Social Media: Friend or Foe?
Social media has impacted my life more than I could have imagined. Multiple platforms have allowed me to connect with people who promote body positivity and healthy approaches to fitness. Accounts remind me that most body image depictions on social media are not authentic. Following dietitians helped heal my relationship with food, highlighting the importance of food as a positive part of life. Collectively, these accounts and their reminders have dramatically helped improve my mental health and provide a support system that is hard to find in person. I have learned that how I choose to use social media through who I follow, what platforms I use, and the frequency of my use controls the impact on my life. Just like me, you can benefit from social media too.
Like many other facets of life, the key to ensuring that the impact of social media is positive is how one uses it. As adults and young adults, we can have control of social media’s impact. While certain accounts and methods of using social media can worsen depression and anxiety, it is determined by how the user approaches social media overall. Mesfin Bekalu, a research scientist at Harvard, states, “… the ways that people use social media may have more of an impact on their mental health and well-being than just the frequency and duration of their use.” This further confirms that social media’s impact is something we can control (Roeder).
This idea is further reinforced in a study at Harvard’s Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness: “… as long as we are mindful users, routine use may not be a problem. Indeed, it could be beneficial” (Roeder). There are many ways to connect, but social media provides connections and communities we can’t as easily create in person.
Social media allow us to connect with others despite physical distance and busy schedules. A robust social network is crucial for mental health, and social media provides a way to create a social network efficiently. These connections are easily accessed as social media offers connections that would not be possible in person. Social media “… may even be a useful way for those with social anxiety and those with a hard time with face-to-face interactions to connect with others” (Roeder). I am a prime example. Social media has helped me make connections with less anxiety and helped me meet some of my best friends to this day.
Furthermore, multiple accounts promote health, mental health, and self-care, which is beneficial as they provide information that people otherwise may not access due to the expense of healthcare. A study done on health promotion and social media showed that social media is another excellent way to provide information on health. Many people, especially older generations, can find helpful information about health promotion and a support system through others who may have similar issues. It has been shown that “these tools can be effective in meeting individual and population health needs” (Korda, Holly, and Zena Itani). This is possible as social media is easy to access, is a cheap platform, and is customizable to preferences (Korda, Holly, and Zena Itani). Multiple people post their own medical struggles and stories on social media, giving others who struggle a sense of belonging and connection. Social media proves crucial for this connection.
It is necessary to acknowledge that social media can also have terrible mental health effects; however, as previously mentioned, how it is used plays a significant role in its impact on mental health. The elements of social media that can negatively impact users include misinformation, false advertising, image manipulation like photoshop, and algorithm manipulation. Awareness of these factors allows for the potential to change their impact. Choosing to follow certain accounts can be harmful or highly beneficial. Dr. Peggy Kurn from the University of Melbourne states, “Across the studies, it appears that it’s not so much that social media causes anxiety and depression, but that people have different ways of using social media, which may be more or less helpful.” To make social media positively impact your life, follow accounts that promote positivity, accounts that convey helpful information, and accounts that make you laugh and smile. Choosing to follow accounts that provide this positivity for you will allow you to benefit from social media rather than it being a stressor. As of yet, there is no conclusive data to determine whether or not social media is good or bad for us; therefore, we each get to make that decision for ourselves.
After all, it’s truly in our control.
Works Cited
Dr. Peggy Kern, University of Melbourne. “Is Social Media Good for You?” Pursuit, The University of Melbourne, 9 Jan. 2023, https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/is-social-media-good-for-you.
Korda, Holly, and Zena Itani. “Harnessing Social Media for Health Promotion and Behavior Change.” Health Promotion Practice, vol. 14, no. 1, 2013, pp. 15–23. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26740853. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
Roeder, Amy. “Social Media Use Can Be Positive for Mental Health and Well-Being.” Harvard T.H Chan | School of Public Health, Harvard, 28 May 2020, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/#:~:text=Social%20media%20may%20provide%20individuals,in%2Dperson%20networks%20and%20interactions.
