The influence of Social Media on Mental Health
Humans are social beings who thrive when they are in the company of others. The nature of their bonds influences their mental state and happiness. Socially connected people can survive stress, worry, and sadness, increase self-confidence, bring happiness and peace, and alleviate loneliness; hence, making life more enjoyable. For example, I feel anxious not logging into my Instagram account every three hours because I may miss breaking updates from my followers. A lack of strong social relationships, on the other hand, can damage one’s mental well-being. Several people use new media, like Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube, to connect and communicate. Although every platform has its benefits, it is crucial to know that social networking will never substitute face-to-face engagement (Robinson and Smith para. 2). Individuals must establish a connection with particular hormones to trigger the release of stress-relieving hormones that allows them to feel happier, stronger, and more hopeful. While social media enhances individuals’ communication and interaction with other people, spending a lot of time on social networks can make people lonely and aggravate mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Individuals’ social media participation might not provide the same psychological benefits as face-to-face interaction; people still have many fantastic opportunities to stay connected while improving their health. People can use social media to communicate with family and friends around the world, to make friends and societies, to connect with others with whom they share common interests or aspirations, to join or encourage worthwhile causes, to promote awareness about important matters, to seek or assist during difficult times, to find a critical social connection for persons who live in rural, such as minority groups, and to find outlets for their creativity (Robinson and Smith para. 4). Social networking has impacted people’s ways of communication which have become a crucial part of their lives. For instance, WhatsApp has modernized Instant Messaging (IM), elevating communication to other heights. As long a person has access to an internet connection, they can communicate with any person regardless of their country. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have played a part in the IM transition.
Social networking sites have enhanced public awareness of events in other regions globally. An excellent example of the benefits of social media communication is the Amazon Rainforest inferno. The news of the fire started with a post, but thousands of people knew what was taking place on various social media channels in a short time. Due to an increasing number of social media channels users, information and advertisements are disseminated on social networking sites (Caetano para. 1). While internet payments used to be synonymous with online banking, the landscape has shifted today. For example, the WhatsApp application that allows users to send money to other people with no effort is the most commonly used today. Social media has revolutionized health services. Individuals can now connect with virtual doctors who prescribe medications instead of physically visiting a doctor based on their symptoms. Some doctors even hold Skype sessions with patients to better comprehend their complications. Thus, individuals can get mental health pieces of advice online without physically meeting their physicians.
New Media has its adverse effects on its users despite the positive effects. Excessive use of social media has been connected to anxiety, self-harm, feelings of despair, loneliness, anxiety, and suicide ideation. Negative moods, including lack of information about one’s life or appearance, can be amplified by social media. People may feel uncomfortable about their appearances or lives even if they know that the photographs of people living extraordinary lives they view on social media have been edited. Even though fear of missing out (FOMO) precedes social media, interactive social platforms increase people’s view that others enjoy or live improved lives. FOMO diminishes one’s self-esteem, causes nervousness, and motivates others to join social networking networks better (O’Reilly et al. para. 1). Anxiety leads people to check their handsets a short time for updates regularly or hurriedly respond to notifications, even if it implies endangering their lives while driving, missing rest at night, or prioritizing social networking above their real-life relationships.
Social media platforms can force individuals into isolation; according to an investigation by the University of Pennsylvania, using Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram frequently lessens feelings of loneliness. The investigation revealed that reducing social media use can help people feel less isolated and lonely while increasing their overall wellbeing (Robinson and Smith para. 8). Two of the most prevalent anxiety symptoms and melancholy are anxiety and depression. Humans require face-to-face contact to maintain mental wellness. The higher the risk of acquiring or aggravating mood disorders like depression, the more social media activity takes precedence over in-person interactions. Social networking can subject individuals to assault, whereby platforms like Twitter are breeding grounds for abuses, rumors, and lies, which leave people with emotional wounds (Robinson and Smith para. 10). To add on, self-centeredness and disconnection from real-life connections can result from posting several selfies and revealing one’s innermost feelings on social media. Social media’s constant notifications and texts disrupt people’s sleep, and they become enslaved to their gadgets, making them lose attention and focus.
People use social media platforms to share their interests, stay online, and frequently check their screens for new information. Like gambling or drug addiction, social networking can result in psychological desires. Fear of missing out, which keeps the masses on social media all the time, is harmful to social media use. People may be concerned that if they do not keep up with the latest social media news or gossip, they are likely to be omitted from the discourse at school or work. When people are scared, nervous, or lonely in a social scenario, they turn to their devices and log on to their social networking sites. Participating in social media merely eliminates the face-to-face interactions that assist individuals in easing stress. Excessive social media use may be hiding underlying issues such as stress, sadness, or boredom (Beichler para. 10). When upset, lonely, or bored, individuals can use social media to divert themselves from their negative emotions or self-soothe their emotions. Even if it is challenging, the feeling can help establish appropriate mood-management methods.
Signs of Individuals Mentally Affected by Social Media
Individuals do not have specific times when they log into their social media platforms. Thus, it is not easy to deduce that social networking sites have been mentally affected. However, being mentally affected by social media depends on how individuals’ use affects their emotions and other elements of their lives. For example, social media can be harmful if it encourages people to disregard face-to-face engagements, diverts them from school or work, or makes them jealous, angry, or dissatisfied (Karim et al. para. 4). People who use social media because they are bored or lonely intend to annoy or make others unhappy by posting something. Spending extra time on new media than with actual-life friends is one sign that social media hurts one’s mental health. New media has become a replacement for offline social connections for many people. They are inclined to check social media frequently, even while out with friends, mainly because they feel they may miss out on some exciting things happening globally.
Individuals from humble backgrounds may develop problematic eating patterns if they compare their living standards with people who seem to be living prestigious lives on social media, thus developing low self-esteem. They may become victims of cybercrime because they believe they do not influence what others say about them online (Robinson and Smith para. 20). Due to the temptation to post regular information about oneself, receive likes or comments on their posts, or react quickly and passionately to their colleagues’ posts, some youngsters and employees may be distracted in school or work. Individuals may not have sufficient time for self-reflection because they spend so much of their spare time on social media. Social media leaves little time for people to consider who and what they are, what they think, or behave in the way they do, all of which are essential aspects of personal development. Furthermore, some individuals may engage in unsafe behavior to gain more likes, shares, or good responses on social media. They embarrass others by publishing humiliating content, cyberbullying others, or gaining access to other people’s phones while driving or in other risky situations.
Some social media users may be feeling more anxious or depressed than usual. Several people report feeling more nervous, unsatisfied, or lonely after using social media rather than reducing negative feelings and improving their mood (Braghieri et al. para. 1). Individuals can minimize social media’s adverse problems if they take measures like using app tracks to find out how much time they spend on social media, setting off gadgets installed with social platforms at specific times of the day, avoiding carrying gadgets to bed, turning off social networking notifications, and uninstalling social media platforms from devices. An investigation conducted by the University of Pennsylvania discovered that minimizing the use of social media among individuals for thirty minutes led to a significant decrease in nervousness, sleep problems, isolation, hopelessness, and fear of missing out (FOMO). The research resolved that being watchful of their social media use benefits individuals’ moods. While thirty minutes daily may not be an accurate target for several individuals, they can still gain from minimizing the time individuals spend on social networking.
In conclusion, social media has various effects on people’s mental health. Several people connect and communicate via Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube via social media platforms. Communication, marketing, and advertising are just a few of the benefits of social networking. However, spending too much time on social media, on the other hand, can make people lonely and exacerbate mental health concerns like depression, which is surprising for a platform that should unify people. People who are depressed, dissatisfied, annoyed, or lonely due to spending too much time on social media should reconsider their online habits and find a healthier balance. Excessive social media use has been associated with sadness, nervousness, isolation, self-harm, and suicide ideation. One symptom of social media harming one’s mental health is spending more time on it than real-life pals. Furthermore, sharing multiple selfies and revealing one’s deepest feelings on social media might lead to self-centeredness and detachment from real-life interactions. People’s sleep is disrupted by continual notifications and texts from social media, and they become tied to their devices, losing attention and focus.
Works Cited
Beichler, Eric. “The professional side effects of social media.” Dmagazine.Com, 2020, p. 1,Web.
Braghieri, Luca and Levy, Roee and Makarin, Alexey, Social media and mental health (2021). Web.
Caetano, Marco Antonio Leonel. “Political activity in social media induces forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 167 (2021): 120676. Web.
Karim, Fazida et al. “Social media use and its connection to mental health: A systematic review.” Cureus, 2020. Cureus, Inc., Web.
O’Reilly, Michelle, et al. “Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents.” Clinical child psychology and psychiatry 23.4 (2018): 601-613. Web.
Robinson, Lawrence, and Melinda Smith. “Social media and mental health.” Helpguide.Org, 2022, Web.