Anyone who regularly uses social media will have had the
experience of feeling envious of the fun their friends all seem to be
having. This might especially be the case if you’re are sitting at home
on a cold wet evening, feeling bored while everyone else is partying or
having a glamorous holidays in the sun.
But is it possible that these feelings could be the start of
something worse? Could using social media actually make you depressed? A
recent US-based study,
sponsored by the National Institute for Mental Health, identified a
“strong and significant association between social media use and
depression in a … sample of US young adults”. The study found that
levels of depression increased with total amount of time spent using
social media and number of visits to social media sites per week.
Previous studies have painted a more mixed picture. It would seem
that the relationship between social media and depression and well-being
is complex and likely to be influenced by a number of factors.
At its best, social media allows us to connect and keep up with
friends and people we don’t see very often. It allows us to have short
interactions with them that keep the relationships going when we don’t
have much free time. At its worst, social media can, it seems, feed into
feelings of inadequacy.
There are likely to be many complex reasons why social media use
might be associated with depression. For instance, it is possible that
people who are already depressed might be more inclined to rely on
social media instead of face-to-face interactions, so greater social
media use may be a symptom rather than a cause of depression.
An unsatisfactory fix
We all have a basic need to be liked and accepted by others and
social media can play into this vulnerability. “Likes” are the currency
of social media, and people who have low self-esteem may place great
value on seeking validation from their social media use by trying to
attract likes to their comments as a way of increasing their
self-esteem. In this way, social media can be a bit of a popularity
contest. Of course, “winning” the popularity contest by garnering the
most likes is only a short-term boost to morale. It’s a precarious way
to boost self-esteem.
It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. Sometimes
comparison can be a way to inspire ourselves to improve in some way,
but, more often than not – especially when someone is feeling down or is
prone to depression – the comparisons become negative, and erode
self-esteem. One problem with social media is that the image people
portray of themselves tends to be positive, interesting and exciting.
Let’s face it, most of us would rather post a photograph of ourselves
looking great on a night out than one where we are in our pyjamas,
washing the dishes. If someone is feeling down or dissatisfied with
their life then, instead of being a bit of a distraction, social media
use can give the impression that everyone else is having way more fun
than we are.
Not all bad
Many parents have misgivings about their children’s use of social
media and more than one parent has had to console a tearful teenager,
distraught over an online argument. Whether we like it or not, social
media is here to stay and, for many young people, opting out of social
media would mean losing access to their network of friends. For them, it
is not a viable option.
At the moment, we don’t know enough about how the way that social
media is used and its impact on mood and longer-term mental health.
Until we do, perhaps the best option is to recognise that social media
can be a valuable tool to keep in touch with friends and that our
interactions on social media should not overly influence our
self-esteem. It might also be worth remembering that, although everyone
else might seem to be having a great time, newsfeeds are more biased
towards showing all the fun, interesting things that people are doing.
So they are just curating the best bits of their life – not necessarily
having a better time than you are.
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