The Role Social Media Plays in Influencing Mental Illness

The Role Social Media Plays in Influencing Mental Illness
* ABSTRACT
By nature, humans are highly social beings. The advent of social media has increased the scope of this social nature. However, it has also resulted in negative mental health consequences among users. Isolation, FOMO, cyberbullying, the need for validation, and inadequacy about one’s life or appearance are found to trigger or worsen cases of stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies. The current paper is a literature review focusing on the influence of social media on the mental health of users.
* INTRODUCTION: The Role Social Media Plays in Influencing Mental Illness.

1. A famous phrase goes that no person is an island. In other words, people must rely on the comfort and company of others to thrive because human beings are social creatures. Being socially connected boots self-worth prevents loneliness and eases depression, stress, and anxiety (Tomasello, 2015, p. 189). The advents of social media have expanded the extent to which humans can socialize, especially from a geographic point of view.
2. As part of globalization, social media has contributed to creating a global village where people from different corners of the world can connect, communicate, trade, and even work on a project remotely (Kapoor et al., 2017, p. 540). On the flip side, however, overreliance and overuse of social media may trigger or worsen mental health issues among users.
3.      II.            LITERATURE REVIEW (body)
   1. Definition and Connection of Key Terms
      1.                                                         i.      Social media refers to applications of websites that allow users to create and share content or take part in social networking. According to Karim et al. (2020), social media is an integral, and to a great extent, unavoidable part of modern human life. Common social media platforms include YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok.
      2.                                                       ii.      On the other hand, mental health refers to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral well-being. Fusar-Poli et al. (2020, p. 42) defined mental health as a state of well-being that allows people to cope with everyday life challenges and stresses and function productively. Common mental health issues include stress, anxiety, and depression.
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