Table of Contents
Analyzing The Role of Social Media in Mental Health – Help or Harm Depends Upon The Way You Decide To Use It
Staying connected on social media is outright fun. Well, that’s how most of us perceive it. But from a medical perspective, using social media excessively brings addiction, fuels anxiety, triggers depression and leads to social isolation. And for all that, it’s the Fear of Missing Out [FOMO] that stays responsible.
It’s high time that you change your habits and work towards improving your mood. That will also take care of many physiological problems that might be bothering you for some time now. That includes digestive issues, sleep disorders and even hormonal imbalances.
Social Media and Its Effect on Psychological Well-Being
Humans are, by and large, social creatures. We thrive in company. Companionship gives us the strength to survive and get ahead in life. That is, just like anything else, as long as you maintain the right balance and choose the right company. Our connections hugely impact our happiness and overall well-being. Being socially aloof or disconnected brings psychosomatic disruptions, which is not much different from the effects of being heavily into social media.
“Why?” – You might ask. It’s because social media just fools your brain into thinking that you’re a part of society for now. In reality, you are miles away from it. Your subconscious knows that, and the end result is a feeling of emptiness that is vastly different from the fulfilment that real-life connections bring. This emptiness brings forth stress, anxiety, and depression instead of boosting self-worth.
Self-worth is important. It brings comfort and joy to shun loneliness. It not just adds the years to your life but also life to your years. A lack of it poses serious risks to your physical as well as to your emotional health and even, an early death. [ref]
The Increasing Popularity of Social Media and the Reasons Behind It
Today’s world is busy. To find a livelihood, we spend more than 10 hours out of a day’s time. Obviously, it leaves less time to socialize, connect and most importantly, to sleep. As a result, people try to find solace at whatever time that’s available. The easiest means is social media, operating 24/7, round the year.
We all know what’s in the list, still, there’s Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram. Of late, even Tinder is counted as one. But these platforms create a make-believe world that can never truly replace real-world human interactions, let alone genuine connections. So, where do they fall short?”
To alleviate stress and depression, you need to get certain hormones triggered [ref]. Social media gives you the momentary feel of being happy. But once out of it, that lonely, isolated feel takes over as you realise that it was just an adrenaline rush brought forth for some time.
Add to it the blue rays your mobile phone’s screen emits. This blue light exposure disrupts melatonin – the sleep-regulating hormone – production and alters sleep patterns profusely [ref]. And we all know what disrupted sleep results into – from plummeting hormones to a malfunctioning digestion and most importantly, brain fog.
We keep eye strain, headaches, and vision problems like macular degeneration in the long run out of context for now. But the rest, as mentioned, have been found to initiate anxiety and depression, which take people further away from the real society. The end result is succumbing more and more to social media, which triggers dopamine [ref], the feel-good hormone.
This is just how psychotic drugs like weed and cocaine act. The same applies for even something as simple as tobacco! And just like you develop tolerance over time with these, you need to be on social media more and more to get that dopamine [ref] high. The end result is sadness, a sense of dissatisfaction in everything, frustration and finally, a loss of social skills. The end result is going down a vortex of loneliness.
If you find you’re undergoing things aforementioned, it is high time to check your online habits and set a healthier balance.
The Psychology Behind Making Social Media a Supportive Element to Your Well-Being
Virtual interaction doesn’t bring the psychological benefits of in-person interactions. The best way to use social media is therefore finding people out online and meeting them in real life. Rather than individuals, target the communities that arrange events and group meetings from time to time. That way, you develop interpersonal relations and it will reduce the time you spend after surfing social media pages now. In case you need to shake off mental tiredness, you may just reach out to people in the same groups you connect more with. It’s enriching; have trust.
Despite friends outside your bloodline, you also need a family for your mental well-being. Stay up-to-date with your immediate and extended family who vibe with you. It’s a network that will also come to your help if need be. It’s a feeling of assurance that someone has your back during your times of trouble. That helps in restructuring the confidence you need to face the world. It will cut out anxiety and feelings of depression that arise from knowing you are not alone.
Get a hobby. And yes, you can highly use social media to find the hobbyist groups, which could be anything from bodybuilding to trekking, music or mountaineering and everything in between. Your hobby is an outlet for all your creativity and self-expression that will eliminate your sense of diffidence and insecurity. This is the prime reason behind people posting highly edited images of self on social media. ‘Like’s and ‘Love’s are just some ways a social media addict obtains validation from others to feel good. But only you’ll know the real you and the moment you are out of social media, the mirror will speak otherwise.
Subconsciously, you’ll know that you’re not the same person as you portray yourself on social media, and that’s another factor that will trigger inadequacy. Instead, get validation and be accepted as you are when you are in a real-life scenario. That’s a morale booster. You won’t let FOMO (Fear of missing out) rule your subconscious anymore and see how easily you throw away the security blanket social media draped around you through all these years.
Ending Social Media Addiction on a Positive Note
That you are heavily into social media use could be a mask that hides other underlying problems. It could be anxiety, OCD, depression, or ADHD, resulting from low dopamine, serotonin and even testosterone. If you can’t succeed in taking yourself off Social media on your own, maybe it’s time to see a therapist or go for an HRT. However, whether you need the latter depends on whether the tests reveal a low count. For borderline cases, an able therapist can just get you back on track with medications and dietary changes.
