Heavy Use of Social Media Linked to Mental Illness, Multiple Studies Confirm
By Amanda Stewart, May 20th, 2018 | 4 Comments »
This comes from a survey by the Royal Society for Public Health — and it’s merely the latest study to say so. It’s by no means the first.
Much of this fear and anxiety may be due to FOMO, or fear of missing out. When young people are forced to be unplugged they sometimes experience great anxiety.
One experiment found that Facebook triggered the same part of the brain that gambling or substance abuse may trigger.
Yet another survey corroborated this: After taking a look at more than 5,200 Americans, researchers found a link between an increase in Facebook activity and a future decrease in mental health.
Social Media Linked to Mental Illness
Yet another corrobortaing survey, in 2015 took a look at 1,800 people. Of those, women reported being more stressed than men while using social media because of the ability to see what everyone else is worried about.
The survey went on to show people who use social media heavily are more likely to be anxious, have mood swings, become depressed, have trouble sleeping, and have a higher risk of addiction.
Most of this is because individuals using social media frequently find themselves comparing their lives to others. This can lead to low self-esteem and poor mental health.
The Numbers
Nearly 3 billion people use social media worldwide. Most of them spend at least two hours per day updating, posting, and liking — for many of them, it has become a compulsion.
Now compare this with another statistic: about one in five adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
Serious mental illnesses cost the U.S. in $193.2 billion in lost earnings each year.
Summary
In general, more people have found themselves feeling bad or depressed when using Instagram, compared to other social media websites or apps.
Interestingly, using the telephone or video-calling apps like Facetime generally makes people feel happier.
Having genuine human interaction and conversation can benefit your mental health greatly.
Readers, what do you think: How much is too much social media?
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Woah – I always kinda figured this was the case, but seeing it all down on paper like this really drives the point home.
As a counselor and a mother of teenagers… I definitely believe the results of this study! Don’t even for myself… I find the addictive nature of grabbing my phone to make sure I’m not missing something. Additionally, where I live there tends to be a lot of real life groups that use Facebook to communicate announcements, events and schedule changes… Counting on the fact that people are constantly checking their Facebook. And so it snowballs… Very interesting article.
Interesting article. Research also links excessive social media use to poor body image and eating disorders (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160511102531.htm). However, other studies indicate that social media use has a positive impact on mental health (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171211145717.htm, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180202085257.htm) and can even help people quit smoking (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150609141734.htm)! For someone who is struggling with a mental disorder or who is predisposed to developing one, I believe social media could be harmful; but for someone with a healthy sense of self who doesn’t have a mental illness, social media could have a positive impact.
So the question is, Does social media make you more anxious and depressed, or do anxious and depressed people tend to use social media?