Dr Ernest Dankwa, Psychology Lecturer at the University of Ghana
A Psychology Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Ernest Dankwa, has bemoaned the negative impact of social media, expecially Instagram on the youth.
According to the UG don, social media posts set unrealistic expectations, create feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.
In an interview with Andy Asante Okyere on Radio Univers, he revealed that some people are overly sentimental and affected by what others say, as a result, if such a person posts a photo on Instagram and someone purposefully comments negatively on the photo, it results in suicidal thoughts for the person.
“If you read about world suicide research, scholars have published that social media platform like Instagram is one of the most dangerous for suicidal cases," the psychologist said.
“Because Instagram is a picture-sharing site. So is about body image, there are people who are enticed by what people say about them. So, when such a person posts a picture and receives a negative comment, maybe, not once or twice, it then results in suicidal thoughts. That’s called cyberbullying. Such cases are worst in the developed countries because a lot of the youth have committed suicide based on what people probably told them on social media,” he said.
He added, “not only social media allows for self-expression. It is also linked to high rates of bullying, anxiety, despair, and FOMO in young people.”
AM/ESA
