Author: Elaine Guo
Editors: Hwi-On Lee, Junyu Zheng
Artist: Christina Chen
The impact of social media on mental health has been a controversial topic in modern society. Social media is an easily accessible form of communication where people share information, ideas, and content by posting videos on big platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These social media apps have become massively popular over the years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in communities built through users and their interests. The inherent benefits are clear, but so are the drawbacks.
As social media use continues to increase, many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of online advertisements. Jobs are opening up on social media management teams, providing a living for those advertisers, where said teams manage websites and post videos to boost their company. Due to the ease of access to social media, these advertisements can be seen by a large, constantly flowing audience. But don’t believe that social media only benefits businesses; the average person can quickly and easily interact with others, share lifestyles, and post videos, possibly boosting their fame or social status. Think of the countless social media stars who start by just posting silly videos in their rooms. Social media can also help strengthen connections around the world and act as a tool to educate others. People use it when they need to vent because it can be hard to express your feelings in person, and the global scale allows people to stay up to date with important, relevant information. It’s an effective way to share news rapidly. Access to nearly unlimited information also allows one to learn new skills by watching tutorials on platforms like YouTube. Funding can be easily promoted through social media allowing campaigns for donations to be offered to people. Social media can also bring people with different kinds of backgrounds together to create a community through what they have in common.
Although social media comes with many benefits, there are also many downsides. The increasing use of social media leads to more online scams, making it easy for scammers to put out false advertisements that innocent people fall for. Another noted issue is unrealistic standards. Opinions on social media can affect others and can cause insecurities. Posting unrealistic lifestyles can cause jealousy because some don’t realize that people usually only post the positive parts of their lives and not their problems. Posting pictures of yourself on social media can result in comments about your appearance. These posts can also affect others as they compare themselves to images they see. Additionally, social media has always been used as an easy way to spread rumors, regardless of the truth. Photos and texts can be edited easily, and the rise of artificial intelligence has created concerns about the legitimacy of video evidence. Lastly, the main issue (and a big talking point as of late) is addiction. Studies relate social media to mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Short-form content and algorithms make it easy for users to get trapped in a cycle, spending hours consuming content but not retaining valuable information. Consequentially, this leads to productivity issues and (potentially) a disregard for physical and mental health.
Everyone has a different experience with social media, as people figure out a balance between the good and bad of both. But if you find yourself constantly on such platforms for hours on end, consider spending even just a fraction of that time on something else. Even thirty minutes of exercise goes a long way, and the value of a mere thirty minutes out of an entire day spent online is, by comparison, practically nothing. Six hours of social media versus five hours are hardly different at all.
Citations:
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "social media". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug.
2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-media. Accessed 19 August 2024.
Coomer, Sarah. “How Social Media Affects Mental Health (and How to Cut Back).” Edited
by Jessica Lester, Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 24 July 2024,
“10 Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media on Society.” Sociology Group, 19 Jan.
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