Having a social media account is the new norm these days. It seems like almost every single person is tweeting, posting a selfie, or sharing a reel. The captivation of likes, comments, and watching the lives of others, has become a daily routine for most individuals worldwide.
As groundbreaking social media has become for society, it also has some deep effects on the human psyche. These effects range from negative to positive. In this post, we explore the impact of social media on mental health.
3 Negative Effects of Social Media on Mental Health
Promoting Comparison
Social media allows people to showcase the best parts of themselves and their lives. This image of their lives is usually perfectly curated to where what is shown can become an unrealistic representation of one’s life and persona.
One of the negative effects of social media on mental health is the narrative social media allows individuals to portray can trigger jealousy, envy, or low self-esteem from viewers. This is because viewers are constantly being engulfed with watching the lives of others who have what they may want and cannot attain.
In other words, social media has people constantly comparing themselves to unrealistic standards. Comparing oneself to others online every single day is likely to have a severe impact on stress levels.
Increases Cyberbullying
Before social media became as big as it is today, bullying was solely seen in person. Maybe at school or at the workplace. Now because of the ‘online world,’ the impact of social media on mental health has led to what us know as cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is the attempt to insult, demean, or embarrass others online. Cyberbullying can have a detrimental effect to many across the globe. Not only affecting self-esteem but can go as far as to push individuals to suicidal thoughts or actions.
When Cyberbullying Meets Cancel Culture
Cyberbullying can also coincide with what is called “cancel culture” where people are held responsible for past/current poor actions. This may seem like a positive thing on the surface but cancel culture has also gone to extreme lengths to get the message across.
This group of people on the internet have called out others to the point of becoming de-platformed, getting fired, losing sponsorships, losing money and getting comment sections flooded with hate and/or death threats.
Cancel culture can be extremely detrimental to one’s wellbeing and overall sanity.
Increasing Social Anxiety
Since everyone spends loads of time online, they get less of a chance to connect in the real world. Connecting in person is pivotal when developing social skills; however,
social media statistics show that as generations become more involved on social media, the more they are likely to develop anxiety when it comes to communication with others in person.
When people are only used to talking through a screen, they likely won’t get to develop the skills to truly connect with others face to face, making the negative effects of social media more present in day-to-day life. This impact of social media on mental health has people developing strong social anxiety where they are not able to communicate with a person or groups of people without worry, stress, and anxious feelings.
People are hardwired to be social.
Yes, social media does allow us to be social but being social in person is what is most important since it allows for the development of better confidence and self-esteem towards speaking and connecting with people.
3 Positive Effects of Social Media on Mental Health
Encourages Self-Expression
With the option to post, tweet, share whatever you like on an array of social media platforms, one of the helpful impacts of social media is for an outlet of honest self-expression.
Being able to express oneself freely from a personal account or even an anonymous account can be very beneficial to oneself. Sharing thoughts, beliefs, opinions on any subject online can serve to vent or feel seen and heard.
These acts of self-expression can foster a sense of validation and support, especially when others engage positively with the content.
Moreover, one of the positive effects of social media and mental health and self-expression on the internet is to help individuals process their emotions, reflect on their experiences, and connect with like-minded people, which further enhances their mental well-being.
Provides Knowledge and Reduces Stigma
The use of social media is not just to display one’s idea of a ‘perfect life’. Social media is also actively used as a way to share information, knowledge, and spread awareness.
There are many social media creators that use their platform to help their audience become more informed on any given subject. In the process of providing knowledge and transparency, a positive impact of social media and mental health is reducing stigma towards certain subjects that are initially just misunderstood.
An example of this is shown through ‘project semicolon’ which spread through social media platforms like wild fire.
The movement used ‘;’ to display hope and love for anyone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal tendencies. The positive effects of social media on mental health is movements like these can be an amazing help to individuals across the globe who feel more seen, understood, and cared about.
Allows for Creative Outlets
Using social media as a creative outlet is so prominent these days that it merits its own section separate from general self-expression. In this digital age, the making of videos, edits, music, films, podcasts, art, reels have become extremely prevalent.
Through social media we have been able to see numerous outlets of creativity. One of the positive effects of social media on mental health is diving deep into creative endeavors, to provide a sense of helping one’s self esteem, providing a sense of accomplishment and purpose as well as giving a space to an individual to create something through their opinions and emotions.
Social media is very embedded in the daily lives of almost every individual in today’s society. It is clear to see that the impact of social media on mental health can range from negative to positive.
In becoming aware of the pros and cons of social media when it comes to mental health, we can start being intentional about how we actually use it.
It is important not to demonize social media as it is only going to become more prominent as our society progresses. The focus should be on educating ourselves, increasing awareness of the impact of social media on mental health, and using it in accordance with our well-being and benefit.
