How Social Media Seriously Harms Your Mental Health
Did you know that social media seriously harms your mental health?
Mindless scrolling on Facebook for minutes or even hours may make you feel connected to your family and keep tabs on your favorite celebrity, but excessive use could also be a source of sadness, anxiety, and depression.
Social media can set unrealistic expectations which can often put pressure on your mental health. Talk to our therapist today.
Who Said Social Media Seriously Harms Your Mental Health?
According to the Pew Research Center, about 69% of Americans use social media compared to 5% in 2005. With increased access to smartphones, most people use them as virtual companions. Although it’s a powerful communication tool, it can pose a risk to your mental health. How much does social media cause mental health issues? How can something that gives you so much excitement cause you harm? This article will reveal how the overuse of social media could be detrimental to your mental health and how to modify your usage.
How Can Social Media Destroy Your Mental Health?
Having strong social connections is essential for you. It eases stress and depression, provides emotional support, and boosts a feeling of self-worth. However, social media and depression come when you over-rely on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to connect with your friends and family. Virtual connections can never be replaced with face-to-face human relationships. For a technology that aspires to improve human connection, overuse of online platforms can seriously harm your mental health. It can make you feel lonely and worsen mental health issues such as depression.
What’s Driving Your Social Media Use?
The role social media does in mental health is massive. It can affect your concentration at work and disturb your sleep patterns, making you a slave to it. Since you can access online platforms through your phone or tablet, it makes it easy to be online most of the time because you always have your phone with you.
The round the clock accessibility can create impulse control issues with the constant alerts and notifications. Furthermore, it can be addictive, like gambling, alcohol, or drugs, and induce craving. Social likes, shares, and comments reward and raise your brain’s dopamine levels. Thus, you keep yearning for more rewards. You become addicted and spend most of the time posting and reviewing your posts on your favorite platform.
If your posts don’t get the likes and favorable reactions you were looking for, it can worsen anxiety and depression.
Does Social Media Seriously Harm Our Mental Health?
Technology has improved your connection to your friends and family from different locations. However, it can also affect your mental health. Let’s look at the benefits and risks to mental health.
The Positive Aspects of Social Media | The Negative Aspects of Social Media |
| Stay in touch with family and friends in different locations | Increased anxiety and low self-esteem which using the social platforms |
| Network with new people with similar interests | Unhealthy comparison with others |
| Source of valuable information | Oversharing on personal matters |
| Get or offer emotional support in hard times | It affects sleep and productivity |
| Serves as a creative outlet for self-expression and sharing talents | The virtual interaction is not the same as face to face connection |
| A communication tool to raise awareness and promote your favorite causes | Anxiety when interacting with people offline since you’re more familiar with virtual communication |
Learn to be confident in yourself by booking an appointment with our therapist.
Signs That Social Media Is Affecting Your Mental Health
How do you know when social media seriously harms your mental health?
- You have FOMO (fear of missing out) that you keep logging in to check for updates so that you don’t get left out of any conversation
- You spend more time scrolling on Facebook or Twitter to mask anxiety, loneliness, or depression instead of connection to real people.
- You log in to the online platforms when you’re stressed, depressed, or lonely to distract you from the emotions.
- Your feelings of anxiety, jealousy, or low self-esteem worsen when you view your friends’ updates. Comparing our lives with others is mentally unhealthy.
- You cannot control the impulses to log in to social apps constantly
- You get distracted from essential tasks such as school or your job.
- When you experience cyber bullying
Modifying Social Media Use to Improve Mental Health Steps
Here are helpful tips for managing the effects of social media,
- Limit your time to 30 minutes a day using an app or timer
- Disable notifications
- Don’t use your phone in the bedroom
- Remove the social apps from your phone
- Get busy with work, or join a health club or gym
- Connect with real people offline
- Practice gratitude to stop unhealthy comparisons with others
- Explore other areas of your interest, such as art, photography, and traveling.
Get Professional Help
If you feel that social media seriously harms your mental health, it’s time to reexamine your usage and get a healthier balance.
Contact us at Mango Clinic to get professional help. Click on the banner below to book your appointment.
