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The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

kals0222

Social media has become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, but what impact is it having on our mental health? There is a growing body of research that suggests social media use may be linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.

On the other hand, some argue that social media can have positive effects, such as providing a sense of community and support, and connecting individuals with similar interests and experiences.

What do you think? Has social media impacted your mental health in any way? How do you manage your social media use to ensure it doesn't negatively impact your well-being? Do you believe social media has a net positive or negative effect on mental health?

Parents

  • Hi Kals! 

    I think the effects of social media can greatly vary from person to person. For me, I used to find other people's posts about their lives quite irksome especially when I had a massive backlog of people who I had as 'friends' who I didn't actually speak to. I ended up doing a massive cleanse of my social media a few years ago where I deleted anyone who I didn't actually speak to or want to know about, and then unfollowed people who I did speak to but didn't want to see constant life updates from and that was a massive help. I also reduced pressure on myself to continuously reply and respond to people's posts by telling people that I don't really go on social media and use it for messaging only. That way when family posts there's no expectation that I will have looked at it because honestly keeping up with that was draining! 

    For me, I think the most important thing was making it work for what I wanted. My Facebook account became a place for memes, recipes and good news stories so it was nice to scroll through. Though, social media can be a time wormhole for me so I have wellbeing timers set on my phone to make me more mindful so I spend a limited amount of time on it each day. I have other things I want to do. 

    Pip

Reply

  • Hi Kals! 

    I think the effects of social media can greatly vary from person to person. For me, I used to find other people's posts about their lives quite irksome especially when I had a massive backlog of people who I had as 'friends' who I didn't actually speak to. I ended up doing a massive cleanse of my social media a few years ago where I deleted anyone who I didn't actually speak to or want to know about, and then unfollowed people who I did speak to but didn't want to see constant life updates from and that was a massive help. I also reduced pressure on myself to continuously reply and respond to people's posts by telling people that I don't really go on social media and use it for messaging only. That way when family posts there's no expectation that I will have looked at it because honestly keeping up with that was draining! 

    For me, I think the most important thing was making it work for what I wanted. My Facebook account became a place for memes, recipes and good news stories so it was nice to scroll through. Though, social media can be a time wormhole for me so I have wellbeing timers set on my phone to make me more mindful so I spend a limited amount of time on it each day. I have other things I want to do. 

    Pip

Children
  • in reply to PetitePip

    Hi Pip,

    Thank you for sharing your experience with social media and how you have managed to make it work for you. I completely agree that the impact of social media can vary from person to person and it's important to find what works best for you.

    It's great to hear that you did a cleanse of your social media and only kept people who you actually communicate with. I think this is a helpful approach to reducing the pressure and the amount of time spent on social media. Setting wellbeing timers is also a great idea to stay mindful and limit the amount of time spent on social media.

    It's all about finding a balance and making sure that social media use doesn't negatively impact our mental health and well-being. Thanks for sharing your insights and tips with us.