5 Ways Social Media Impacts Mental Health

Feb 04, 2022

Over the last several years, social media has become more prominent in our daily lives. We go online to see how friends and family are doing, look at funny pictures and videos, and get our news and daily information. In 2020, adults in the U.S. spent a little over two hours a day on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn.  

Around 72 percent of adults use some form of social media, and over 50 percent visit social media sites on a daily basis. We use social media for friends, family, business, and networking; all sorts of reasons that we need to go online and engage with content and other people. It is becoming increasingly rare to find people who have no social media presence.  

How Social Media Can Benefit Us 

As humans, we are social creatures. We need people around us to talk to and have a support network. Thanks to social media, it is easier than ever to connect with old friends, long-distance family members, and coworkers. We can stay up to date on what is currently happening with extended family and see how the day-to-day lives of our friends are. We are able to make new friends and find communities based on our personalities, hobbies, and interests. We can share and seek support for our causes and important issues. We can also use social media as an outlet, sharing vulnerable pieces of ourselves and our creativity.  

How Social Media Impacts Our Mental Health 

Though there are quite a few benefits to what social media can provide us, from local news, entertainment, and a sense of community, there are quite a few ways that social media can negatively impact our health.  

"Friends" Does Not Mean Friends 

When we are on social media, it can feel pretty good when we have 100, 200, and so on friends. To have people who comment on our posts, like our pictures, and share stories with, can give us this feeling of kinship online. However, just because someone is labeled a friend online does not mean they are actually a friend. Though we are connected to more people than ever, we can still feel lonely. A lot of those connections we have online, though entertaining, can be superficial and not ones that give us those deeper connections. It also allows people in our lives who don’t treat us as a friend. Almost all of us have experienced at one point or another, people showing support online but unable to give us support in real life.  

Fear Of Missing Out 

The fear of missing out has been around for generations. However, the rise in technology makes this fear more prevalent, especially among teens. Growing up, a lot of us wouldn't find out that friends got together without us or that we were left out of a party invite, unless we were told. With social media, we can see our friends and family get together without us almost instantaneously. When we learn about our friends getting together without inviting us, or even lying to us, it hurts. Learning about this over Instagram pictures adds salt to the wound. Our perceptions of relationships and friendships can also change based on how we are presented online, and how active we are on our friends pages and updates.  

Communication Issues 

With the ease of access to family and friends around the world, you would assume that communication would become easier. However, that is simply not the case. Communication is more than the words that are said. Communication is also the tone, context, and body language, something that is harder to express online and through writing. Almost everyone has experienced a time where you sent a text or a message, and though it was supposed to be taken as light-hearted or sarcastic, the other person read it as a rude or serious remark.  

Addictive 

Social media can be addictive due to the serotonin people get from participating online. Having a post that gets lots of likes, shares, and positive comments can give us those hits of serotonin, which boosts online behaviors (both good and bad). We want to keep reaching for those serotonin hits and end up spending more time online worrying and working to get those likes.  

Boundaries 

Boundaries can be difficult enough to enforce in person. Social media adds another layer to that. With social media and the prospect of constant contact, it is much easier to reach people, manipulate people, or push narratives to get what they want. All they need to do is send a message, comment, and tag to get your attention and manipulate you. Unfortunately, pushing boundaries and the ability to connect with anyone can lead to cyberbullying. Everyone, but especially teens and children, can now be reached by bullies wherever they go. Bullies and abusers no longer need to be near you; they can access you through your phone, social media, and other digital avenues. From name-calling and rumors to receiving unsolicited explicit images and images of them shared without consent, social media has made it easier than ever to bully and harass individuals.  

All of these can create stress, depression, anxiety, and make us apprehensive about going online. However, because of the importance of social media and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), we can’t help but continue to go online.  

What We Can Do 

One of the best things that you can do is be conscious of your social media use. You want to set limits on the time you spend online and be aware of how social media makes you feel. Do you find that you are entertained and laughing when on social media? Or do you find yourself getting depressed and anxious? It is extremely easy to get lost down rabbit holes on social media because the algorithm tries to show you content and information it thinks you would like. When we start getting sucked into these digital rabbit holes, it is easy to find ourselves surrounded with like information, triggering or not. Being conscious of how you're spending your time on social media will help you pull yourself out of these holes and help prevent you from experiencing these strong negative emotions.  

Remember that not everything you see on social media is always accurate. The images, stories, and information we see from friends and family, showcases only one side of their life. After some time, it becomes easy to compare ourselves and our lives to other people. That's why it is important to remember that you don't always see the whole truth on social media.