Introduction
Human beings are sociable creatures and need the company of others to thrive in everyday life. Since the early 2000s, social media has provided a new outlet for social experiences, expanding communication opportunities. Lots of people currently use social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, X, Snapchat, and Instagram to stay in touch with one another.
Due to its importance in society, social media has become an integral part of people’s daily lives. Using these platforms, people may quickly engage with close friends and relatives, accept invites to social gatherings, and join online networks to meet others with similar interests. According to Karim et al. (e8627), people spend nearly three hours daily on social media, and the platforms are growing in popularity among young people.
However, some people spend an inordinate amount of time on social media sites, prompting experts to study their probable benefits and concerns. People’s mental health and well-being are greatly influenced by the strength of their social ties. At the same time, the quality of social media use, rather than the quantity, could dictate whether the experience improves or degrades the user’s mental health. The extended usage of online social networks may harm a person’s mental health.
Mental Health and Social Media Use
Mental health is a condition of well-being in which individuals recognize their skills, solve day-to-day difficulties, perform well at work, and make a significant difference in the lives of others. There is now debate over the benefits and drawbacks of social media on mental health. Social networking is an important part of safeguarding people’s psychological well-being, but the quantity and quality of online social contacts influence people’s mental health (Karim et al., e8627). The displaced behavior theory could assist in elucidating why there is a link between social media and mental health. People who engage in sedentary habits such as social media use, according to the hypothesis, have fewer moments for face-to-face social connection, both of which have been demonstrated to be a shield against mental disorders.
Furthermore, people likely have poor self-control and, when faced with a difficult or stressful situation, indulge in behaviors that provide immediate relief. When people cannot cope with stress in the right way, they sometimes act out in ways that make them feel better in the short term but ultimately adversely affect their long-term objectives and welfare. Marciano et al. (793868) indicate that self-control is a finite resource that can be depleted over time; when it is depleted, people are more inclined to indulge in reckless or self-destructive behaviors. This can result in a cycle of negative behaviors and effects since people might take part in activities that provide temporary relief but ultimately contribute to their distress and troubles. Social media use has an impact on mental health because it influences how people perceive, maintain, and connect with their circle of friends.
Addiction
Social media addiction is a psychological dependency that is characterized by excessive worries about social media. This includes a compulsive need to log on to or use social media and invest much time and energy in the platform, which impedes other key life areas. In research by Karim et al. (e8627), Facebook Addiction Disorder may exist due to the manifestation of addiction criteria. It is evidenced by a disregard for one’s private life, mental fascination, distraction, mood-adjusting experiences, tolerance, and hiding addictive behavior. This is found in certain persons who use social networking sites excessively.
When someone who is addicted stops engaging in a practice they are accustomed to, they experience withdrawal symptoms. In the words of Valkenburg (101294), when people cease using social media, they have miniature but measurable physiological impacts. Also, people who are overly reliant on digital gadgets express feelings of worry when they cannot use them for an extended period. This creates a much bigger issue because physiological alterations accompany the impacts.
Addiction is often associated with FOMO (fear of missing out). At the same time, FOMO has existed around much longer than social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram appear to exacerbate notions that others may be having happier times or living better lives than one. Akin to addiction, the perception that one has been left out on something can lead to low self-esteem, concern, and even greater social media use (Khalaf et al. e42990). FOMO may cause someone to pick up their device regularly to look for developments or to respond hurriedly to every alert, even if this results in jeopardizing personal safety, missing out on sleep, or prioritizing social media activity over in-person interactions.
Depression and Anxiety
Numerous research on the effects of social media has been undertaken, with the suggestion that extended usage of social media sites such as Facebook may be associated with undesirable appearances and signs related to stress, anxiety, and depressive disorders. Adolescence is a distinct and significant period in a person’s life during which a teenager gets exposed to numerous risk factors such as family troubles, harassment, and a lack of social interaction. Khalaf et al. (e42990) insist that this phase is critical to a young person’s social and emotional growth. The advancement of information technology has impacted many aspects of adolescent life.
Users of such platforms can like, comment on, and share posts and youngsters are tempted to make derogatory comments regularly. Adolescents are often involved in trolling for amusement, oblivious to the potentially negative effects. The practice of trolling on these platforms, among other things, is focused on disparaging one’s body, personal abilities, language, and way of life. The impacts can include depression, anxiety, tension, sensations of a state of isolation, and thoughts of committing suicide.
Comparison Syndrome
The comparison issue is one of the reasons why social media platforms make people feel excluded from society despite their actual condition. People get into the vicious cycle of comparing themselves to others as they read through their feeds and form opinions about their appearance. Naslund et al. looked into how people make parallels to other people’s posts, either in an upward or downward direction (245). This includes determining whether one feels better or worse off than the closest people. It came to light that both types of comparisons increased mental stress. However, in the realm of social media, it appears that any form of comparison is associated with depression symptoms.
Furthermore, envy for most people emanates from watching other people’s exotic vacations and well-mannered children. Karim et al. examined jealousy and bad feelings while using Facebook and found that the amount of envy episodes occurring on the site is astonishing (e8627). This suggests that social networking platforms foster the development of harmful emotions. The craze has the potential to become a vicious circle: becoming resentful can lead to a person wanting to make their situation look better by uploading jealousy-inducing photographs of themselves, creating a continual cycle of surpassing and growing jealous.
An extra difficulty arises when a person discovers that images on social media have been modified. Individuals may get concerned about how they appear or what is going on in their personal lives. In a similar way, everyone is aware that people tend to communicate only the pleasant aspects of their lives and rarely address the adverse factors that everyone encounters (Valkenburg, 101294). This may not remove the feelings of envy and discontent that precede looking through a friend’s fabricated images of their amazing beach trip.
Even if there are negative implications to social media use, everyone is different, and no defined amount of time spent online indicates that the activity is becoming detrimental. The indicator must be based on something other than the sheer amount of posts or the regularity with which one checks for updates. Instead, it is concerned with the impact of online presence on one’s mood and other parts of life and the motivations for utilizing it (Marciano et al. 793868). Social media use, for example, may be harmful if it causes people to disregard face-to-face connections, generates needless disorientation, or leaves people feeling jealous, irritated, or unhappy similarly, if a person gets excited about using social media simply because they are bored or lonely or want to make others resentful or upset. In that case, it might be time to reconsider their social media habits.
There are various signs that social media is hurting a person’s mental health. Spending longer on social media compared to interacting with real-life friends indicates how many offline social relationships have been displaced by the platforms. Other indicators include unfavorable social media comparisons, disturbed eating practices, low self-esteem, or a negative body image.
Khalaf et al. (e42990) indicate that people may also feel compelled to provide regular content, receive compliments or likes, or respond promptly and enthusiastically to friends’ posts. Every spare moment will be consumed by social media, resulting in distraction and a lack of time for self-reflection. Risky behavior undertaken to acquire fans, followers, or positive replies on social media is another signal. This might entail accessing social media at the end of the day, upon waking up in the morning, or perhaps when one wakes up in the middle of the night. The light from smartphones and other electronics can interfere with natural sleep, which can have major consequences for mental health.
Conclusion
Excessive use of online social networks can be detrimental to one’s mental health. Social media platforms have enhanced the social interaction between people and created a wider space through which people can interact online. However, the platforms are associated with negative impacts on users, including mental health disturbances.
Deteriorating psychological well-being manifests through addiction, depression, stress, anxiety, and comparison syndrome. The deteriorating mental health can manifest through various indications that point to a looming trouble. To take full advantage of the likelihood of having harmonious, safe, and worthwhile experiences on these platforms, awareness is needed about the potential hazards of excessive social media usage.
Works Cited
Karim, Fazida, et al. “Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review.” Cureus, vol. 12, no. 6, 2020, pp. e8627. Web.
Khalaf, Abderrahman M., et al. “The Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review.” Cureus, vol. 15, no. 8. 2023, pp. e42990. Web.
Marciano, Laura, et al. “Digital Media Use and Adolescents’ Mental Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Frontiers in Public Health, no. 9. 2022, pp. 793868. Web.
Naslund, John A., et al. “Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice.” Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, vol. 5, no. 3. 2020, pp. 245–57. Web.
Valkenburg, Patti M. “Social Media Use and Well-Being: What We Know and What We Need to Know.” Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 45, 2022, p. 101294. Web.