Social Media: Undercover Therapist, or Pit of Despair? You Decide.
When you’re scrolling through your Timeline on Twitter or checking your Instagram feed, how are you typically feeling? Are you ecstatic about Kyle’s new puppy he got last Tuesday? Are you tired of Jenny posting “don’t hmu, real ones know” on her snap chat story? Are you [im]patiently awaiting the moment Yoongi will finally post a selfie on Twitter? No, just me? Seriously though, have you ever taken time to think about the fact that for many of us, social media likely has some type of influence over how we feel throughout our day? Is it a positive or negative influence? I believe that this honestly depends on the individual, which social media platforms they use, and what they use them for. I would wager that most people aren’t typically evaluating their mental health when they’re using social media, however, that does not necessarily mean that social media does not affect mental health.
Regarding my personal experiences with social media, I can confidently say that my mental health has both improved and worsened partly due to social media at different times in the past. Let’s start with the good stuff. My favorite thing ever, in this whole universe, is BTS, a group of seven idols from South Korea. They are my pride and joy and I am currently listening to their music as I write this post. This may sound like a shameless plug to get you to listen to BTS (which it probably is), but I promise it’s relevant. Social media (specifically Twitter, YouTube, V LIVE, and Weverse) allows me to always feel connected to these seven wonderful individuals that live halfway across the globe from me. Knowing that I have constant access to their music, videos of them, and random messages from them makes me very happy. They give me a sense of belonging and remind me that they’ll always be there for me when I need them, and that reassurance is something I treasure. Their large fanbase on every social media platform also acts as a pseudo-family of sorts, and many of their followers actively encourage and support each other through social media. Knowing that there will always be others out there that are connected to me through this group is a very surreal feeling, yet an entirely welcomed one.
BTS is not the only benefit of social media I get to experience. If I’m having a particularly bad day, I scroll through my “For You Page” on TikTok or my Timeline on Twitter and I never fail to find some comedy gold. Though someone’s clever tweet may not be considered a form of therapy, I gladly receive the distraction. Sometimes, all someone needs is to distance themselves from their thoughts. I’m not encouraging you to ignore your issues completely, but taking mental breaks is okay. Find something that makes you giggle or maybe it makes you laugh so hard you need a minute to compose yourself. Enjoy the content that people put on the Internet — most of the time, that’s why they created it in the first place. It’s okay to be on social media for the sole purpose of entertainment.
Among the good always lies some bad. While I often enjoy the time I spend on social media, there are certainly some aspects of it that trigger negative feelings. I personally have very bad FOMO. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, “FOMO” stands for “Fear of Missing Out”. This applies to all those times where you saw everyone else and their mother on Instagram posting aesthetically pleasing pictures from the sunflower fields or when everyone else from your high school was out partying during their first semester of college while you sat home and re-watched Owari No Seraph. Seeing everyone else getting to do fun things while you sit around at home waiting for someone to text you and make plans can put quite a damper on your mood. You begin to compare yourself to others and look down on yourself. Questions like “Am I too ugly to date?” or “Does no one like me enough to hang out with me or invite me out?” begin to flood your mind and make you feel practically unworthy of attention since it feels like no one wants to pay attention to you anyway. Social media allows people to create an ideal image of themselves — they’re likely only sharing the exciting parts of their lives. It would be ridiculous to think that the people who go out often or have lots of followers and always post about their relationships are happy all the time. Yet, I myself still find myself feeling like a red-headed mermaid who just wishes she could be a “part of their world”. Cheesy, yes, but very true. It’s already so easy to get down on ourselves and compare ourselves to others in our day-to-day routine, and in a way, social media makes it even easier. There’s so many people from across the world that are showing off the best parts of themselves on social media, so it becomes second nature to think “I’ll never be as pretty or as talented or as popular as they are”. Social media often reminds me of the ways in which I feel I am lacking, and it can put me in a sour mood every now and then.
Enough about me, though. I’m obviously not the only one whose mental health is repeatedly affected by social media. One group in particular that I feel social media has influenced in a positive way is transgender youth. Specifically on applications like TikTok and Twitter, I believe that young transgender individuals take advantage of being able to create their own image. They can use whatever pronouns they prefer and truly express themselves in a way that they may not be able to in “real life”, or more specifically, offline. If a transgender individual grows up in a conservative, transphobic family, they likely face a daily struggle of hiding who they truly are. Online and through social media, they may find a community of others in similar situations and create a symbiotic support system that gives them the courage to move forward. TikTok’s algorithms make it fairly easy to find other content creators that share similar likes and beliefs and who may fall within the same ingroup as you. Many social media applications do not require anyone to post pictures of themselves, and while this leaves many doors open for those with ill intentions such as “catfish”, it also allows some people to maintain a sense of anonymity even if they gain followers. This aspect may be appealing to trans individuals who are not ready to reveal their true selves to the world yet. I believe that social media plays a part in improving the mental health of transgender youth by giving them access to information about things they can do to become more comfortable in their own body and by connecting them with other people in the same metaphorical boat as them.
The future of social media is unclear because the possibilities are endless. I feel there should definitely be at least a little more monitoring done on social media. Applications should create a feature that allows creators to specify what age group their content will reach. It’s almost too easy for minors to view and interact with adult content on social media, so there need to be more restrictions in place for younger audiences. Social media applications should also strive to be better at restricting hate speech. Yes, freedom of speech exists, but there are certain things that have no business being posted on social media. Everyone should be allowed to express their opinions but in a safe and respectful way. If slurs are used, if threats are made, or if individuals are consistently making other users uncomfortable, then I believe the platform that they are using should take responsibility and either warn that user to stop, or if they have made multiple violations of community guidelines, their account should be permanently banned. Cyberbullying may not be as prevalent in the news today as it was just five to ten years ago, but that does not mean that it does not happen anymore. The restrictions I have mentioned would make social media a bit safer for everyone and would hopefully in turn have an overall positive effect on the mental health of those using social media platforms.
Social media unquestionably has the power to act as a tool for improving mental health. As previously mentioned, social media can provide access to an unimaginable amount of information. Countless platforms serve as a way to keep people connected to others looking for a place to belong. A plethora of entertaining posts and uplifting stories are awaiting us on the Internet. As more and more people begin to use social media, especially during a pandemic when making connections is that much more difficult, I believe that social media itself will continue to improve and develop as a source of stress relief that if used properly, will improve the mental health of many.