Mental Health

The dangers and risks of social media on your mental health :

 

The rapid growth of social media over the last decade has completely changed the way we communicate and behave in our lives. Social Media takes more and more space in our daily lives and this has direct consequences on our mental health.

 

Addiction to social media :

 

First of all, the best known and most direct consequence is addiction to social media.

The majority of people using social media are non-problematic but there is a small percentage, about 5-10% of Americans, that become addicted to social networking sites and engage in excessive or compulsive use. We spell this behavior the behavioral addiction, this behavior is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to connect to networks until it encroaches on our daily lives. This phenomenon is a consequence of the way social networks are presented to us. Indeed platforms such as Facebook or Instagram do everything to keep you connected. Studies have shown that the same areas of the brain are activated when you play gambling as when you log in to Facebook.

This phenomenon mainly affects young people and can have a real negative effect on social interaction in the physical world.

 

Decreased self-esteem and Feelings of inferiority :

 

Everyone has already felt this feeling of inferiority, uneasiness, even anxiety, while surfing on social networks by seeing the hyper photoshopped photos of Instagramers. In fact, this phenomenon is real and worries more and more researchers. Indeed, according to a new survey, social networks like Instagram, Facebook or twitter have a very profound impact on the self-confidence of young people aged 14 to 24. Instagram, in particular, is based primarily if not entirely, on the physique and the way we are perceived. In addition to this, the most liked photos and therefore seen by young people are retouched photos presenting a perfect body for a perfect face. So it's easy to develop an inferiority complex and a drop in confidence in front of that.

 

Depression / depressive symptoms :

 

A study published in 2017 by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine decided to measure the perceived social isolation (PSI) among young adults (aged 19 to 32 years old) with the hypothesis that social media could help reduce social isolation. In the end the study showed an opposite result, in fact, according to this study people who regularly use social networks are more prone to suffer from isolation. Another study published in 2014 for young people of the same age group also showed that the more we use different social media platforms the more their users are likely to suffer from depression or anxiety.

 

Other negative consequences on our mental health :

 

 

Various studies over the past few years have shown that social media and screens in general can affect our mental and physical state.

We can talk about  Deterioration in concentration and other symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Indeed, a study published last year showed that in ten years, the human ability to concentrate would have decreased by 12 to 8 seconds on average due to the overconsumption of screens .

We can also talk about the deterioration in the quality of our sleep over the past few years. What has been proven by numerous studies.

 

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So yes social media have negative effects on your mental health, but only if you use them excessively and uncontrolled. There is no risk in using social media every day if you do it in a controlled and thoughtful manner. You can use them for seeking out information and insights or for getting involved in the causes you believe in or share or even for supporting others by leaving positive, constructive and helpful feedback. Social networks are tools and like all tools, they can be dangerous, you just need to know how to use them properly