Social Media and Mental Health Correlation: Is social media detrimental to one’s mental health? Yes, it can be for some people are the quick response. However, each person’s experience with social media will differ in its impact on mental health. It might even improve mental health for some. Anxiety, stress, and depression are known to be decreased by human connection. Effect of Social Media, Socializing can increase happiness and joy while boosting self-esteem, preventing loneliness, and teaching us how to navigate and deal with life’s challenges.
To connect and build relationships, many people use social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and others. Nevertheless, although it is frequently a pleasant and beneficial experience, face-to-face interactions still outweigh digital connections. Ironically, given the platform’s name, using social media excessively can promote loneliness and seclusion. Moreover, according to the most recent research, it can aggravate pre-existing mental health issues like depression and anxiety. These harmful effects are particularly prone to affect young adults. According to a 2019 study, young people who use social media for more than three hours are more likely to experience mental health issues/Effect of Social Media.
You should reevaluate your relationship with social media if you frequently use them and have noticed a rise in your feelings of loneliness, sadness, frustration, or general unhappiness. Utilize the knowledge and advice we’re providing here to change how, when, and how much you use social media to achieve that harmonious balance. It’s possible.
Ways of Social Media Effects Our Mental Health/Effect of Social Media
Social media has a lot of benefits, but it also frequently has some serious drawbacks. We must examine both sides of the issue and start to consider the negative aspects of social media when examining how it affects mental health. Why are social networks bad? Overusing social media can start a vicious cycle that keeps repeating itself. Social media usage may increase if you feel down, lonely, stressed, or anxious. On the other hand, you may believe it benefits you, brings you joy, provides entertainment, and strengthens your sense of community.
However, overusing social media can lead to discontentment, loneliness, and inadequacy. These emotions could then lead to or exacerbate anxiety, stress, and depression, the very emotions you might have been trying to avoid in the first place. Some people feel pressured to use social media more frequently as their symptoms worsen, which feeds a vicious cycle. The following are examples of how social media can harm mental health Effect of Social Media.
- Fear of missing out (FOMO) Effect of Social Media
The idea of FOMO has existed much longer than social media. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others are ineffective. These websites and apps can make you feel like everyone else is living better lives than you do as you scroll through them. Your sense of worth may suffer if you believe that there are many wonderful things that you are missing out on. You might use social media even more because it can make you anxious and lonely.
- Self-absorption
An unhealthy sense of self can result from posting countless selfies and sharing your opinions about all conceivable social situations. This self-centeredness can create distance and a chasm between you and the people in your life.
- Body Image Issues
Another detrimental effect that has been getting more attention in recent studies is body image issues. Snapchat dysmorphia is a new term coined to describe a disturbing trend among young (primarily) women who use social media filters. And Snapchat dysmorphia happens when people contrast their actual appearance with filtered (altered) selfies, though it is not (yet) a recognized mental health diagnosis. Snapchat dysmorphia describes the ingrained desire to alter one’s physical characteristics to conform to filtered images. The intense emphasis currently being placed on — listens to this: perceived — flaws can cause dissatisfaction and unhappiness. The phenomenon has advanced to the point where plastic surgeons are now observing a startling increase in patients seeking cosmetic surgery to change their physical appearance so that it more closely resembles a filtered image of themselves.
- Mood Disorders And Worry
Humans are, by nature, social beings. Therefore, we need relationships to keep our mental health in check. According to studies, making eye contact with a loved one instantly lowers stress, controls heart rate, and can lessen pain and inflammation.
Your risk of developing or getting worse from depression, anxiety, and other similar mood disorders increases the more social media interactions you have in place of real-world interactions. There have been numerous studies on the link between social media use and depression. Results strongly imply increased time and intensity spent using social media is associated with significantly increasing depressive symptoms.
- Cyber bullying Effect of Social Media on Mental Health
According to research, nearly 60% of teenagers have experienced online harassment or cyber bullying. Bullies are spreading hurtful lies and creating or spreading rumors on social media platforms, which can leave victims with long-lasting emotional scars.
New Possible Mental Health Issues
Other mental health issues connected to social media users have come to light recently, such as the unresolved link between platforms like TikTok use and tic disorders. In addition, the number of teenage girls exhibiting uncontrollable movements has been dubbed an “explosion of tics” by psychiatrists. We know that anxiety is a major factor in the unintentional twitching that characterizes tic disorders. However, more study is required before fully comprehending any additional role social media may have. There is concern that watching others on a screen may cause tic disorders. Teen girls struggling with sudden tics they have developed while using social media have started using the hashtag #tourettes, which receives billions (yes, with a “B”) of views.
Most Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
It causes more sadness and less happiness. We are less happy as we use social media more frequently. According to a study conducted a few years ago, using Facebook was associated with lower short-term happiness and life satisfaction levels. Moreover, the more people used Facebook daily, the more these two variables declined. The authors speculate that this might be because, in contrast to other solitary activities, Facebook evokes a sense of social isolation.
It is mentally unhealthy to compare our lives to others’. One study looked at how we compare ourselves to others in “upward” or “downward” directions—whether we feel better or worse off than our friends—through our social media posts. Surprisingly, it turned out that both kinds of comparisons made people feel worse. In reality, only upward comparisons make people feel bad. However, it appears that in social networks, any comparison is connected to depressive symptoms.
Vicious cycle and jealousy. No doubt, using social media increases feelings of jealousy. However, this magnitude of envy incidents on Facebook alone is astounding, showing Facebook provides a fertile ground for ill will, according to the authors of one study that examined jealousy and other negative feelings while using the social media site. They add that it can spiral into a negative cycle where people constantly try to outdo each other and feel jealous, which leads to a never-ending cycle of one-upmanship and jealousy.
Having more social media friends does not imply being more social. There seems to be a restriction on the number of friends a person’s brain can support, and maintaining these friendships requires actual social interaction (rather than virtual interaction), according to a study published a couple of years ago. As a result, pretending to be social by using Facebook doesn’t work. Receiving genuine social support is crucial because loneliness
has been linked to many physical and mental health issues, including early death. Unfortunately, time spent with virtual friends doesn’t have the same healing power as actual friends.
Read Also: Mental Health Awareness & it’s Importance.
Overview
Users have quick access to electronic connectivity and content sharing through social media. Although it has many beneficial effects, users’ mental health may suffer. Limiting social media use to 30 minutes
per day can lessen FOMO and the associated feelings of isolation, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. Social media has value; after all, it helps us reconnect with people
we’ve lost touch with and maintains our connections across great distances. However, it probably would be better to log
on to social media when you have some free time or, worse when you need an emotional boost. Additionally, studies show that stepping away from Facebook can improve psychological health. So take a brief break if you’re bold, and see how it goes. Furthermore, if you’re going to continue “using,” at least make an effort to do so moderately.