Research

Yevi

Semaj Yevi

Professor Hunsaker

ENGL 1143

22 November 2021

How Social Media Negatively Affects Mental Health

At this point in time, over half of the global population engages online with social media. Statistically speaking, that is over 4 billion people (Dean). Aside from fulfilling basic needs such as eating and sleeping, there are not many things that 4 billion people can all relate with doing. What accounts for the large number? There are seemingly endless reasons to the appeal of social media as it has numerous functions: some use it as a way to connect with friends, some use it as a primary source of news, some use it to follow celebrities, some use it as a source of income, and some use it as a medium to post their most recent vacation pictures. The problem is that most of those 4 billion people would not even think twice about the effect social media has on their mental health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines mental health as “our emotional, psychological, and social-well being.” Although the repercussions of social media may not be apparent at first, social media can negatively affect the three areas that make up mental health through the increased chances of others using it improperly, and technology addiction.

Social media impacts mental health because it creates an environment in which its users are susceptible to harm. Unique to social media is online harassment and bullying, the stress of keeping an idealized online image, feeling jealous when looking at a friend’s recent post, and in some extreme cases, infidelity. These are just a few examples, there could be countless more. In their book, How The World Changed Social Media, authors Miller et al. support this point as they asked this simple question: does social media make people happy? To find their answer, they sent nine researchers across the globe to various societies to survey them about social media; countries ranged from the likes of Brazil, England, China and others to get a varied response. Surprisingly, they found that the most common answer was that social media had no effect on the individual. In fact, the most unlikely answer was that social media made them unhappy; it was more common for people to say that it brought them happiness than unhappiness. The relatively low number of people who were negatively affected by social media is nothing to dismiss, however. Miller et al. state, “Often people who claim social media makes them less happy tend to have had some bad experience online, for example, stalking, harassment, or an unfaithful partner” (202). Reason being, Miller et al. adds, “social media may have increased both the capacity and the range in which people can be horrible to each other” (202). This is important knowledge because it goes to show that social media can be a playground for varying kinds of evil that have already existed and, because of the nature of the apps, can be explored in new and twisted ways.

Another example of harm done on social media is bullying. Research from an article titled “Electronic Bullying and Victimization and Life Satisfaction in Middle School Students” proves the prevalence of this issue, claiming that an estimated 13 million adolescents have been victims of online bullying. Put another way, that is 1 out of 6 children for primary school, and 1 in every 3 for teenagers experience online bullying in some form at least once. Moore et al. claims bullying has “potential [negative] impact on outcomes such as school achievement, prosocial skills, and psychological well-being” (430). These kids who were bullied may not see social media as the issue, but rather, the ones who bullied them. However, social media has given these bullies a new medium and, for that reason, social media is just as much a problem as the bullies are.

In light of this information, one could make a counter argument against bullies and social media, claiming that bullying can be also found in schools, and is arguably worse than online-bullying because of the potential of physical harm. Part of that statement would be true: traditional bullies are still found in school settings and are still a concern for parents and teachers, even though students today live in a world where the internet is integrated into their everyday lives (Miller et al. 430). In fact, research shows that over 50% of students around the world had been engaged in social and verbal bullying, either playing the role of the bully, or the one being bullied, and over 20% have been engaged or involved in physical bullying (Miller et al., 430). Recall the fact that 1 out of 3 teenagers experience online-bullying through social media. Comparing traditional, in-person bullying to online-bullying, Miller et al. claims “electronic bullying is almost limitless in nature,” which is why it is so dangerous (431). The reason for the “limitless nature” of online-bullying is no thanks to social media. Through social media, bullies are not constrained by time or place, but are able to verbally and socially attack whenever and wherever (Miller et al. 431). Inasmuch, research shows that half of the victims of online-bullying do not even know who their perpetrator was (Miller et al. 431). In-person bullying at schools primarily happens during school-hours, where the victims know who their bullies are. After school, the students are able to go home which removes the bully from their life, at least for the rest of the day, which is not the case for those who are bullied online. All of this is important to know because it shows that improper use of social media is 1) prevalent and 2) dangerous. Prevalent through the sheer number of individuals who are affected by online-bullying, harassment, and the like. Dangerous in the sense that it negatively impacts the mental health of those who are affected by others using social media improperly.

A second reason why social media affects the mental health of its users is through the high risk of social media addiction. At this point in time, social media addiction is not a classified diagnosis, and inasmuch, it is difficult to determine what aspect of social media is addictive since there are so many facets of it and ways in which people use it (Henzel & Håkansson 2). Two researchers, Henzel and Håkansson sought to find a correlation, if any, between social media addiction and other problematic behaviors or thought processes, and not surprisingly, there is. Over 2,000 participants were surveyed; stages of life and education level were all varied. Data from their research shows that about 5% have problematic social media use. Problematic social media use was calculated using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, which asked participants questions about their experiences with social media. Experiences asked were as follows:

Spending a lot of time thinking of social media or planning what to do there; desiring to use social media more and more; using social media to forget about personal issues; tried to cut down use without success; becomes restless or anxious when unable to access social media; used social media to such a degree that it has impacted your work or studies negatively. (Henzel & Håkansson 4)

The highest percentage of experiences with social media was in regard to time thinking about it, with over 18% claiming they think about social media “often” or “very often.” In order to find the correlation between social media addiction and mental health, the researchers used the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (Kessler-6), which would ask questions related to mental distress and the final result would conclude in a number ranging from a 0-24 scale, and anything 13 or over would be classified as an alarmingly unhealthy mental state. For the entire group of over 2,000 people, the average score on the Kessler-6 scale was only 3. However, for those who had problematic social media use, the average was 10, which is a significantly higher number. This data shows a positive relationship between mental distress and social media addiction. In other words, most people who are addicted to social media are more than likely experiencing mental distress in some form or another as well. For some who are addicted to social media, it may be a way to attempt to escape the realities of their life. But, the high number on the Kesser-6 proves that social media is not helping to settle their distress, it actually may be adding to it.

Another group of researchers (Yousef et al.) adds to the information above, giving insight into the relationship between social media addiction, attachment styles, and self-esteem. First, it is important to define attachment styles and self-esteem. Simply Psychology defines attachment styles as “the particular way in which an individual relates to other people” (Huang). Attachment styles are formed from childhood and are typically carried into adulthood. There are three main types of adult attachment styles: a secure attachment style, a dismissive-avoidant attachment style, and the preoccupied attachment style. People with a secure attachment style have a healthy view of themselves and a healthy view of others. People with a dismissive-avoidant attachment style have a high view of themselves and look down on others, leading them to avoid intimacy in relationships. Finally, people with a preoccupied attachment style have a low view of themselves and view others in high regard, leading them to struggle to find significance. The research conducted by Yousef et al. combine the dismissive-avoidant and preoccupied attachment style as one insecure attachment style. The other key term, self-esteem, is defined by Mirriam-Webster as “a confidence and satisfaction in oneself.” Put another way, if someone is defined as having “high self-esteem”, then that person thinks highly of themselves, and is comfortable with how they are. Having “low self-esteem” would mean that person thinks lowly of himself/herself and is not as confident or as satisfied with how they are.

To conduct their research, Yousef et al. surveyed 350 young adults to find their attachment style, level of self-esteem, and their level of addiction to social media, respectively. They found that those who had an insecure attachment style were more often than not addicted to social media and had low self-esteem. By contrast, those who had a secure attachment style almost always were not addicted to social media and had a high level of self-esteem. Why is there a positive relationship between social media addiction and an insecure attachment style? Yousef et al. claim, “insecurely attached individuals have a more negative self-concept and prefer indirect communication (text messages) with others,” and turn to social media “on an account to get rid of current stress and anxiety” (50). Those who are addicted to social media use it as a way to find satisfaction because they are unsatisfied themselves. They may post in order to get the attention they never had as a child, or angrily reply to someone else’s post in order to feel a sense of significance and self-worth. On the other hand, Yousef et al. state, “Those adults who have experienced trust, warmth, and love with their parents in childhood are less addicted (behavioral and substance)” (50). Yousef et al.’s research brings to the table a potential reason for why people who are addicted to social media use it. They use social media as a way to compensate for what they do not have. Unfortunately, social media is not a place where people can be truly satisfied as most report they feel no change in mood after engaging online (Miller et al. 201).

The final idea on the topic of using social media heavily and mental health is in regard to the effects of an overuse of it. A report from China in 2018 showed that use of social media by the Chinese during that year had decreased by almost 20% (Zhang et al. 2). In an effort to explain why, Zhang et al. conducted a cross-sectional survey of almost 1,600 participants, asking them specific questions about social media and their thoughts towards it. Their research centered around the word “social media fatigue” which they define as a “social media user’s tendency to withdraw from social media because of feeling overwhelmed, [and] is closely related to individuals’ social life and well-being.”(Zhang et al. 1). The total number of questions asked were 24, and each participant had to answer each question from a scale of 1 (totally disagree) to 7 (totally agree). The average for the item content of, “I am likely to receive too much information when I am searching for something on social media sites,” was 4.92, meaning most people agreed. The average was 4.29 for the item content of “I usually forget what I’ve read on social media quickly.” Another average was 4.58 for the statement “I feel angry when I realize social media has taken up too much of my time” (Zhang et al. 7). These are all fascinating finds because it shows that most people feel overloaded with information and regret spending so much time on social media. This is what Zhang et al. refers to as social media fatigue. The use of social media has the high potential to lead to social media fatigue which negatively affects one’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional capacity.

Social media is integrated into almost every aspect of society. We use it for a quick laugh, to learn new things, to stay on top of the most recent and controversial news, and much more. At first, using social media may seem harmless. Almost everyone has an account, so why not be a part of it? However, next time you log on, or post, or comment, consider why. Consider the findings from the research above that shows how social media may affect you negatively. Social media is not as harmless as it may seem. It will affect your mental health negatively when people use it improperly, which is unavoidable, and through the effects of addiction.

Works Cited

Dean, Brian. “How Many People Use Social Media in 2021? (65+ Statistics).” Backlinko, 26 Apr. 2021, backlinko.com/social-media-users.

Daniel Miller et al. “Does Social Media Make People Happier?” How the World Changed Social Media, 1st ed., vol. 1, UCL Press, London, 2016, pp. 193–204. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1g69z35.20. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.

Henzel, Vincent, and Anders Håkansson. “Hooked on Virtual Social Life. Problematic Social Media Use and Associations with Mental Distress and Addictive Disorders.” PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 4, Apr. 2021, pp. 1–20. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248406.

Huang, Stephanie. Secure Attachment And Other Attachment Styles. 4 Aug. 2020, www.simplypsychology.org/attachment-styles.html.

“Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 Dec. 2020, www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm.

Moore, Page Malmsjo, et al. “Electronic Bullying and Victimization and Life Satisfaction in Middle School Students.” Social Indicators Research, vol. 107, no. 3, 2012, pp. 429–447. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41476587. Accessed 1 May 2021.

“Self-Esteem.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-esteem.

Yousaf, Anam, et al. “Relationship between Attachment Styles and Social Media Addiction among Young Adults: Mediating Role of Self-Esteem.” Isra Medical Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 48–51. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=149099645&site=ehost-live.

Zhang, Shiyi, et al. “The Development and Validation of a Social Media Fatigue Scale: From a Cognitive-Behavioral-Emotional Perspective.” PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 1–16. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245464.