• 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.
References
Bashir, H., & Bhat, S. A. (2017). Effects of social media on mental
health: A review.
International Journal of Indian Psychology
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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
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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 behavioral science
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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
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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
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