types were also found to have a propensity to get addicted to the internet and social media according to findings from patients in this facility. Evidence was found for poorer mental health which was observed in increased anxiety, depression, acute stress disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, poor body image and poor self-esteem. Such increase in the poor concept of self may reflect a deleterious effect on academic performance, interpersonal relationship and work productivity which in turn results in possibly severe mental disorders. The paper concludes by noting that research devoted to understanding the impact of internet and social media on individuals from all ages and social strata is at a crossroad, on one hand, stimulating questions, preliminary investigations, and intervention potentials while on the other hand, raising some significant theoretical and empirical obstacles