Do you ever wonder by looking at your ‘Screen time’, what possible effects it may have on our body, both physically and mentally? Endless scrolling of reels takes us where? Well, our eyes get strained, our bodies become lazy and weak. And mentally, we become anxious, stressed and depressed. Mental Health has been a major concern for most of us, sometimes it is overlooked and stereotyped. Particularly in children, Parents do not consider mental illness as illness, children are scolded and made fun of if they share their mental anxieties with the family members. Children see their social media life as an escape from their real life, but sadly, Social Media tends to worsen the situation. Let’s look at the possible impacts of social media on Mental Health:
Real Self vs Reel Self
‘Reel Self’ is the new ‘Real Self’. The feeling of showing the ‘Perfect life’ on social media to your online friends and followers, creates an unnecessary burden on you. This creates anxiety and creates unhealthy self-centeredness and distance from real life friends and family. Individuals in this era of social media converse and interact online for hours and without hesitations, but the face-to-face interaction has been hindered immensely. People have around 500 friends but only a few ‘real’ ones. This loneliness is what makes you mentally weak.
Big FOMO
The constant urge to check on your phone, stalk people for hours, having minute details of what’s happening in everyone’s life, is the biggest impact of Social media. Lack of sleep, feeling of jealousy, feeling of ‘FOMO’ i.e Fear of Missing out individuals makes them anxious, unsatisfied with their life and creates a sense of restlessness. Individuals might perceive their lives or appearances not satisfactory as compared to others on social platforms, resulting in envy. Social media often exerts pressure to conform to stereotypes and popularity norms, potentially triggering feelings of inadequacy.
Social Media Approved
Social media often becomes a stage for seeking validation and approval. Every good thing happens, there is a pressure to immediately share on instagram or Facebook. The quest for likes, comments, and followers can become all-consuming. Anything social media approved is of worth, this feeling hinders in individuals realising their own self-worth. It is common among teens to prefer their pictures on the basis of the likes on it on social media, if any picture doesn’t reach the anticipated like count, it directly harms the mental health, giving a sense of rejection. All this cause a major drop in the ‘self-esteem’ of people.
POV: You are Addicted
Addiction, the most visible impact of social media. There are endless social media platforms, from youtube to instagram, guess what all have introduced ‘short-format’ videos, capitalising on people’s addiction of endless scrolling. Social media is made to grab attention, making people spend too much time on screens, causing sleep problems, ignoring real relationships, affecting physical health, and lowering self-esteem.
Prey to Cyberbu-ley (Cyberbully)
Negativity online, like Cyberbullying, leads to severe consequences such as stress, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, isolation and loneliness. The anonymity afforded by social media platforms can sometimes bring out the worst in individuals. Those fake and anonymous hurtful comments and awkward dms causes a feeling of despair, fear and depression.
Social media’s popularity has amazed many, but it is not an only option to escape from your problems, or for entertainment purposes. The major effect it has on mental health is a sign to be aware and notice signs, when to limit the usage for own benefit.
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