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The benefits and drawbacks of social media use in relation to mental health

Checking social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others is a common habit for a lot of people now-a-days. Globally, there were projected to be 5 billion social media users in 2023. Every day, the average person uses social media for about 160 minutes. One method to feel more connected is to read posts from friends and relatives who live all over the world, but use of social media does have a drawback in several aspects. Social media can worsen anxiety, despair, and loneliness, which can have an adverse effect on our general well-being [1]. Teenagers and young adults are particularly affected by these problems. Social media is here to stay and it will only get more invasive and change over time. Reevaluating our connection with our online presence may be necessary if we find ourself feeling depressed, dissatisfied, frustrated, or lonely despite spending a lot of time on social media [2]. Hence, it’s critical to comprehend how social media affects our general and mental wellness for the benefit of ourselves and our loved ones.

Impact on mental health

Use of social media, particularly by teens and young people, may exacerbate depressive and anxious moods. Social media’s addictive qualities cause the brain’s reward centre to become active by releasing dopamine. This “feel-good chemical” is connected to enjoyable pursuits. Dopamine is released when we upload something and receive a “like” from friends and relatives [3]. But when we don’t receive that validation or boost, it can affect how adequate and confident we feel about ourselves. Physical appearance is a major priority on social media. Users of numerous social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, can apply filters to images [4]. Although filters are a lot of fun, their ease of use in hiding flaws and altering look can lead to misleading illusions. Continuous exposure to photos that have been edited might also make us feel self-conscious and unsatisfied with our appearance. Social media updates from friends and family can give us the impression that others are having more fun or have better lives than we do [5].

Tips for using social media safely

Cutting back on our daily screen time is a nice approach to enhance our connection with social media and mitigate its negative impacts. There are many tips can be adopted as per below description.

  • In your phone’s settings, we can give social media apps time limits.
  • We can set aside specified times to use social media.
  • We can examine our list of friends and followers and remove any accounts that make us feel bad.
  • We can find fulfilment and happiness outside of social media
  • We can make a practice during our working hours, not to see any post from any social media networks.
  • We need to introspect that happiness is within ourselves, which is real and not in social media, which is virtual.

References

[1] Nereim C, Bickham D, Rich M: social media and adolescent mental health: who you are and what you do matter. J Adolesc Health. 2020, 66:118-119.

[2] Odgers CL, Jensen MR: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future

 directions. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020, 61:336-348.

[3] Karim F, Mohamad M, Muhammad N: Mental health mediate social support to predict quality of life among drug-abuse inmates. Indian J Public Health Res Dev. 2019, 10:776-781

[4] Keles B, McCrae N, Grealish A: A systematic review: the influence of social media on

 depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. Int J Adolesc Youth. 2019,

 25:79-93.

[5] Berryman C, Ferguson C, Negy C: Social media use and mental health among young adults. Psychiatr Q. 2018, 89:307-314.