Gaming and Instagram

1. TECHNOLOGY CREATES
SOCIAL ISOLATION AND
NEUROSIS
BY LEEVON MAHONEY & GARRET
TOWNSEND
How Gaming & Instagram
have contributed both
positively and negatively to
social isolation and neurosis

2. A FEW STATISTICS
According to Vanderbilt University
• In America, 81% of youths play video games at least once a month and of
that 81%, 8.5% are addicted
• The average 8-12 year old plays 13 hours of video games per week

3. DEFINITIONS
• Social Isolation – The complete or near-complete
lack of contact with people and society for
members of a social species
• Neurosis – A class of functional mental disorders
involving distress but neither delusions or
hallucinations

4. SOCIAL ISOLATION & NEUROSIS AS IT
APPLIES TO GAMING
While historically, gaming was a group of friends sitting in someone’s
basement playing Super Mario Bros. together on a rainy day; gaming
today is typically 1 player games that require little to no real world
interaction with others. If any interaction, it is often with other gamers
via online gaming and headsets whereby gamers in different locations
can talk to each other and play games together. By becoming so
engrossed in their gaming world, children are becoming more and
more removed from their friends, families and life in general.

5. NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GAMING
• Health problems – Health problems can range from obesity to
headaches, backaches and eyestrain
• Preoccupation/addiction – Gaming addiction can lead to a child
becoming unwilling or able to participate in extracurricular
activities including sports, hobbies or other interests that a
child previously had

6. THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GAMING
CONT’D
• Relationships with family & friends suffering – Children who spend long hours
gaming often have strained relationships with family and friends as they don’t
spend time talking to or doing anything with other people. They are always
focused on their game and what is next, limiting interaction with others.
• Increased aggression – Video games that are violent in nature can lead to
desensitization of violence and in turn teach children that violence is okay and
normal. They may develop violent or aggressive behaviours outside of the
gaming world after spending hours playing first person shooter style games.
This can lead to other children not wanting to play with that child out of fear.

7. THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GAMING
CONT’D
• Poor performance at school – Effects on school performance
can range from not getting homework done to failing to
perform at an acceptable level due to exhaustion from staying
up late gaming. Spending too much time staring at a TV can
also cause problems falling asleep and can lead to attention
problems as well.

8. THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF GAMING
While there are many widely known and discussed negative
effects gaming has on young children, there are some positive
effects that gaming has on the brain. Some examples of positive
effects of gaming include:
• Help with spatial navigation
• Increased memory formation
• Increased ability to plan strategically
• Development of fine motor skills

9. CONCLUSION - GAMING
If children are properly supervised while gaming, with reasonable
time limits set for them and a mix of other activities – including
physical activity and spending time with other people, gaming
can be a fun past time. The positive effects can outweigh the
negative effects discussed, however, if parents allow their
children to spend countless hours in front of a TV or portable
gaming console, they will no doubt have a child that has trouble
making and keeping friends and developing other meaningful
relationships.

10. Defined: Instagram is a social media site that allows users a “fun and quirky
way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. Snap a photo
with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image into a
memory to keep around forever” (Instagram.com,****** 2016). Instragram
was created and developed by Stanford grads Kevin Systrom and Mike
Krieger in 2010 (BuzzFeedNEWS, 2014).
How it is used: When an individual uploads a picture or videos they
can describe it with making captions and using hashtags, which, may
initiate more likes on their pictures as people can search specific
hashtags, i.e. #selfie, #tbt. Also, with each picture one uploads, one
can receive likes on their pictures, as well people can comment.

11. INSTAGRAM FUN FACTS…
• 20 percent of internet users use Instagram (Smith, C., 2016).
• The United States, Japan, and Brazil are the three countries with the most
users (BuzzFeedNews, 2014)
• “Selfie” is the most hashtagged word used on Instagram (BuzzFeedNews,
2014)
• New York City of the most tagged city (BuzzFeedNews, 2014)
• 49 percent of Instagram users are female, and 51 percent males (Smith, 2016)
• 75 million users access Instagram daily (Smith, 2016)
• 14 percent of drivers report they have viewed their Instagram while driving
(Smith, 2016)

12. INSTAGRAM POSITIVES…
Users are…
• able to follow others all over the world and
relate to what their interests are, i.e. photography,
fitness, food, sports, etc.
• making financial gains from uploading pictures
and videos as a result of the number of likes
they receive
• able to acquire jobs or gain sponsorships from
companies for them to represent their products
• able to increase their communication with their
social networks by messaging, and commenting
on pictures
• able to connect with people all over the
world with users

13. NEGATIVES OF INSTAGRAM…
• Craig Smith (2016) reports that nine percent of teenage girls claimed to have been bullied
on Instagram in 2014.
• Users can be so driven to receive likes and followers, which may influence them to upload
pictures that are not aligned with their values, or posting pictures which can make them
more vulnerable to negative unhealthy attention
• One’s self-esteem and perception of themselves, which could spiral downhill very fast if
they continually do not get the feedback they are hoping for (Mariella, 2014).
• One can portray a happy extrovert online, but offline they are incapable of living up to the
demands of there online social structure, which can create self-esteem issues, depression
and isolation (Mariella, 2014).
• This inconsistency between online and offline self can become a distressing time
because their online self image conflicts with their actual social identity.

14. RELATION TO SOCIAL ISOLATION AND
NEUROSIS
• All of the previous negatives of Instagram outlined shows how this social
media site can create social isolation as a result of one’s perceived
online versus their offline actual self
• All of these negatives can and will create and stress, sadness, anxiety
and depression, resulting in one experiencing neurosis
Please refer to the video below illustrating how Instagram impacted an
Austrailan model, Essena O’Neill
Instagram Video

15. REFERENCES
Community Post: 23 Interesting Facts About Instagram. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.buzzfeed.com/javim2/23- interesting-facts-about-instagram-bw9q#.xr4z26q5N
Dai, D., & Fry, A. (2014, April 24). Effects of Video Games on Child Development. Retrieved from
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/developmentalpsychologyblog/2014/04/effect-of-video-games-
on-child-development/
Mariella, A. (2014, June 24). How Instagram Is Affecting The Way We Perceive Ourselves And The World
Around Us. Retrieved from http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/x-pro-ii-valencia-instagram-
choose-neither/614571/
O'Neill, E. (2015). Instagram Model Essena O'Neill Makes Emotional Video Quitting Social Media.
Retrieved, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfwfjZVY_QE
Smith, C. (2016, April 06). 160 Amazing Instagram Statistics. Retrieved from
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/important-instagram-stats/