Never Underestimate The Influence Of Mental Health And Social Media

A lot has been said about the link that exists between mental health and social media. Due to the reinforcing nature of social media, it is important to proceed with caution. In this week’s blog, we will get into some of the positive and negative effects social media can have on our mental health and how we can adjust social media use to our benefit.

Many people enjoy being and staying connected to people – especially with the technological age and instant interaction. Connections with others play a big role in our happiness and mental health in that we create support systems to assist in dealing with our stressors, anxious feelings, boosting self-worth, creating joy and comfort or prevent loneliness to some extent.

Interaction on social media, on the other hand, can also boost self-esteem and our sense of belonging with a big hope to receive feedback – waiting for notifications, monitoring likes and comments and getting lost down the rabbit hole of scrolling may have the opposite effect.

Positive influences of social media that enables us to:

1. Keep in touch with family or friends that stay far away

2. Raising awareness on important issues

3. Social and emotional support during difficult times (Covid lockdown for example)

4. Finding community support and staying up to date on events in your area

5. Engage in self-expression and find creative outlets

6. Easy access to sources of information and learning

Negative influences of social media that promote experiences like:

1. Feeling of being inadequate –social media enables the use of filters and manipulated images making us feel insecure about our life and appearance.

2. Selective sharing – people tend to only share positives, creating a sense that low points are few and far between. This can create a high standard of living to achieve.

3. Depression and anxiety – mental health depends highly on face-to-face contact which stimulates our mood and reduces feelings of stress. The more we isolate ourselves or withdraw in social settings to check our social media platforms, the more at-risk you become to developing or worsening our mood. (I often see people together in public, each on their phones with little interaction)

4. In addition, we can see cyberbullying and people becoming more self-absorbed

Signs that we can look out for that may indicate a negative effect on social media include spending more time on social media that out in the real world, comparing yourself to others constantly, distracted from work or school, negative sleep patterns and increased feelings of anxiety or depression, among others. In the case that these are observed, the following steps can be taken:

• Reduce screen time by making use of apps on your phone to limit the amount of time spent online to increase productivity. This will produce a report at the end of each week to indicate how much time we spent online.

• When we are around others, set a rule to leave your phone unattended (at home, leave it in a different room to minimise the distraction) – be more intentional in our interactions

• Turn off notifications for social media apps to reduce the constant checking behaviour.

• Avoid checking social media 30min to an hour before bed (eliminate blue light and engaging your brain)

With all said, we should keep in mind that social media will never be able to replace human, face-to-face, interaction and the psychological benefits that it brings. Set up safe meetings with friends or family and be present in your interactions.

Stay warm and make your mental health a PRIORITY

Shanté

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