The Major Statement

Addressing the mental health concerns surrounding social media usage

The invention of social media redesigned the way humans interact with one another. This major technological shift produced new channels of communication that humankind had never encountered before. As with all new innovations, social media introduced a multitude of both benefits and risks. The fundamental service of social media is a virtual network designed to connect users with each other digitally. Within that connection, users are free to share any photos, videos, or ideas they wish. Today, there are many applications that people apply to social media, some include: a creative outlet, a channel to communicate, a place to exchange ideas, and a marketing platform. Each approach is valid in its own respect, which is the intricate aspect of social media. The user is untethered from one, sole utilization of the platform, and is able to create their own voyage through the internet. The first true social media platform disrupted the digital space because it established a portal in which a user could connect with anyone on Earth. Six Degrees was created in 1997 to offer its users real-time online communication and email address registration. New competing platforms were created promptly after its invention. Thus, manufacturing the world we live in today that consists of countless social media options with nearly 3.8 billion users worldwide. The allure of these platforms is that the individual user can utilize it as they desire. While this can be a liberating or exciting phenomena for the consumer, many obstacles have presented themselves in this newfangled digital space. Due to the frequency in which users consume social media, both the positive and negative aspects affect their lives immensely. All new inventions require adaptations. Hence, society must learn to adapt to the repercussions that accompany social media usage, such as the potential negative effects on mental health, the brain space it occupies, and the platform’s prioritization of profit over safety, inevitably causing an overall decline in user’s mental wellbeing.

Background of Social Media

At its conception, social media was created as a forum for users to digitally communicate with one another. The creators of the first social media platforms had no ill intent to construct an online space that would possibly harm its user’s mental health, but with any invention, there were unforeseen outcomes that exposed themselves over time. Andrew Weinrich, the inventor of Six Degrees, likely had no inclination that his platform would ultimately inspire a network of websites that would drastically affect the way society communicates with and views the world. Even in the early 2000s, when platforms such as MySpace and LinkedIn gained popularity, there had yet to be a connection made between these applications and the user’s mental health. It was not until more recent years, once Facebook and Twitter took over the digital space, that studies revealed the potential psychological harm social media can cause. The timing of discovering this psychological damage coincided with Steve Job’s invention of the iPhone in 2007. Prior to its invention, users required access to a computer to consume social media, so the iPhone allowed users to always carry around their channel to social media. For some users, this generated a codependency with social media; which led to the development of social media addiction. Society had never had the utter convenience of a fully functioning computer in their pockets before, and there was no beginners manual that outlined the appropriate usage of the iPhone or its applications. Time use must also be considered as a factor in the effect that social media has on the user’s mental health. An eight-year longitudinal study found that “in general, between subjects analyses (both at the cross-sectional and longitudinal level) revealed that time spent using [social media] was moderately related to anxiety and depression” (Coyne et al. 2020). The increase in accessibility of these platforms allowed for more usage, and eventually changed the way social media impacted the user’s mental health.

Addressing The Issue

There is no concealing the potentially damaging effects that social media platforms have on the user. Like any other stimulating matter, sites such as Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook can be dangerously addictive. Considering that social media platforms offer a fix to this peri-social addiction, it is important to understand the major categories of related risks. In an article posted by the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science in 2020, these risks for mental wellbeing include: “(1) Impact on symptoms; (2) Facing hostile interactions; and (3) Consequences for daily life” (Naslund et al. 2020). Unfortunately for the user, both the benefits and risks of social media are deeply intertwined. There is no alternate reality where people can exclusively consume the positive content in the digital space without subsequently encountering the negative. That is why studies have found that “prolonged time spent on social media platforms, appears to contribute to increased risk for a variety of mental health symptoms and poor wellbeing, especially among young people” (Naslund et al. 2020). Users with young, impressionable minds spend hours every day consuming content that they subconsciously compare their own lives to. This is a toxic habit to create at any age, but adolescents in their formative years do not have the tools yet to counter these negative thoughts. These habits have been seen in “young adults ages 19 to 32, where more frequent visits to social media platforms each week were correlated with greater depressive symptoms” (Naslund et al. 2020). The more people consume social media, the less in-person interactions will be made; therefore, the higher screen time continues to rise, the lower human connection will be. As it is known, human connection is vital for the health and wellbeing of mankind, which is why “there were significantly greater depressive symptoms and increased risk of suicide when compared with adolescents who reported spending more time on non-screen activities, such as in-person social interaction or sports and recreation activities” (Naslund et al. 2020). These statistics are not to invalidate the benefits and opportunities that social media platforms can provide, but users must be vigilant with their time and use of said platforms. Therefore, the awareness of potential negative effects on mental health must be more prominently stated before joining social media sites.

In addition to impacting mental health symptoms, social media usage can also lead users to face hostile interactions. Previously, older generations encountered bullying in a more traditional fashion. Whether it was in the halls of elementary school or on the playground at the park, those who grew up without the internet experienced this phenomenon in a much different manner. Children and adolescents today face a new form of terror called cyberbullying. As stated in the National Library of Medicine, “cyberbullying represents a form of online aggression directed towards specific individuals, such as peers or acquaintances, which is perceived to be most harmful when compared with random hostile comments posted online” (Hamm et al. 2015). While bullying is not a novel occurrence, cyberbullying can be more triggering because the aggressor is often hiding behind an alias or fake username. This fuels an increase in depressive symptoms or worsening of anxiety because the victim is led to believe online strangers, that they have never met, hate them. Due to these incidents, users ages “14 to 22 with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were more likely to have had negative experiences when using social media and, in particular, were more likely to report having faced hostile comments or being “trolled” from others when compared with respondents without depressive symptoms (31% vs. 14%)” (Naslund et al, 2020). Consuming social media and being cyberbullied do not always coexist, but these hostile environments are more prominent than some chose to believe. While not every user experiences this cruelty on social media, cognizance of this issue is essential to protect users from this unnecessary harm to their mental wellbeing.

The third notable risk for mental health on social media platforms is consequences in the users’ daily life. Prior to social media’s deeply rooted integration into the lives of its users, most people would not have taken advice given to them by a stranger on the internet. The most obvious reasoning behind this choice being that they do not know the strangers background or credentials. Now, social media platforms have created a false sense of closeness between users who may not know each other beyond their screens. The issue here is that there can be “poor quality or misleading health information shared on social media and that social media users may not be aware of misleading information or conflicts of interest especially when the platforms promote popular content regardless of whether it is from a trustworthy source” (Naslund et al, 2020). The generation currently being raised with social media does not know a world without these spokespeople on social media pouring out daily information. With all things, there is both a positive and negative result with the addition of these social media platforms providing information. On one hand, the people who may not have had access to very much information now have an outlet to turn to for guidance. It is important that this component of social media is not overlooked, but unfortunately, there is a lack of quality control in what a user can post. Any given user can post a statement as if it is fact, which can be a dangerous entity because other users are at risk of believing their misinformation. This deception can lead users to implement possibly harmful acts into their daily lives that risk their physical and mental health.

Actionable Change

Although mental health has become a less stigmatized topic of conversation in recent years, it is time society begins to focus on risk factors that could be changed to better suit modern times. Mental health, according to the World Health Organization, is “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”. For many, the normal stresses of life now include consuming content via social media platforms. As previously stated, social media consumption is conducive to negatively impacting mental health symptoms. To better monitor the wellbeing of social media user’s happiness and security, it is vital that popular social media platforms construct a framework within their programs that addresses the issue of mental health. Some companies have, in fact, created policies that acknowledge their user’s wellbeing. One of the most notable efforts was seen from Pinterest in 2019:

In perhaps one of the most surprising platforms to take on the mental health cause, several years ago, Pinterest—a platform known for sharing recipes and craft ideas—began using its algorithms to recognize and provide resources for mental health. In 2019, the company launched an initiative called ‘‘compassionate search,’’ which aimed to help users fight stress and anxiety through guided breathing or journaling. The company also began to moderate search results for things such as ‘‘suicide’’ and ‘‘self-harm.’’ After training its algorithms to recognize content promoting self-harm, report of such pins went down 88%. The company has also built, in collaboration with a group of mental health organizations, a series of exercises specifically geared toward preventing self-injury (Wiederhold, 2021).

Amendments to social media platforms, such as this, will greatly impact the experience the user has with any given site. The creators of platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok are far too intelligent to act as though they are unaware of the damage being done at the hands of their applications. It all begins from the top, so if the CEOs of the predominant social media platforms begin to elicit actionable change to their sites there could be major shifts seen in the mental health of their users.

Sources:

Coyne, Sarah M., et al. “Does Time Spent Using Social Media Impact Mental Health?: An Eight Year Longitudinal Study.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 104, 2020, p. 106160., doi:10.1016/j.chb.2019.106160.

Dollarhide, Maya. “Social Media: Sharing Ideas and Thoughts.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 8 Feb. 2022, www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp#:~:text=Social%20media%20originated%20as%20a,to%20reach%20out%20to%20customers.

“The Evolution of Social Media: How Did ... - Maryville Online.” Maryville University, 2022, online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/.

Hamm, Michele P., et al. “Prevalence and Effect of Cyberbullying on Children and Young People.” JAMA Pediatrics, vol. 169, no. 8, 2015, p. 770., doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0944.

Karim, Fazida, et al. “Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review.” Cureus, 2020, doi:10.7759/cureus.8627.

Meier, Adrian, and Leonard Reinecke. “Computer-Mediated Communication, Social Media, and Mental Health: A Conceptual and Empirical Meta-Review.” Sage Journals, 2020, doi:10.31234/osf.io/573ph.

Naslund, John A., et al. “Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice.” Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, vol. 5, no. 3, 2020, pp. 245–257., doi:10.1007/s41347-020-00134-x.

Nesi, Jacqueline. “The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health.” North Carolina Medical Journal, vol. 81, no. 2, 2020, pp. 116–121., doi:10.18043/ncm.81.2.116.

Wiederhold, Brenda K. “Social Media and Mental Health: Weighing the Costs and Benefits.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 24, no. 12, 2021, pp. 775–776., doi:10.1089/cyber.2021.29232.editorial.