Social Media and Mental Health

Social media is a great tool that has enabled people to connect with loved ones from across the world. It allows people who may feel isolated in their real life communities to find online communities and build digital friendships. Online communities have expanded due to social distancing and health and safety measures as a result of COVID-19. While social media has been a saving grace, there is also the potential for negative mental health effects. This blog post will cover the potential negative consequences of obsessive social media use.

The sole purpose of the business aspect of social media is to capture as much of the users time as possible. The more time you spend on social media, the more ads you see, the more the revenue the social media company makes. This leads to algorithms that are designed to be addictive. A feed of your friends, celebrities, and or strangers presenting digitally altered versions of themselves can lead to comparison. This comparison can be dangerous for your mental health leading to feelings of depression and or anxiety. In fact, according to the McLean Hospital, “In recent years, plastic surgeons have seen an uptick in requests from patients who want to look like their filtered Snapchat and Instagram photos.”

Social media has also been a huge contributor to online bullying. Bullying can lead to low self-esteem and self-efficacy which results in poor mental health. With the added layer of social media, now bullies can be anonymous and emboldened to be more cruel than if they were speaking to someone face to face. Additionally, bullies can now open up multiple social media accounts to amplify their negativity.

In some cases the negativity may be covert. Well meaning friends may have a limited number of invitations and be unable to invite everyone to an event. Seeing a post of your friends spending time together without you on social media may lead to feelings of isolation. For example, “Twenty years ago, the girl may have been excluded from her best friend’s activities, but she may not have known about it unless she was told explicitly,” (McLean Hospital). If someone you know is not in a good place mentally, social media could potentially add to their mental distress.

Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from the potential harmful effects of social media while still enjoying the benefits:

1. Limit use of social media - many cellphones and social media apps allow you to set a personal limit on how much time you spend on the app daily. Try limiting your consumption to 2 hours a day.
2. Unfollow or mute accounts of people that you find yourself comparing your life to. It’s not worth it!
3. If you experience online bullying, do not Immediately report the account to the social media site and block the user.

The Dean Hope Center at Columbia University is here to help you. We sincerely hope these tips help you manage your social media accounts.

Sources:

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults/Teens/Social-Media-and-Mental-Health