Social Media & Mental Health

Social media is where people have the right to express themselves in any way possible. It can be used as a platform that can provide many different content, whether it’s having fun with friends and family, addressing social issues, giving somebody a needed laugh or even a way to shop. Too much social media can be bad though and have a negative impact on one’s mental health. One example of this can be the time when there was a spike of police brutality and killings this past summer. People were on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram furious and highly upset of the actions of police officers across the country. The killings of both George Floyd and Breonna Taylor really sparked the outburst of frustration with many people. This led to many feeling extremely overwhelmed and stressed over the entire issue and I too fell victim to this as well. At first, it was very hard for me to put my phone down and tune out the noise from the rest of the world but I eventually grew tired of what was going on and took a break from the craziness of social media at that time. When I felt comfortable about going back on, I monitored how long I was on and have been doing that ever since. Another way that social media can have a negative impact on people is when they live their whole life through social media. In my opinion, I believe that social media is a highlight reel of a person’s life. You will never see a person post the losses that they take in life. One person that thinks that they’re failing in life may look at that person that looks like they’re winning in life and think less of themselves. This can kill a person’s self esteem and make them think that they’re behind in life. I also fell victim to this as well when I was looking at certain friends “living their best lives” but I still was nowhere near I desired to be in life. My dad once told me that, the minute you begin to compare your life to someone else’s, you lost. Social media can be used to improve one’s mental health. In fact, there are many accounts on social media that provides not only advice on how to improve your mental health but there are also professionals on standby waiting to help as well. As much as social media can be toxic for one’s mind, it can also be a life saver believe it or not. I remember I was going through a very difficult time after losing my grandfather and I landed on a counseling ad that was on Twitter. It really helped me get through alot and I couldn’t thank them enough for the help. I think that social media is great but to be using it at an excessive rate is just totally unhealthy. A break from social media is okay no matter what anyone says.