Social Media And Your Mental Health

Social Media and Your Mental Health

Okay, first things first and that is to state that the internet is not a bad thing; in fact it's quite the opposite. We are the first generation to have access to complete knowledge at our fingertips! This means that if we don't know the answer to a question, we can Google it. If we don't know how to make a drink, we can YouTube it. If we aren't sure how to fix something that's broken, we search it. We can do all these things and more using the internet.

In addition to this, regular internet use has also been shown to have other proven benefits. Use of the internet and social media has been shown to improve communication levels, social connections and even technical skills amongst children and adolescents. 

 On top of that, there are more opportunities for community engagement through raising money for charities and volunteering for events such as political rallies or philanthropic fundraisers. Then there's the enhancement of individual and collective creativity through development and sharing of artistic and musical endeavours, as well as the growth of ideas from the creation of blogs, podcasts, videos, and gaming sites.

We all know that the internet is a wonderful and powerful thing. But of course, with everything good there is also the potential for bad and there are certainly some draw backs to the internet.

So c'mon get on with it... What are the effects of the internet on Mental Health?

Sleep Disturbance:

First off, and what most teachers and parents will jump on, is that the internet causes sleep disturbance.

 Yes it's true that phones and television create blue light which makes it more difficult for your brain to switch off and fall asleep.

But having said that,

"Most phones nowadays have blue light filters which you can switch on at night to stop this issue."

 is the response of so many people we talk to about our phones interfering with our sleep.

But unfortunately the blue light filter doesn't stop messages and notifications waking you up.

 A lot of people (myself included) sleep with their phone by their bedside table, i.e right next to their head, this means that notifications, messages and updates can wake us up if on loud or vibrate. 

Many social media users are on at various points through the night and so it is likely you will receive notifications at stupid o'clock. 

Waking up to check notifications and messages we receive can have a serious effect on the amount of sleep we are getting by breaking your deep sleep cycles, not allowing you to reach that beautiful deep sleep zone we all dream of. This is the time when our brains develop and repair, so getting a certain amount of unbroken sleep each night is very important, particularly for the younger generations whose brains are still developing. 

Comparison leads to feelings of inadequacy:

Comparing yourself and competing with other people on social media can lead to jealousy and insecurities of inferiority.

     It's easily done, checking out how many followers a friend has, or being outraged by the amount of likes someone has received on Instagram  ["They must be paying for their likes"] and using that as a barometer to compare and compete. 

     

     Social Media is only the best bits of people’s lives.

   

    Think about it: we only share pictures of the best bits, like when we are on holiday or doing something exciting or seeing something abnormal. Most of us don't post when we are living our everyday lives, at work or at school. It's these times when we flick through social media and see the cool things our friend who's off travelling is doing. Feelings of jealousy creep in and we all start naturally comparing our lives to theirs as we are sat on the sofa bored out of our minds. So the comparison is unrealistic.

Chasing likes on posts to increase self worth and self esteem:

  

   Being too active on Social media and worrying about regularly posting pictures and status updates has been linked to anxiety, poor body image and diminished mental health.

 The constant seeking of approval from others and searching for external validation means that young people don’t develop a secure sense of self that isn’t dependent on compliments and likes.

With so many “selfies” uploaded everyday with hundreds of likes, we start to worry about how we are seen on social media, we become self critical and make more unrealistic comparisons. 

But it's not just unrealistic standards from friends and followers that we are trying to meet, but also media advertisement. Youtube, Facebook and now even Snapchat advertise on our social media feeds with perfectly plastic looking people, photoshopped and air brushed so they look flawless. Muscular men saying you should look like them. Memes of "Relationship goals" or "Friendship goals". 

 People are busting their butts trying to meet these expectations, so they can gain likes and finally get the validation they have been looking for. But how many likes will satisfy that hunger?

No wonder mental health issues are rising in young people. Take a picture, edit it, put it online to get validation, if not enough validation is received, start again. This is an exercise for poor self-esteem.

So there you have it. The internet is a wonderful thing that brings people together, gives us immediate knowledge and enhances creativity and connection. But like all powerful things there are draw backs. 

As with anything it is better taken n moderation But having this knowledge will allow you to identify and avoid potential issues in the future.

For more info about Internet safety or to book our internet safety workshop please visit our website:  www.actionwork.com