Social media is detrimental to mental health

Question

With technology advancing, social media has become more and more prevalent. Now, when people are bored, they often resort to scrolling through their social media apps. Dr. Kim Johnson from Middle Georgia State University talks about recurring checking your phone to see if you got a notification is like smoking a cigarette because of the immediate rush of dopamine, which can be addictive. Also, your brain does not fully develop until you are 25 years old, so your prefrontal cortex is premature, which is the area of your brain that regulates emotional responses.

Dr. Kim Johnson is a psychiatric and family nurse practitioner at Woods Medical LLC and is an associate professor at Middle Georgia State University. She has gotten some of her research from The American Psychological Association, Pew Research Center, and Emerald Insight.

Answer 1

According to Mass General Brigham Mclean, social media is heavily associated with comparing oneself to another. It is designed to addictive because the like count, and commenting features release dopamine. According to them this a "feel-good Chemical". But, being addicted to the apps and this feel good chemical has become synonymous with anxiety and depression. Jacqueline Sperling, one of the psychologists at McLean Hospital supports this notion that it is the comparing ourselves to others on the apps that allows for anxiety-like disorders to emerge. She also accounts for the age of users and how younger children are more at risk when it comes to using social media. 

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

Comments

Sorry didn't mean to comment on this comment!

Answer 2

Yes, this is true, but may vary from person to person. However, in an article titled, "Is Social Media Bad For Your Mental Health?", it is stated that "Research studies note the connection between use of social media and its undesirable outcomes that increase incidence of anxiety, stress, depression, body image concerns, and loneliness in teens and young adults." These effects and emotions can be felt by almost any individual. 

https://www.mga.edu/news/2022/06/is-social-media-bad-for-your-mental-health.php#:~:text=Research%20studies%20note%20the%20connection,adults%20(APA%2C%202022).

Answer 3

Social media is known to be linked with mental issues. The most common issue people hear about is body image issues. This is because of filters and editing people do to their images before posting. It creates an unattainable "norm" that people find impossible to achieve. According to Mclean article, The Social Dilemma, Social Media and your mental health, FOMO also plays a part in these mental health issues. FOMO stands for the fear of missing out. The reason this is causing mental health problems is because people are feeling left out like never before due to social media.When people are worried about receiving invitations or being included it can lead to anxiety and depression.

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

Answer 4

Yes, social media can be extremely detrimental to mental health. There have been many studies done on the recent increase of social media use linked with an increase of mental health issues, including the article provided by the original commenter. In that article, Kim Johnson stated that “Research studies note the connection between use of social media and its undesirable outcomes that increase incidence of anxiety, stress, depression, body image concerns, and loneliness in teens and young adults (APA, 2022).” A source that I found titled “The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health” concluded that, "The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments”. Using social media produces dopamine and makes the usage addictive. The addictiveness of social media only furthers the negative effects it brings. These studies prove that if constantly used, social media does have a negative affect on mental health.

There are some positives to using social media, but the majority of sources have provided studies that prove it does more harm than good.

I have also had many discussions with friends about how we feel a lot worse after we spend too much time on social media, and that we need a break. This conversation happens a lot between my friend groups, and is surprising how many other people have experienced the same thing. Overall, between different studies found and personal experience, social media can harm mental health.

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

Answer 5

Social media provides so many benefits to a person such as being connected with friends all over the world, being able to network, and educate yourself on new topics. Some people use it to boost their self-esteem by posting a good picture so that their friends can react. Nobody ever talks about what happens when that boost doesn't come and you feel like your friends don't like your picture. According to Lacanster General Health "For instance, if you post a picture hoping to receive likes or comments and don’t get the feedback you desire, you may feel disappointed or invalidated. You may also experience disappointment when comparing your posts to those of other people. All this can cause low self-esteem, distraction from other tasks, and even feelings of anxiety or depression". So I agree that it is very true that social media can be detrimental to mental health.

https://www.lancastergeneralhealth.org/health-hub-home/2021/september/the-effects-of-social-media-on-mental-health

Answer 6

Although there is a correlation between social media and mental health, It truly does depend on the person. The majority of people spend their days scrolling through their phones to romanticize a certain lifestyle, body type, etc. It can make a person become anxiety-ridden and depressed and can make them have issues with body image as well as feel like they are never enough. A psychologist at McLean Hospital, Jacqueline Sperling (PhD) has devoted her time to mental health in terms of social media with the younger generation and understands that some of these social media platforms have tried to minimize the comparisons of one another. However, she emphasizes that "even if you remove the likes, there continue to be opportunities for comparisons and feedback. People still can compare themselves to others, and people still can post comments." Sadly, we live in a world where many have been immersed at a young age to live off of comparing themselves to one another in terms of their status, wealth, happiness, body, etc, and although it depends on the individual, it is still prevalent in much of today's society and is correlated with mental illness.

Here’s How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health | McLean Hospital

Answer 7

The McClean hospital website supports the claim that social media is detrimental to mental health. In the article, it states that "the platforms are designed to be highly addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments." It also states that the reason social media is addictive is because of the dopamine that is released when using it, which is also stated in the article by Dr. Kim Johnson, therefore supporting the claim. In addition, it states factors such as self-esteem and fear of missing out as influences on mental health. Social media use can also lead to decreased sleep, memory loss, and poor academic performance. Ultimately, it is clear that social media is detrimental to mental health in many different ways.

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health