I'll agree that social media can be a scary place sometimes. There is plenty of cyberbullying
and people telling you to buy things you do not need. I believe overall social media has a
positive impact on psychological well-being. c Social media allows people to connect with each
other across the globe. It allows them to share their thoughts, feelings, and creations with a
large audience if they choose to. c This helps people feel seen and heard. c In one study of social
media and people with mental disorders, it was found that using social media helped them.
Participants in the study were able to chat with others who shared similar experiences and this
resulted in them feeling less lonely (Öztürk & Özdil 2022).
Social media relates to a lot of the course themes, but I believe it ties in most with ethics.
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about ethics in relation to social media companies. c With the
problem of "fake news" being spread through social media, the debate of if the site should be
responsible for regulating the information, or misinformation, spread by its users. c
While I think social media can have a mixed effect on people and their wellbeing, I overall
believe social media negatively impacts psychological well-being. Social media is a great tool
to stay connected, make new connections and keep individuals social interactive (especially in
times like the pandemic), but it goes far beyond that. We see people posting things and then
deleting when it does not receive enough likes, or if certain people do not interact or react to a
post delete it. Often people, especially women base their self-worth off social media. “Social
media have become primary forms of social communication and means to maintain social
connections among young adult women. Although social connectedness generally has a
positive impact on psychological well-being, frequent social media use has been associated
with poorer psychological well-being. Individual differences may be due to whether women
derive their self-worth from feedback on social media. The associations between reasons for
social media use, whether self-worth was dependent on social media feedback, and four
aspects of psychological well-being (including stress, depressive symptoms, resilience, and
self-kindness) were assessed among 164 U.S. undergraduate women who completed an online
questionnaire. Results indicated that having one’s self-worth dependent on social media
feedback was associated with using social media for status-seeking. Women whose self-worth
was dependent on social media feedback reported lower levels of resilience and self-kindness
and higher levels of stress and depressive symptoms. Additionally, women whose self-worth
was highly dependent on social media feedback and who were seeking social status in their
online interactions reported higher levels of stress. The present findings suggest that women
whose self-worth is dependent on social media feedback are at higher risk for poorer
psychological well-being, which has implications for practice and policy regarding women’s
mental health.” (Sabik et al., 2019)
Social media's effect on psychological well-being is linked to the course theme self-care. If
someone finds themselves and their self-worth dependent on social media and the interaction
and attention they get there, it would be wise to abstain from social media use for self-care
reasons. Just like I steer clear of negative news and bad things that trigger unwanted thoughts
on social media because I know it is not healthy for me because it often sends me spiraling. So,
I try my best to follow only people I know personally and positive, funny, upbeat pages that do
not post content that I do not want to see. That is a form of self-care and self-awareness. Same
could be said for someone that needs validation through social media. Don’t post a picture and
constantly update the feed to see how many likes you get. Post it and leave it. If is gets 3 like
or 300 leave the post. Or, do not post at all.
Social media has a negative impact on the psychological well-being of individuals. John has
argued that social media is addictive for users and it can lead to mood swings and other mental
health consequences such as psychiatric illnesses (Sharma et al., 2020). social media restricts
the real-life interactions that individuals have with others, such as their friends and family
members, and it may lead to the isolation and loneliness. It can even lead to anxiety and
depression in users. Naslund has argued that the prolonged use of social media channels, such
as Facebook, Twitter, etc., by individuals can significantly contribute to increased risk relating
to different kinds of mental health problems and adverse well-being in young people (Naslund
et al., 2020). It can expose individuals to cyberbullying, which can lead to depression.
Similarly, the constant use of social media can lead to social comparison pressure which can
lead to greater feelings of isolation. According to Bhat, some of the negative aspects of social
media that can take a toll on one’s quality of mental health and wellness include stress, fatigue,
online harassment, and the suppression of emotional ability (Bashir & Bhat, 2017). It has
further been identified that the use of social media platforms like Facebook gives rise to
psychosocial problems such as low self-esteem and adjustment problems (Bashir & Bhat,
2017, p. 3).
Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage one’s emotions and the emotions
of others. Even though social media gives an opportunity to people to demonstrate empathy
towards others, many people abuse the platform as there exists anonymity. As individuals can
get away with the comments that they make, the possibility of online abuse, harassment and
cyber bullying is high on diverse social media platforms. The high use of social media can
have an adverse impact on the development of the emotional intelligence of individuals. Tyagi
has stated that individuals who fail to connect with others ta an emotional level in the real-life
setting rely on social media platforms for the purpose of establishing relationships and
forming interactions (Tyagi & Meena, 2022). The interactions that take place on social media
platforms have the potential to adversely affect and damage the emotional strength of
individuals and increase their vulnerability (Chau et al., 2020). For example, distressed or
depressed individuals can use negative expressions and spread negativity that can have a
negative impact on individuals with whom they interact. Thus social media can restrict the
emotional intelligence of individuals and diminish their ability to showcase positive emotions.
Hope you all find yourselves well as we are wrapping up week 6!! Honestly, I was not sure
how I felt about this topic. I bounced back and forth on my stance on social media, but I finally
landed on the negative side of things. Although I do believe that it was created to help people
keep in contact, I feel, overall, social media has a negative impact on our psychological well-
being. Social media invites the outside world into your home. This goes for both the good and
the bad. And it can be so dangerous, especially with kids. Youth suicides are all too common
these days and a good portion of them are linked back to social media. When a child has social
media and is being bullied, the bullies can use that social media to enter your child's home,
which should be a safe place, and continue to torture your child. This can lead to children
feeling trapped with nowhere to run. Bullies are not the only danger lurking on social media.
Another dangerous issue to face with social media is self-image. Whether it be seeing
someone else live a lavish lifestyle, or someone setting an impractical standard for health or
beauty. Seeing an unrealistic standard set can be damaging for those struggling with life
issues. Social media can set a dangerous precedence for the average person. You are
essentially inviting all manner of people into your life without knowing what their true
intentions are. All these things can chip away at our psychological well-being.
It's true, that little thing we all have and use on a daily basis (for about 2 hours a day, according
to Bailey Parnell in this week's TED Talk, "Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health") is
not a positive source of engagement and overall has a negative impact on our psychological
well-being. Parnell highlights four of the most prevalent and toxic traits of social media as the
Highlight Reel (the posting of only the best/most important moments), Social Currency (how
we communicate through likes, shares, and comments - the more the better!), Fear of Missing
Out (F.O.M.O. - our consistent tendency to want to stay up to date, current, connected and
involved or accepted and what it would mean to not have access to that), and Online
Harassment (which is obvious, constant, and an unfortunate common occurrence online).
These traits hone in on our most basic instincts for survival related to the desire to belong, to
be loved, and to engage in personal relationships with others, and therefore social media can
have a very severe and direct impact on our mental health and well-being. The most important
concern with social media is the sense (or false sense) of identity, and us as humans also
appear to crave control over their identity and overall image. A great sense of self identify is a
wonderful characteristic for anyone to have but relying on social media and the "social
currency" is where the problem truly lies.
In an article by David Brunskill, he outlines a few key factors that impact our identity
management online. Some of these factors include level of disassociation and integration,
level of fantasy and reality, and level of conscious awareness and control. We have all gotten
lost in the sea of make-believe on social media, mindlessly scrolling/liking/sharing,
daydreaming of owning half of the things we see popping up on our screens. When combined
with our "F.O.M.O.", the desire to be accepted, the desire to be authentic, and the desire to
socialize, social media becomes a dangerous playground where we are free to create and
control our own identities and comment on others'. "The striving for a positive self-
presentation is a notable human tendency. It can be seen to have its roots in terms of the
evolutionary advantages that a positive self-presentation can have, and is also considered to be
linked to the related human need to develop and maintain a reasonably positive self- esteem
‘[4]." (Brunskill).
Social media and its negative impacts on psychological well-being is directly related to self-
care and ethics. One must remain aware of the power social media appears to hold over society
and aware of their own values, beliefs, and how they are being represented and utilized online.
Becoming dependent on social media is detrimental to one's health and can create unnecessary
social anxiety disorders, unrealistic life expectations, and negative inner self-esteem. To avoid
a toxic and negative social media experience, we must practice strong ethics in our
communications with others in effort to treat others with the respect we expect ourselves,
continue filtering what we share and interact with online, and limit our overall time that we
dedicate to our online presence to limit its power over our physical daily lives.
The topic I choose to write about is "How Social Media Negatively Impacts Our Psychological
Well-Being". As you know human beings are social creatures and we need others to thrive in
life. The strength of our connections can have a huge effect on our psychological well-being.
Social media is bad because it makes it easier to avoid face to face connections. Also, this
makes it harder for people to develop deeper connections. Social media can make it to where
you're seeing everyone life and it can make you feel like you're not doing enough in your life.
Social media can lead to a lack of rest and sleep. When you are scrolling through social media
non-stop, you can feel addicted and stay up late. This can be very detrimental to your life.
Social media is constantly filled with bad news. This can cause you to have depression and
anxiety in addition to many other conditions. There is news coming into our lives from social
media and that cannot be health in some cases.
Social media can lead to cyberbullying and cause you to receive all types of offensive
comments. Social media platforms can be a hotspot for spreading misinformation, lies, and
abuse that can leave lasting emotional scars. Lastly social media can lead to self-absorption.
Sharing selfies and talking about your innermost thoughts on social media can create an
unhealth self-centeredness and distance a person from the real word.
Sources:
Bennet, A. (2014). Social Media: Global Perspectives, Applications and Benefits and
Dangers. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Social Media : Global Perspectives, Applications and
Benefits and Dangers (snhu.edu)
TEDx Talks. (2017, June 22) Bailey Parnell: Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health?
[Video]. Retrieved from YouTube. (84) Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey
Parnell | TEDxRyersonU - YouTube
Bashir, H., & Bhat, S. A. (2017). Effects of social media on mental health: A review.
International Journal of Indian Psychology, 4(3), 125-131.
Chau, M., Li, T. M., Wong, P. W., Xu, J. J., Yip, P. S., & Chen, H. (2020). Finding People
with Emotional Distress in Online social media: A Design Combining Machine Learning and
Rule-Based Classification. MIS Quarterly, 44(2).
Naslund, J. A., Bondre, A., Torous, J., & Aschbrenner, K. A. (2020). Social media and mental
health: benefits, risks, and opportunities for research and practice. Journal of technology in
behavioural science, 5(3), 245-257.
Sharma, M. K., John, N., & Sahu, M. (2020). Influence of social media on mental health: a
systematic review. Current opinion in psychiatry, 33(5), 467-475.
Tyagi, T., & Meena, S. (2022). Online social networking and its relationship with mental
health and emotional intelligence among female students. Clinical Epidemiology and Global
Health, 17, 101131.
Sabik, N. J., Falat, J., & Magagnos, J. (2019, July 4). When Self-Worth Depends on Social
Media Feedback: Associations with Psychological Well-Being. SpringerLink. Retrieved
October 6, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-019-01062-
8?error=cookies_not_supported&code=e087c74f-4b0a-4c11-b1d9-77db93f723c9
Küçük Öztürk, G., & Özdil, K. (2022). The window to the world for individuals with mental
disorders: A qualitative study about social media. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 39, 20–27.
https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1016/j.apnu.2022.03.001
