Today, social media is part of almost everyone's lives. While social media platforms have a range of benefits and important use cases for communication, social media platforms can negatively affect a person's mental health. In the article below, we cover the impact of social media on young people's mental health, and we discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected young people's social media use. We also cover methods that people can use to manage their social media activity, and we share a quiz to self-assess one's relationship with social media.
Social media platforms and competition for attention
Social media companies are in constant competition to capture people's attention, and recently, social media companies have been capturing the public’s attention quite successfully. One social media and mental health statistic is that in 2018 social media users averaged 136 minutes per day online. The longer a social media company can keep a person on its platform, the more advertisements the company can display. With more ad space to sell, the social media company can make more money.
This business model results in social media companies using complex algorithms that maximize user engagement. Algorithms process each user's data to make recommendations on content that will most likely make the user click. This algorithmically-served content often causes users to spend hours per day on social media and removed from people and events in the world around them.
Impact of social media on mental health
While moderate social media use can be beneficial for communicating with friends and loved ones, heavy social media use can negatively impact a person's mental health. One way social media can affect a person's mental health is by contributing to depression. When a person spends long periods on social media, a range of behavioral changes may lead to depression, including:
- Less time spent face-to-face with loved ones.
- Less time spent engaged in physical activities.
- Less time spent sleeping.
In some situations, the above behavioral changes may result in new cases of depression, and in other cases, the above changes may exacerbate an existing case of depression.
Social media can also result in low self-esteem and body-image issues, particularly among female teens and young adults. When people scroll through social media platforms, they often only see images where people look their best and are enjoying life's highlights. This experience can lead to people comparing others' social media feeds to their own lives, which may not be as glamorous or exciting as what they see on social media. Additionally, people may compare their bodies and physical appearances to models, celebrities, and Photoshop-enhanced images that they see online.
Social media use can also result in feelings of anxiety. This anxiety may come from fear-of-missing-out (FOMO), an experience when a person feels compelled to frequently check social updates to stay informed of conversations and upcoming events. Feelings of anxiety may also come from worries about what friends and followers think of one's recent content.
While social media connects people, it can result in people feeling isolated. If a person were not invited to an event with friends before social media, in many cases, the person would only not hear of the event. With social media, people often see images of events and gatherings that happen without them, and this experience can make a person feel isolated and rejected from friend groups.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many young adults have increased their time on social media. To keep in touch while respecting lockdowns and social distancing guidelines, teens have relied on connecting virtually. While connecting online can be fun, a virtual conversation does not have the same mental health benefits as meeting in person. Additionally, increased social media use during the pandemic can intensify social media's negative effects on one's mental health.
How to encourage youth to manage social media use
Often, one of the best ways to combat the negative impacts of social media is by simply using social media less. Strategies to decrease social media usage include:
- Setting time limits on social media. These time limits can be self-enforced or managed by a friend or parent. Additionally, some phones come with time-limit settings for social media apps.
- Putting your phone away during social interactions. Having a phone in one's pocket can make it too difficult for a person to avoid social media. Consider putting your phone in another room or keeping your phone in the car during social interactions.
- Turning off notifications. The buzz and ping associated with social media notifications can produce an irresistible urge to get back on the social media platform. Turning off notifications can help create a distraction-free environment.
When trying to limit social media use, know that one's behavioral changes do not have to be all-or-nothing. If a person uses social media too much, they can start by reducing their social media use by just 30 minutes per day and then decrease their social media use further over time.
Take our self-assessment quiz on social media behavior
Young social media users and their parents may wonder, How much social media use is too much? There is not an exact amount of time that results in too much social media use, and people have different limits before they start seeing adverse effects. The best way to determine if a person is spending too much time on social media is to examine their feelings and behaviors.
To help people determine if they are spending too much time on social media, we developed a self-assessment quiz on social media use. To take the quiz, assign a number to each of the following statements below using the scale below.
__ I look for affirmation or acceptance from others.
__ What others post negatively affects my mood.
__ I feel fearful or anxious without using social media for long periods.
__ I feel a desire to change the way I look or dress to follow social media influencers.
__ I feel sad or depressed after being on social media.
__ Spending time on social media affects my daily motivation
__ I am teased and made fun of on social media.
__ I feel sad when people do not comment and like my posts.
__ I feel easily agitated and annoyed with close friends and family members.
__ I need to go on social media every day. Next, tally up the points from the above questions, and compare the sum to the descriptions below:
- 50-40 points. Please seek attention from a behavioral health hospital. There are many aspects of our lives that we cannot control, but we can manage our social media interactions. If you feel that you cannot control your behavior with social media, it is important to reach out for help.
- 39-30 points. You can take several self-managed steps to reduce social media use. Consider reducing time online, and try to spend less than one hour on social media each day. One way to reduce social media use is by disabling notifications and not bringing your phone to bed.
- 29-20 points. Try spending more time with friends and family without accessing your phone. Putting your phone away during social gatherings can help people focus on the present moment.
- 20-5 points. Congratulations on managing your social media use well! However, know that many people struggle with controlling their social media use. Consider sharing this quiz with a friend or loved one.
Please note that the above self-assessment quiz is only for informational purposes, and it does not replace the advice of behavioral health professionals.
How Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital can help
Sometimes, people who struggle with excessive social media use need help managing their behavior and changing their habits. At Dallas Behavioral healthcare hospital, we offer a range of behavioral health treatment programs that can help teens and adults deal with the impacts of social media in their lives, including anxiety and depression.
Our treatment programs include adolescent inpatient psychiatric programs, adult inpatient programs, and a range of outpatient behavioral health treatment services. To get started with a treatment program at Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital, the first step is to contact us online or call our team at (972) 982-0897. A member of our team can help answer any questions you may have and schedule you for a free mental health assessment.