Jan 04, 2017 10:10 AM EST By Audri Taylors, UniversityHerald Reporter

The advent of the internet has paved the way for the birth and growth of the most widely used new communication platform, which is social media. Since then, social media has become a constant part of our lives.

People are posting, sharing, liking practically everything and it has been an effective means to spread awareness both good and bad causes. If you will notice, social media has pros and cons. When used in moderation, social media can be a very useful means to communicate and get in touch with our long lost friends. But according to a recent research by IZA Institute of Labor Economics, cited by CBS News, spending at least an hour using the social media can affect how people feel satisfied with their lives and this is especially true to teens.

And in case you don't know, teens are not the only ones suffering from the negative effects of the social media. Your happiness can also be at stake from using too much social media and here's how.

It will make it hard for you to distinguish real connections from acquaintance

According to Bustle, this is one of the dangers of the social media, because it can actually ool you into believing and trusting the connections that are not really real and it can be misleading. You cannot rely on the kinds of friendships that only exist on the social media.

It will only make you compare yourself with others

While it is natural to compare yourself with others, this tendency increases as you continue to use social media. When you compare yourself and your life with others based on their posts and find that their lives are better and are more ideal, you will just grow resentment instead of feeling contented and happy with your own.

It can hamper your productivity

Admit it or not, there are certain things and tasks that you put off just to catch up on social media. You are only wasting your precious time if you sacrifice more important things just to peruse social media site and apps. This is also true even for employees who have this habit during their work day. It will only leave you feeling bad that you have not accomplished what you needed to accomplish for the day.

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