Chapter 38: The Role of Social Media on Mental Health
Chapter 38: The Role of Social Media on Mental Health
Amy Baldwin
Questions to Consider:
- Why do I use social media?
- How can I balance positive and negative social media use?
- How can I identify and improve problematic social media use?
- What should I do if I experience cyberbullying?
Some people refer to the time we are living in as the age of overload. It’s easy to get worn down by social media and the constant news cycle, and to be overwhelmed by too many choices that social media affords us. We live in a fast-paced, always-on world with a lot of pressures.
Social media offers many benefits, from staying connected to your loved ones and friends, learning about events in your community, and providing you with the ability to get information quickly. Unfortunately, these benefits are compounded with many risks (see Figure 38.1). Among college students, social media has also been associated with negative effects on self-esteem and self-image. Overuse of social media has been found to increase symptoms of anxiety, loneliness, and depression.
Uncovering Your Relationship with Social Media
By better understanding your relationship with social media, you will be more successful in finding the right balance and occasions for using it. The best way to get started is to just become aware of your relationship with social media and how it may or may not impact your own mental health.
ANALYSIS QUESTION
What is your relationship with social media? Do you feel you may have a problematic relationship with social media use? Here are some Questions to Consider and to learn more regarding your relationship with social media use:
- Do you spend a lot of time planning or thinking about how to use social media?
- Do you have difficulty concentrating in class or when you are studying due to social media use?
- Do you often use social media as an escape from what is happening in the real world?
- Do you feel you have to spend time on social media to feel satisfaction or pleasure?
- Do you find yourself engaging in or wanting to engage in social media when it is not appropriate (e.g., during a class)?
- Do you feel that you are more irritable, anxious, or sad when you are not able to use social media?
- Do you have experience with attempting to control your social media use and not being successful in such efforts?
Upon reflection from the activity above, where is your relationship with social media? To consider the relationship another way, think about the questions in the table below? Which more accurately describes your most frequent feelings when using social media?
Table 38.1 Relationship with Social Media
| Frequency and Duration | Do you use social media for occasional entertainment and connection? | Or do you perhaps feel that you need constant stimulation and validation from your online network? |
| Feelings and Impact | Do you find yourself truly happy after looking through friends’ posts or seeing your feed? | Or have you noticed that your mood is negat