Social Media
Is social media good or bad? What impact does it have on mental health?
Insights into my Week
This week I have been looking into how to market my private practice. Many of the blogs and articles I have read recommend having an ‘online presence’. This reportedly helps to get my name out there and allow people to learn more about what services I offer. An online presence can encompass a range of different things such as a blog, a website and social media platforms.
Since setting up my business in the Netherlands I have rebranded my website and started a blog (obviously). My downfall was that I was not very skilled on social media, so I started to read into how to use social media to advertise myself. This resulted in me posting more regularly on the accounts I already had and creating new accounts too. However, was this the right thing to do ethically? There is a lot of press out there about how negative social media is, especially on mental health. As a therapist, should I be promoting the use of these platforms?
Insights to Takeaway
To stop me going down a rabbit hole of all the things that can be impacted by social media, I will mainly be focusing on mental health. I did begin by looking into more global impacts of social media, but this included the influence on society, politics, news, learning, jobs, finances/shopping and many other topics. So to avoid ending up writing enough to fill a book, I will just be focusing on the impact on mental health.
Let's begin…
Cons of social media
There have been studies that have found that excessive social media use can increase symptoms of depression, anxiety, self-esteem and stress. This can extend to both adults and children.
Some studies have also found that when people scroll through ‘general social media platforms’ there can be increased feelings of loneliness or missing out. However, it was also suggested that if individuals connect with specific people online, who they feel connected to, this can mitigate loneliness.
Other research papers highlighted that social media has a harmful impact on people's day to day life, for example it encourages people to avoid spending time with loved ones or even sleeping. Being without these things can have a negative impact on wellbeing.
Furthermore, people can become addicted to social media and it results in them spending many hours on these platforms. This, therefore, has a detrimental impact on their wellbeing. A docudrama (documentary that has been dramatised) called the Social Dilemma aired in 2020, which highlighted how social media replicates techniques found on gambling websites. This encourages users to continue to scroll and feel unable to stop. Facebook released a statement stating that the documentary "gave a distorted view of how social media platforms work to create a convenient scapegoat for what are difficult and complex societal problems".
Pros of social media
A systematic review found contradictions to some of the above points. They found that social media can have a positive impact on adolescent wellbeing such as seeing an increase in self-esteem, perceived social support, safe identity experimentation and increased opportunity for self-disclosure. This study did go on to report there were harmful effects found, but that overall the majority of studies reported either mixed or no effect(s) of online social technologies on adolescent wellbeing.
A longitudinal, 8 year study found that the amount of time spent on social media does not seem to have an impact on wellbeing, as other papers reported. They did suggest that it would be worth examining the context and content surrounding social media use and the impacts on mental health. I do query these findings as I find it hard to believe that if you spent most of the day on social media, that this wouldn’t affect you.
Anecdotally, I have worked with people who have created friendships online and this has helped them to have someone they can relate to whether this was about mental health or even a shared hobby. One study supports my observations, stating that social media provided a sense of belonging for some individuals.
Social connection and peer support are also another benefit that social media research has found. This is something I personally agree with because when I moved abroad online platforms helped to connect me to new friends. Furthermore, it also allows me to connect easily with family and friends in the UK and stay up to date with their lives.
Lastly, my favourite finding was ‘the association of well-being with regularly eating 16 potatoes was nearly as negative as the association with technology use’. Make of that what you want…
So what now?
There seems to be a lot of discussion around the role of social media, and a lot of contradicting findings too. Some expressing the cons of social media and others expressing the benefits. Many of the papers I read expressed the complexity of researching social media platforms because the content it shares can be hard to govern and the speed at which it evolves. Laws and restrictions are still being developed to try and control some of the information shared, but this is also a difficult task.
However, my takeaway is that moderation is key as well as taking note of how I am feeling around social media. My tips for you to take away would be:
Recognise if your social media time is taking away from other things such as time away from in person connections, hobbies or sleep. If you notice that it is, is there anything you can do to increase the time with these other activities?
Notice your mood before and after using social media and if it is worsening ask yourself why this is. Are you comparing yourself against other people? What is the content of the accounts or people you are following?
Connect with the right people and search out accounts and people who benefit you. This connection could be due to knowing the person(s) well, having a shared problem, inspirational accounts, helpful information or a hobby that you love to talk about.
Take breaks away from social media and remember to live in the ‘real’ world as well as your virtual one. Being outside, with people or in nature can soothe the soul.
To answer my question from earlier in the blog, I don’t think it makes me unethical to use social media platforms. However, from what I have learnt in writing this blog, I should encourage healthy and moderate social media use on my pages. As well as personally noticing how much I am using the platforms and if it is impacting my own wellbeing, especially as I now use them for both work and personal use.
If you were curious here are the links to my social media:
Instagram - foxglove_therapy_amsterdam
TikTok - foxglovetherapyamsterdam
Facebook - Foxglove Therapy - Amsterdam Psychologist
LinkedIn - ffionhjones
References
Amedie, J. (2015). The impact of social media on society.
Best, P., Manktelow, R., & Taylor, B. (2014). Online communication, social media and adolescent wellbeing: A systematic narrative review. Children and Youth Services Review, 41, 27-36.
Busby, M. (2018) Social media copies gambling methods ‘to create psychological cravings’, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/08/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-to-create-psychological-cravings (Accessed: 09 November 2023).
Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., & Demetrovics, Z. (2014). Social networking addiction: An overview of preliminary findings. Behavioral addictions, 119-141.
Marciano, L., Ostroumova, M., Schulz, P. J., & Camerini, A. L. (2022). Digital media use and adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in public health, 9, 793868.
Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature human behaviour, 3(2), 173-182.
Zsila, Á., & Reyes, M. E. S. (2023). Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health. BMC psychology, 11(1), 201.
Great post, Ffion. You have a lovely way of writing so clearly. Really useful to read your research and thoughts.