The Effects of Social Media Use on Mental Health

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19 11 2021
The Effects of Social Media Use on Mental Health
Naturally born social creatures, human beings require each other`s companionship to be productive in life. Thus, our connections` strength greatly influences our happiness, mental health, and general well-being. Having a social relationship with others can relieve anxiety, depression, and stress, prevent loneliness, bestow happiness and comfort, bolster self-esteem, and even guarantee a healthier, longer life. However, lacking social connection may present grave emotional and mental risks (Mohamad et al.). In recent times, social media has become a component of people`s daily lives. The daily amount of hours averagely spent on various platforms like Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Messenger, YouTube, et cetera are alarming. According to a 2015 Common Sense survey, teenagers may stay 9 hours online on social media platforms daily. It is a trend that even worries most of them concerning their mental health as per the survey. A 2017 Canadian study corroborated the same concern, noting that students who spent more than 2 hours on social media platforms every day rated their mental health as fair or poor compared to intermittent users. Therefore, I would categorically state that continued social media usage negatively affects its users` mental health.
Undoubtedly, social media has immense benefits to society, bridging the geographical gap and bringing people together in one global village. It provides connection and access to services, people, opportunities, and information, an endeavor previously hindered by distance and geographical differences. Currently, an individual can communicate easily with a friend from a different continent instantly and follow their life progress in real-time. Moreover, social media platforms have eradicated the analog ways of making new friends, like using the initially popular “penpal” segments in the traditional print media. With social media platforms, users can socialize and add new friends into their circles through voice calls, video calls, live chatting, or messages. Quite a laudable progress in communication. However, with the increasing evidence among users, especially in investigating adolescents` mental well-being, there is a higher connection between persistent social media usage to low self-esteem, higher anxiety and depressive disorders, body image concerns, and poor sleep (Royal Society for Public Health 2017; Kelly et al., 2018).
Numerous hours spent on social media platforms by users have caused a more recent form of mental health concern called social media addiction. According to Jessica Clement, the number of hours spent by users on social media platforms globally has been increasing, and in 2018, it averaged 2.16 hours a day. Hence, it has recently been classified as more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes (Royal Society for Public Health). It is a trend that should worry authorities worldwide to formulate and implement policies that would regulate the social media industry and stop the addiction menace before it is too late. The addiction emanates from the fact that the sector lacks potent government interventions. The users can acces...