How Do Social Networking Sites Affect Mental Health?

Credit: Kelly Main, Inc

Since the creation of the first true social networking site in 1997, digital media researchers have been studying how this type of communication technology affects mental health. When people think of mental health, they often associate it with negative connotations such as mental disorders. Mental health, however, comprises bad and good mental conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines mental health as an individual’s emotional, psychological and social well-being.

The World Health Organization asserts that these three aspects of mental health help to explain people’s thought processes, behaviors and feelings toward life situations. This includes the way individuals cope with stress, perceive themselves and others, learn and work and contribute to society. Therefore, it is crucial that people understand how factors, such as social networking sites, affect these aspects so they can maintain good mental health.

Various studies on the relationship between social networking sites and mental health show that excessive engagement in these communication technologies can result in issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and loneliness. This counters empirical evidence that claims social networking sites do not cause poor mental health. For example, one study examined the mental health conditions of Black American women who use social networking sites, such as Twitter, to converse with one another about Black cultural and social topics, including Black womanhood, structural gendered racism and anti-Black gendered violence. The study revealed that Black American women who use social networking sites to connect with communities that acknowledge their race, gender and personal experiences often become addicted to these platforms.

Communication and psychology scholars argue that social media addiction is dangerous because it can damage people’s lives offline. For instance, social media addicts often struggle with interacting with people in person, have difficulty focusing on school or work, suffer from sleep deprivation and abandon self-care. The effects of social media addiction play an integral role in the reduced psychological well-being of online addicts like the Black American women in the study.

People on social networking sites can also develop poor mental health by comparing themselves to others online. This is common on platforms such as Instagram where users edit pictures, videos and reels of themselves before posting on their accounts to meet society’s standards of beauty. These standards include a skinny waist, hourglass figure, muscular physique or clear skin. Thus, some social networking site users obtain body image issues that result in eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, or plastic surgery. Meanwhile, users who experience cyberbullying for their appearance can develop suicidal thoughts.

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Social networking site users also post content that captures what appears to be their most joyous moments in life. Consequently, other users who view this content face the fear of missing out, commonly known as FOMO. According to research, social networking site users who experience FOMO usually overconsume online content as a coping mechanism. These users believe that overconsuming content allows them to live vicariously through the accounts they follow. Unfortunately, FOMO victims often do not notice that this coping mechanism turns them into online addicts.

Although social networking sites cause mental health issues, these platforms can also be beneficial to mental well-being if people use them appropriately. Through social networking sites, people stay connected with family and friends who do not live in the same city or country as them, meet new friends, learn more about themselves and the world around them and become part of communities that encourage healthy lifestyle changes. Some people harness social networking sites to amplify the voices of marginalized communities that have historically been silenced offline. This makes the people part of these communities feel visible and heard.

The impact that social networking sites have on mental health will most likely be debated for decades to come. Although I had my fair share of cleanses and self-limited time on my favorite social networking sites to protect my mental health, I believe these platforms also help to make the world a more interconnected place. Thus, this communication technology is a double-edged sword that people must learn how to strategically use to assist them with obtaining and sustaining good mental health.