Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
Hello everyone! Please join us to reflect on the impact of social media on mental health:
Advantages:
1. Noble causes- Content can be created for fundraising and supporting noble causes, which helps with raising awareness on important issues.
2. Connectivity and communities- network with other people who share similar interests, goals or ambitions. People may find comfort in knowing that they can turn to social media and internet usage due to the present global circumstances.
3. Individuals have an outlet for creativity and self-expression
4. Innovative and different sources of learning and education
Disadvantages:
1. Inadequacy about life and appearance- People may be aware that pictures they have been viewing on social media are many times photoshopped, they can still make them feel insecure about how they look or things going on in their own lives. This can negatively impact thoughts related to body image and self-esteem.
2. Fear of missing out (FOMO) - While FOMO has been around far longer than social media, sites seem to exacerbate feelings that others are having more fun or living better lives than you are.
3. Isolation- Research shows that overuse of social media impacts the level of isolation people experience as a result of comparisons to people online. Decreasing social media usage can actually make one feel less lonely and isolated and improve their overall wellbeing.
4. Cyberbullying- Social media apps can become a target point for trolling and hurting people through hurtful, offensive, derogatory comments and feedback.
All of these factors contribute to depression and anxiety. Humans are social creatures. They need face-to-face interactions. Lets hope we can return to leading our everyday lives, socialize with people in person and use time for self-reflection.The perfect images you see, the number of hearts and likes you see are merely icons and buttons. These do not describe your level of self-worth.
Questions:
1. Can you share an example of 1 positive and 1 negative effect of social media?
2. Do you have any coping skills for someone who needs support as a result of being negatively affected by social media usage?
3. Do you have any thoughts on social media detox?
4. What is something new you learned today?
Resources:
Coping strategies
Self-validation Techniques
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I started hating social media because, recently my xbf got married and I got to know the news from one of my friend. I know it is bad to stalk people on social media, but because of the anxiety every I checked his profile just to see whom he is married to. Then I realized at some point its not good to stalk his profile as he is married. Due to easily availability of information on social media even though we know its wrong we try to repeat it to satisfy our anxieties which is really dangerous in long run.
Social media is based solely on external validation. In the beginning, it makes us feel like we're confident. It slowly erodes our self worth, up until the point it becomes our life line. We tend to check it early in the morning before we brush and stay awake watching whether we'll get some extra likes. Entire friendships are questioned based on certain posts. I also feel that it is extremely dangerous to judge someone based on spontaneous decisions.