The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

In contemporary society, social media use has become part and parcel of everyday living. Today, social media platforms such as Instagram, X, TikTok, and WhatsApp are not only used as entertainment and interaction sites but also as sources of information and commercial purposes. Today, most people use social media to connect with their friends worldwide, and most users, especially for TikTok and Instagram release content, can commercialize and earn money from it. Businesses and company owners have also invested in these digital communication sites to sell their products, connect with potential customers, and improve their products based on customer suggestions and reviews. Social media promotes mental health by facilitating connection and ensuring accessibility of mental health support groups and also resources to help in coping. However, as the use of social media continues to rise, it raises concerns about how it affects user’s mental health. Social media addictiveness is likely to perpetuate higher chances of depression and anxiety and also subject one to harassment and bullying, which negatively affects one’s mental health. In addition, excessive use of social media affects one’s sleep, predisposing them to sleep disorders and insomnia, which affects mental health.

From a positive view, social media platforms provide venues where people can share their experiences on mental health and support peer-to-peer assistance. They are also sites to guide people with mental health concerns to access information and resources to intervene in their situations (Naslund et al., 2020). Most people prefer using social media to seek assistance for their mental health concerns because of its availability, promptness, and ability to remain anonymous. The authors observe that people with mental health disorders are increasingly using social media sites, and this is increasingly becoming a part of their everyday use. For instance, they observe that ninety-seven percent of adolescents with psychotic disorders and mood disorders are using these social sites, spending an average of two and a half hours per day on them (Naslund et al., 2020). These sites assist them to interact with each other socially, access peer support, and also boost their coping strategies because they access mental health information through these sites.

Indeed, with the draining repercussions of mental health conditions, these people desire to have social interactions to connect with their peers, communicate and share experiences and also encourage each other to preserve. Peer support and resources also encourage them never to give up, and they access this through social media, where they find friends who keep their hopes alive, encourage them, and support them through the journey. Furthermore, with the ability to access wide information about mental health, talk to a virtual consultant, and get assistance on their health condition, most people battling mental health issues tend to find solace in social media. 

To them, these sites allow them to express themselves, find their identity, and interact with a virtual community that understands and empowers them to self-acceptance. Therefore, from a positive outlook, social media provides a home and a community for people with mental health issues to cope with and overcome their situations. It also hosts numerous influencers and brand ambassadors who significantly increase mental health awareness and guide mental health victims on the correct path to overcome the issue. Extensively, social media improves mental health by fostering connection, higher self-esteem, and an increased sense of belonging.

On the flip side, social media has been a promoter and a perpetrator of mental health deterioration.  As Karim et al. note, social media is directly responsible for heightening mental health by heightening pressures and stereotypes that have affected the mental health of victims. While they acknowledge the importance of social media in facilitating friendships and companionships, which are needed in human life, they note that social media sites encourage sedentary behaviors such as limited face-to-face interactions, which are precursors to mental health issues. In their findings, they established that higher investment in social media use, which implies active usage and addiction, is closely associated with depressive symptoms, especially among adolescents (Karim et al., 2020). Furthermore, with the feature to upload their pictures and videos and have them liked and commented especially using Facebook, the researchers noted that teens tend to suffer depression and anxiety for fear of loss or having no likes or negative comments on their uploaded content.

In addition, social media use leads to body image dissatisfaction, increased addiction, and proximity to addiction, and its excessive use contributes to loneliness and the fear of missing out (Zsila & Reyes, 2023).  Body image dissatisfaction is when one sees celebrities or their friends on social media with thinner bodies and wants to have such a body. As Jiotsa et al. note, for over thirty decades, the media has been portraying slimmer bodies as icons of beauty and success, and when younger social media users internalize this mindset, they become vulnerable and start developing eating disorders (Jiotsa et al., 2021). Their body dissatisfaction exposes them to stress and causes them to have reduced self-esteem because they feel they are fat and not beautiful, thus a negative mental impact of social media.

In this age and time, almost nobody is immune to social media. Most users are already addicted to using social media sites, while others are almost becoming full-time social media addicts. Social media addiction affects one’s mental health by turning the brain into a slot machine, forcing an individual always to want to open the app to see what is happening (Stabler, 2021). As a result, one suffers challenges in sleeping, and whenever they fail to open the app, they become depressed and feel lonely. This case exemplifies how social media impacts one’s mental health. 

In the same vein, social media can lead to severe depression and, in worse cases, suicide due to bullying. One can be trolled and harassed following a picture or content posted on social media. With these trolls and harassments, one feels like they are inadequate, develop extremely low extreme, and the negative energy directed to them may depress them to the extent they contemplate suicide or actively commit it. This case is typical in teens and young adults who have immersed themselves in social media to find identity and companionship. Similarly, social media perpetuates self-absorption, especially when users post pictures and videos of themselves (Gordon, 2023). This behavior nurtures a form of self-centeredness that detaches them from the real world, including making memories with family and loved ones. With this concern, whenever they interact with family and loved ones, they find it challenging to maintain a relationship, and any negative comment directed at them will always create a sense of self-hatred because they feel they are perfect.

To counter the negative impact of social media on users’ mental health, individuals need to start balancing the time they spend online and offline. They can achieve this balance by setting limits on their time on various sites and adhering to reminders to take app breaks. Furthermore, users need to unfollow and mute social media accounts and users that subject them to trolls and give them negative comments and feedback. This move will help reduce the risk of depression and allow one to enjoy using social media positively. Most importantly, users should practice frequent media detox by taking breaks from social media and spending more in-person time with family, friends, and loved ones. 

Conclusion

Conclusively, social media has both positive and negative impacts on one’s mental health. On one hand, it provides an interactive platform to help people with mental health disorders find a community to assist them find helpful reasons and support as they walk through their situation. On the other, it proliferates stress and depression through addiction, online bullying, and harassment. It dissociates one from reality and meaningful person-to-person relationships, hence creating a false lifestyle that may subject one to loneliness and depression and also expose one to triggers to suicide and suicide ideation. Users develop the fear of missing out to the extent that they struggle to keep up with their social media lifestyle, become dissatisfied with their lives, and end up feeling like they are worthless, hence suffering severe depression. Still, limiting social media usage, detoxing, focusing on real-life connections, and also creating a safe social media use that does not accommodate toxicity will help prevent the negative impact of social media, and one will benefit from the positive implications of social media on mental health.