How is Social Media Impacting Your Life and What Can You do About it?

Individual reports.

As a London therapist the topic of social media, its influence and effect on mental health, is a topic that clients often bring up. Concerns range from amount of use, how it impacts day to day life, what effect it has, addiction and comparison to others. The topic is complex and the truth is that social media has varied affects among individuals, yet there are common themes and concerns that need to be spoken about more and addressed. In this article I aim to break down the complexities of the topic and hopefully offer a balanced and insightful outlook that people may find helpful, especially if they are struggling with the negative effects. Let’s start with what research tells us about the good and bad points of social media use.

Good points

• Some people feel that social media is a good way to connect to others.

• It can be a good way to keep connected with people that we may otherwise loose contact with.

• People report that it is good for business, for example offers free advertising.

• Social media can keep us up to date on events.

• It can be a news source.

Negative points

• People feel as though they are addicted and it gets in the way of life.

• Some report that it makes them feel insecure, unfulfilled and anxious.

• Some people compare themselves to others and report that it negatively effects their self-esteem.

• People don’t get the results they want, such as likes and positive feedback and comments.

• The algorithms can make people more extreme in their views of the world.

How social media can impact mood.

As social beings, humans have a deeply imbedded psychological need to feel connected to others. From an evolutionary perspective being part of a tribe and having value within the tribe is a key component of our survival. If you use social media as a replacement for your need to connect with others then you may find that your mood can fluctuate along with perceived success in the realm of social media. If your use of social media use is perceived unsuccessful, for example, low likes and negative feedback comments you may begin to feel insecure. Your mind may mimic outcomes experienced by those lacking security from the comfort of the tribe and this can then impact your mood. People may feel anxious, isolated and depressed.

Differences among individuals.

Research has shown that personality differences impact the experiences of users. This topic is complex and more research needs to be conducted. Some of the early findings are that those with extroverted and agreeable personalities are more likely to experience success with social media use. Perhaps they are more willing to be outgoing and non-confrontational resulting in a greater overall experience. However those who are more introverted may find that they do not get the results they had hoped for such as likes and followers. They may then report feeling low and that social media negatively impacts their self-esteem. Like-wise another component of personality is neuroticism, individuals high in this trait may see things on social media which causes then upset and anxiety; viewing videos such as fights, conflict and war might be triggering.

Dopamine.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps us to feel motivation, it is a feel good chemical and we seek to receive dopamine seeking out novel and rewarding experiences. Social media has learned how to show us what we want to see to keep us on the platform, a video or post will catch our attention and offer us a feel good hit of dopamine. As humans we will keep seeking this out, more and more as it is a chemical we can’t help but try and extract. When we do this, so called doom scrolling this is the brain seeking for the novel experience that will give us that dopamine hit. This is dangerous because it can exhaust our dopamine function, this will leave us uninterested in other things such as day to day life. We may find our self-lacking motivation and interest in things outside of the scrolling experience.  

Stress.

Another impact can be stress, as the algorithms seek to keep up on the platform they will show us more and more extreme content. They know that this will feed your brain the dopamine it seeks. The problem with this is that this content is not good, perhaps it takes you further down a rabbit hole of violent, aggressive, politically radical and triggering content that ultimately is going to impact ones perception of the world. We may then begin to see the world as unsafe, see certain people as dangerous and thus we become distressed.

Perception of the world.

There is a significant influence we can absorb from our use of social media. We may be picking up on opinions and viewpoints of the most extreme notions of topics, this can be somewhat an inevitable end point of the algorithms. It is important remind ourselves that we may not be experiencing a balanced view. By actively seeking out those on the other end of the spectrum or those from more moderate positions we may better begin to understand that often the world isn’t so black and white and sometimes there is a grey truth that underlies such polarisation. It will do good for our mental health to not fall into the trap of polarisation.

Heightened anxiety.

Constantly viewing negative content will inevitably cause us psychological distress such as anxiety or low self-esteem. If you find yourself in this position you may wish to seek out an anxiety therapist who can assist you in treating the symptoms. Here is a few suggestions of what you can do if you are struggling with negative aspects of social media:

Set targets: Perhaps you want to cut down your use. Why not set yourself a target to only use social media for an hour or 2 per day? See how you get on and be aware of your times of use. First thing use in the morning can set you up for a bad day, you may feel a lack of interest in life and low motivation. Perhaps set a target to only use is after work. Another target can be to seek out alternative content that challenges your rabbit hole. Perhaps follow someone with opposite views.

Keep boundaries: Boundaries are important in all aspects of our lives. You are allowed to set yourself boundaries. Boundaries will include things like; I will unfollow any content that makes me angry. I will delete the apps from my phone. I will avoid all social media until my tasks are done for the day. Perhaps write a list of what sort of content you are willing to follow such as food or sport videos and delete other influences.

Review your use regularly: Don’t be shy to use the tools on your phone which show you how much time you spend on each app.

Replacement find creative outputs: Ask yourself, how else could I have spent this time, what things in real life could I be doing? Where are my interests outside of my phone? Which friends and family can I connect with in real life?

.Work with a therapist: At CMH counselling we are trained in motivational interviewing a style and type psychological therapy that was created in the field of substance misuse and alcohol addiction. Motivational interviewing enhances intrinsic motivation with the aim of working towards your goals which may include cutting down social media or having a more controlled and balanced use. Other techniques that will work well are CBT techniques which can be adapted to address unhealthy behaviour.

Measure mood and changes.

If you have been successful in attempts to set boundaries and cut down your use be aware of the impact. Perhaps you stopped using social media in the morning and you feel more productive? Perhaps you blocked negative influences? Ask yourself if you feel different? What is causing this change? Is there room for improvement? Is my self-esteem improving?

If you have been finding it challenging to navigate the world of social media you can talk to a London psychotherapist here.