NEWSROOM

The negative impact of social media on society has become a worldwide concern. According to the Cybersmile Foundation's research, 89% of users state that social media harms their mental health, while 85% say that posts on these platforms create negative feelings about their own body. The information compiled by the Online Press Release Distribution Service, B2Press, points out that 27 countries, including Turkey, added new articles to their legal regulations in 2022 in order to minimize the negative effects of social media on their citizens.

TURKEY - The number of internet and social media users worldwide is increasing day by day. According to data published by Statista, the number of internet users exceeded 5 billion in 2022. While 93% of them are actively involved in social media, the research analyzed by Online Press Release Distribution Service B2Press indicates that social media changes the opinions and likes of the society over time, and even negatively affects individuals. According to the survey conducted by The Cybersmile Foundation, 89% of respondents said that social media harms their mental health, while 85% say that it creates negative feelings about their own body.

Social media platforms cause anxiety for 89% of users

According to the information obtained from the Online Press Release Distribution Service, B2Press, the negative impact of social media on society causes worldwide concern. According to the data released, 87% of users point out that the content on social media makes them feel pressured to be perfect, and 89 points out that they constantly create anxiety. In addition, 40% of respondents say that social media reduces their work efficiency. Many countries, including Turkey, are adding new laws to minimize the harmful effect of social media on their citizens.

North Korea and China are the leading countries that impose restrictions on the internet

The research analyzed by Online Press Release Distribution Service B2Press draws a global map of the restrictions imposed by countries on social media, messaging, politics, news, VPN access. Accordingly, North Korea and China, which cross the border in the 10-point scoring system determined the level of restrictions, are in the first place, while both do not allow their citizens to use social media platforms and instant messaging applications in the Western geography. The situation continues in the same course in Iran, Myanmar, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates, which follow the ranking with 9 to 10 points. The Iranian government is preparing an application that individuals must apply to access VPNs (Virtual Private Network), internet technology that allows connecting to different networks via remote access.

27 countries increased restrictions in 2022

Based on the data shared by the Online Press Release Distribution Service B2Press, which analyzed the research, it is noted that 27 countries that apply various laws to regulate social media posts added new ones in 2022. At the beginning of these countries are Myanmar and Sri Lanka, which added 3 more to their current applications and blocked their social media accounts. Continuing the list are Afghanistan, where 231 media outlets were shut down in 2022, and India, which created a tracking system by collecting VPN user data. A similar picture is seen in European countries, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Lithuania.

There is a similar picture in Europe.

According to the analysis of Online Press Release Distribution Service B2Press, 18 countries in Europe prohibit P2P (peer-to-peer) file exchange sites, while 12 countries restrict political content in online media. Compared to other geographies, no European country completely bans social media, while Russia, Spain, and Ukraine block access to these platforms. Turkey, which currently limits the use of VPNs and has recently enacted the 40-article Disinformation Law, has become one of the five European countries to impose restrictions on social media. With this new regulation, which concerns everyone from members of the press to social media users, it is aimed to prevent false and false information about the internal and external security, public order and general health of the society by controlling the posts of the users.