Social Media and Its Impact on Mental Health

For as long as I can remember, I have been on social media in one way or another. I made my first Twitter account in 2010.

The day my mom finally let me make a Facebook just to play Farmville is probably a core memory of mine. I felt so cool and official.

Then, I jumped to Instagram and Vine (RIP); and of course, I spent my young teenage years on Tumblr obsessing over bands (not much has changed in that department, except I no longer prefer to go on Tumblr).

In many ways, social media is very beneficial to our lives. I have met people through social networks that I would have never met otherwise. I have been able to connect with friends that move away, as well as strengthen friendships with those right in front of me.

I am so grateful to have platforms online that allow us to grow and experience more of the world. After all, I am trying to make a career out of working with social media.

Honestly, it’s crazy to think of how different my teenage years would have been without social media. I know my parents are probably rolling their eyes and saying “well when I was a kid…” at that statement, but at the end of the day, social media has impacted my generation in ways that the world has never experienced before.

Being introduced to new social platforms that allow us to see into the lives of others impacts everyone – especially young adolescents. For the first time ever, we are able to connect with our favorite celebrities, follow brands we shop from, and make friends with total strangers on platforms we have such easy access to.

However, with all of these positive aspects of social media, it also comes with some negative impacts as well – including the burden social media usage can become to one’s mental wellbeing.

In more ways than one, I think we can all agree that social media affects our mental health.

Scrolling mindlessly for hours often results in lack of motivation and focus. Obsessing over certain influencers or social media pages impacts confidence and increases feelings of low self-esteem.

I think all of us are guilty of feeling this way at some point in our social media journey. Especially in recent months, where we are staying home and living our lives mostly through a screen.

Spending this increased amount of time on social media in the past year has had many positive effects. It is, of course, a way for us to reach out and speak to people when faced with loneliness.

On the other hand, it can put us in a headspace where we are comparing our lives to those around us. Seeing others be productive online and seeming as if they have everything together during this difficult time can make us feel left behind.

These impacts can of course be seen throughout the new age of social media, not just in this pandemic.

However, the good news is that, to a certain extent, there are ways to manage the impact that social media has on your wellbeing.

Recently, I listened to an episode of Gemma Styles’s podcast, Good Influence, where her and long-time web influencer Zoe Sugg speak on this topic of mental health in the social media world.

This post is inspired by the insights I got from this episode and my main takeaways. It will be linked below if you would like to give it a listen!

With that being said, I would like to share some tips below that I have been learning to use over the years when I feel as though my screen time is doing more harm than good.

Do a social media detox.

This term seems to be thrown around a lot, and it is definitely easier said than done. Personally, if I decide to do a social media detox, it could either be for 2 days or 2 weeks.

If I am beginning to feel anxious from spending hours scrolling through platforms when I have other things I could be doing, it is usually a good idea to step away for a bit. I promise it gets easier the second you log out and take some time for yourself.

Regularly filter out your following list.

Are there any accounts you spend the most time on scrolling and comparing yourself to? What about those Instagram stories that always seem to annoy you?

For a while, I was following so many accounts that genuinely made me not enjoy using social media. That sounds harsh, but I was stuck in a headspace where I would log on, watch certain people’s stories, feel bad about myself, then repeat every single day. Once I had the realization of “hmm…maybe I just don’t need to follow this account?” I started to have a fresh perspective on my feed and social media accounts as a whole.

This sounds like an obvious revelation, but when you have been following the same accounts or influencers for a while, unfollowing them may seem like a weird thing. However, you won’t miss much by unfollowing if they genuinely aren’t beneficial to your life or mental wellbeing.

Set a screen time limit for yourself.

As many of you iPhone users may know by now, there is a feature in settings that allows you to set a screen time limit for each day for certain apps.

Now, if I am totally being honest, this is the one tip I struggle with the most. I have been guilty of setting a screen time of 30 mins and when it tells me that I have hit my limit, I will disable the screen time feature just to stay on a little longer (LOL).

However, I wanted to include this in my post as a way to hold myself more accountable for using this feature, as well as encourage everyone else to do the same.

If we set a timer for ourselves, utilize social media in a way that best benefits us during that time, there will be less time spent mindlessly scrolling.

Social media usage looks different for everyone and it affects everyone differently. I hope this post encourages anyone who is feeling brought down by their social media feeds.

Remember to take some time away from the screen and reflect on how you can best use your platforms to improve your wellbeing and connect with others.

Podcast mentioned: