Research shows that people on average, around the world, spend about two and a half hours a day online. Teenagers spend nearly five hours a day on average on social media.
From snapping on Snapchat and tweeting on Twitter to scrolling on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok, people rely on social media to feel connected, while disconnecting from the pressures of everyday life.
While scrolling on these platforms can be entertaining, relaxing, and even educational, excessive use of social media can have serious mental health consequences. Multiple studies have found a strong correlation between heavy social media and an increased risk of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
In the following blog, we’ll discuss how social media can impact mental health, share warning signs that social media is impacting your mental health, and offer practical solutions for how you can engage with social media without compromising your wellbeing.
How can social media impact mental health?
Human beings are wired for connection.
Being connected socially with others reduces stress, anxiety, depression, prevents isolation, boosts self-esteem, and provides us with comfort and happiness. While many of us rely on social media platforms to stay connected, social media can never replicate the satisfaction of real-world human relationships. It’s easy to feel like we’re missing out on life or falling behind on the latest trends when scrolling through social media.
We may rely on social media as a security blanket, leading to discomfort in real-world human interactions and exacerbating feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. We may also use social media to mask distressing feelings such as stress, depression, boredom, and anxiety.
While it’s easier to switch on the screen than it is to sit with discomfort, finding healthier ways to manage your mood fosters personal growth, emotional regulation, resilience, and empathy.
Here are some ways that social media can affect your mental health:
1. Comparison and Low Self-Esteem: Rarely do we find the low points that everyone experiences on social media. Our constant scroll through carefully curated pictures and highlights of other peoples lives on social media can make us feel insecure about our own lives, leading to feelings of inadequacy and disappointment with ourselves.
2. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Vacations, parties, engagements, relationships, and accomplishments seem to be exasperated on sites such as Facebook and Instagram. We may find ourselves feeling that others are having more fun than us, accomplishing more than us, or seeming to live better lives. FOMO can impact our self-esteem and trigger feelings of anxiety and social exclusion, compelling us to pick up our phone and prioritize digital engagement over real-world connections.
3. Cyber-Bullying: Research finds that about 10 percent of teens report being bullied on social media. Subject to bullying, harassment, threats of violence, insults, rumors, and lies can lead to heightened stress, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide.
4. Isolation: When we depend on social media to provide us with a sense of comfort, security, and connection, we end up detaching from real-world relationships, leading to social withdrawal and feelings of isolation.
5. Anxiety and Depression: The more we prioritize social media interactions over in-person connections, and screen time over self-reflection and self-discovery, the more we’re at risk for developing or worsening mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.
Signs that social media is impacting your mental health:
Social media has become an integral part of people’s lives and there’s no specific amount of time spent on social media that indicates your use has become unhealthy.
When your mood and other areas of your life have become problematic or unmanageable due to your time spent on social media, along with your motivations for using it, it may be time to reevaluate your digital habits.
Warning signs that social media may be negatively affecting your mental health include:
- Spending more time on social media than with real world friends and family
- Comparing yourself negatively to others on social media
- Experiencing cyberbullying
- Loss of time or interest in real world activities
- Engaging in dangerous or risky behavior in order to receive likes or followers
- Loss of time for self-reflection
- Sleeping too much or too little due to social media usage
- Unable to focus on work, school, relationships, and real world responsibilities
- Suffering from low self-esteem
- Worsening symptoms of anxiety and depression
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, pay attention to them, learn to modify your social media habits, and reach out to a trained mental health professional for support and understanding.
How to engage with social media without compromising your wellbeing:
If you feel as though your social media usage has become an addiction, or if it’s exacerbating feelings of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or isolation, it’s important to listen to yourself and reclaim your life by learning how to manage your social media usage.
Here are a few ways that you can engage with social media without jeopardizing your mental health and wellbeing:
- Limit Usage
- Curate Your Feed
- Set Boundaries
- Practice Mindfulness
- Diversify Your Interests
- Talk to a Mental Health Professional
Find Guidance and Support at Handel Behavioral Health:
If you’re noticing negative mental health side effects from your social media usage, and if, after limiting your social media exposure you’re still experiencing mental health symptoms, please seek guidance and support from one of our trained mental health professionals.
Our therapists in Massachusetts are here to help you reach a place of connection, fulfillment, and inspiration with your life, whether you decide to stay connected to social media or not.
To start working with one of our therapists online in Massachusetts or in-person from our offices in Amherst, Franklin, West Springfield, Wilbraham, or Natick, contact us today at (413) 343-4357 or request an appointment online.
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