Social Media And Our Mental Well-Being.
“I am fat.”
“OMG! he is just 20 years old and he has started his own business! What am I doing with my life?”
“Why didn’t I get more likes?”
“WOW she’s travelling to such beautiful places and I’m stuck here.”
Welcome to the inner monologue of a regular social media scroll. We all have a monologue, but we don’t think or talk about it. In fact, many of us are unaware of it.
So we all know what is social media but lets talk about why is social media so important to us? What effect does it have on our mental health? Let’s learn about the unintended consequences of social media is having our mental health.
Did you know that about 60% of the world’s population is already on some form of online social media platform. Some of us spend two or more hours a day on social media and I’m certain that anything we do for this long, anything we pay attention to for this has an ever lasting effect on us, whether we notice it or not. And anything we do this often is worthy of critical observation.
You see the problem with the excess usage of social media is that today’s youth is tomorrow’s future and we ought to be using the internet to build ourselves to be well equipped with the skills and knowledge but instead we are using it to destroy ourselves and each other. The worst part it we don’t even notice it.
How Is Social Media Affecting Us?
In this age of the internet, little study has been conducted to determine the long-term effects, positive or negative, of social media use. Multiple studies, however, have identified a strong link between increased social media use and an increased risk of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicide ideation. Social media may promote negative experiences such as:
Rise in mental health problems: Robust findings from several large longitudinal studies in the UK (The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity survey) and in Australia (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, Mission Australia Youth Survey, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) are showing that mental health problems like anxiety disorders and depression are on the rise among young people. This increase is even more marked among young women; women (aged 16-24) are two to three times as likely to suffer from psychological distress and disorders as men of the same age.
Fear of missing out (FOMO): The idea or feeling that you’re missing out on certain things can impact your self-esteem, trigger anxiety, and fuel even greater social media use. FOMO can compel you to pick up your phone every few minutes to check for updates, or compulsively respond to each and every alert—even if that means taking risks while you’re driving, missing out on sleep at night, or prioritizing social media interaction over real world relationships.
Isolation: A study at the University of Pennsylvania found that high usage of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram increases rather decreases feelings of loneliness. Conversely, the study found that reducing social media usage can actually make you feel less lonely and isolated and improve your overall wellbeing.
Creates A Need For A Fake Life: The most notable negative phenomenon observed after the popularity of social media was the sudden surge of teenage celebrities. People became famous overnight for something, garnering thousands of followers. This fuels a desire to become famous, leading to the creation of fictitious lives. This need for acceptance and popularity is tremendously damaging, and teenagers are especially vulnerable.
Unrealistic Expectations: Social media can induce emotions of inadequacy, low self-esteem, body image concerns by setting unrealistic expectations.
Signs That Social Media Is Impacting Our Mental Health
Indicators that social media may be adversely affecting your mental health include:
Comparing yourself unfavorably with others on social media. You have low self-esteem or negative body image. You may even have patterns of disordered eating.
Experiencing cyberbullying. Or you worry that you have no control over the things people post about you.
Being distracted at school or work. You feel pressure to post regular content about yourself, get comments or likes on your posts, or respond quickly and enthusiastically to friends’ posts.
Having no time for self-reflection. Every spare moment is filled by engaging with social media, leaving you little or no time for reflecting on who you are, what you think, or why you act the way that you do—the things that allow you to grow as a person.
Engaging in risky behavior in order to gain likes, shares, or positive reactions on social media. You play dangerous pranks, post embarrassing material, cyberbully others, or access your phone while driving or in other unsafe situations.
Worsening symptoms of anxiety or depression. Rather than helping to alleviate negative feelings and boost your mood, you feel more anxious, depressed, or lonely after using social media.
Modifying Social Media Use To Enhance Your Mental Health:
Being on social media can make your life better, but it can also become an additional stressor, possibly causing feelings of anxiety or depression. Using some of these strategies will assist you in developing good social media habits that promote balance in your life, safeguard your mental health, and transform your social media use into a positive influence rather than a negative one.
Schedule time to use social media and times to step away. As with most things, balance is the key to having healthy habits on social media. You can set aside time when you can surf the web, and times when you log off and ignore notifications. It is particularly important when you’re spending time with friends or family and before you go to sleep. It may be helpful to use an old-fashioned alarm clock to wake up in the morning, so you can leave your phone in the other room when it’s time to go to bed.
Instead of comparing yourself to other people’s postings, use them as inspiration. Seeing other people broadcast their successes and post magazine-perfect moments of their lives might make your daily life pale in comparison. But remember that these moments aren’t representative of someone’s whole life, and the person posting them is probably struggling with a lot of the same things you are. Looking at these posts as inspiration for you to work toward your own goals, rather than directly comparing your daily life to their Instagram, is a healthier way to view posts on social media. It’s also good to be selective about who you follow. If someone’s posts consistently make you feel bad about yourself or get you frustrated, then consider unfriending or unfollowing that person.
Follow people and pages that bring you joy. Are there any upsetting posts that pop up as you scroll through your feed? Unfollow, block or mute content that bothers you, and instead choose to follow things and people that make you happy.
When you’re out, live in the moment. When you’re out doing something fun, don’t worry about having the perfect picture to share on social media. Instead, take full advantage of the moment by putting away your phone and being fully present.
Take a break! If you notice that using social media has made you feel anxious or depressed, it’s a good idea to take a break for a few days. Unplugging helps you recharge your batteries and helps you refocus on what’s most important in your life.
If you feel that social media is impacting your mood more than it should, and taking a break isn’t helping you find relief, try reaching out to a specialist. If you notice any of these symptoms in someone, make time to talk to him or her about your worries. Be upfront, straightforward, and nonjudgmental in your approach, and offer to assist them in locating appropriate care from an evidence-based mental health practitioner.
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