Social Media & Mental Health

Social Media can affect everybody in different ways. Many people have mental health problems that may be caused from/worsen from social media, but others use it as a way to stop worrying/stressing about things. I use myself as an example. As a person who doesn’t have insane stress/anxiety, but does have it at times, I use social media in a positive way. If I am stressing about something, I go on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and other social medias to take my mind off of whatever I am thinking about. I would say it works well for me a good amount of the time. Some people who may try this may see something on social media that escalates their stress/anxiety and it affects them in a negative way. Everybody is different, just because something works for somebody else doesn’t mean it will work for you, and vice-versa. I don’t think social media is overall good or bad for people who suffer from mental health. Everybody has different things on their mind each day, and social media can be a useful or not useful tool to use. I think people need to know what they are “getting into” when going on social media when they are stressing. If they may see something that will make them worry more or continue worrying, you should do two things: don’t go on that social media, or don’t go on at all. It is not worth it to go on and build up your stress. If you know you want to “distract” yourself from something bothering you, maybe social media is the right option, or something else technological. It may be Netflix, Youtube, or something not technological. Take the time to think of what may help. Taking some time to figure it out will help in the long run. You need to know what you are getting yourself into if you want your stress to go away at a given time. It may be a trial and error process. Realizing that one strategy isn’t working is normal, just try something else. There is always a chance that you may think of your problem(s) when seeing something on technology. If you either believe that there is a chance that this can happen or you won’t be able to go on technology and not think about it, a social media break may be beneficial. Log out of your accounts, disable notifications or even delete the apps temporarily if it will help you mentally. I will always believe that health should be the #1 priority in somebody’s life. Making sure you are right can help other problems, and it is just so important. You need to be as perfect mentally as possible, and you need to know what will help you. If you are unsure, ask a parent, friend, professor, etc. It will take time to relieve of stress/anxiety, which is also completely normal for many people. Being well health wise should be always the top priority in one’s life.