Social Media: The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health

Social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, but is too much usage good for you?

Impact of Social Media

Social media has gotten more popular since the first true social networking site, Six Degrees, a platform that allowed users to create profiles and befriend other users, was created. During this time, other more successful and well-known sites started emerging, such as MySpace, Friendster, LinkedIn and Facebook. With 2.3 billion users in 2019, Facebook has dominated the social media market for a decade, but since the rise of Gen Z's online presence, the use of Facebook is declining rapidly and other platforms including, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, are taking over the market.

According to Our World in Data, the percentage of adults in the United States that use social media had a rapid increase from 5% in 2005 to 79% in 2019. The prevalence of social media and its addicting nature has contributed to a number of both positives and negatives that haunt the lives of many, especially teens and young adults.

A 2019 survey found that users ages 18 to 22 years reported feeling addicted to social media. Addiction is caused by the release of dopamine, the "feel-good" chemical, in the brain. When users are engaging with different social networking sites, the levels of dopamine in their brains may increase and reinforce the need to satisfy the feeling the next time they're online. This cycle of motivation, reward, and reinforcement is called the "dopamine loop" and may cause you to become too connected to social media.

Interview

Social media user, Shelby Dreier, discusses her media usage and what she does to get offline. She spends her mornings checking her socials to get updated on the current news events and uses certain platforms to stay connected with her friends and family. While watching her favorite shows, she goes online to check live-tweets to see what other people are talking about and reads opinions in real time reguarding a show she is watching.

Negative Effects

Social media comes with many benefits, but as many other things in life, there are negatives that come with it. The increased usage of it can lead to cyberbullying, depression, anxiety, and other health challenges. According to StopBulling.org, 25 percent of teens are bullied, while up to 43 percent are being bullied online. In addition, social media can cause negative self-image issues. Many people on social media project a perfect image on their profiles by adding filters to their photos or modifying their body with photoshop. This can amplify the feeling that your life is lacking and makes you feel worse about yourself.

Positive Effects

Social media offers us the ability to meet new friends and maintain relationships throughout the years. It also allows you to connect with family members around the world. You can be entertained by videos posted by everyday people and celebrities. Social media also offers a large variety of games for people's entertainment. The convenience of it allows us to complete simple tasks in minutes, such as, banking and bill pay and online learning through the use of platforms like Youtube, and the ability to access information from the click of a button.

How to Tame Your Social Media Usage

Social media can be addicting and can easily overwhelm us. Finding yourself stuck on social media may be sign that you need a break. If you feel like you spend too much time online, use the tips below to tame and cut down on your usage.

Resources

If you're struggling with your mental health because of social media, visit the TXST Counseling Center. The counseling center offers mental health resources for friends, faculty and staff. Take this quiz to see how your social media habits may be affecting you. For further resources, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

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