by Emily Churchill | Mar 21, 2025 | Featured Post, Mental health
The Growth of Social Media
- Over the past two decades, social media has rapidly transformed the world. What was non-existent just decades ago is now deeply intertwined in our society. Although it is still a somewhat new concept in human history, we are starting to see its lasting effects and how it can affect us in the long run.
- When examining the impact of social media, it’s essential to consider various factors and how they affect our interactions and perceptions. A report from 2023 by the U.S. Surgeon General found that in a pool of kids between the ages of 13-17, 95% of them use some form of social media. A third of them reported to be almost constantly using social media (U.S. Surgeon General). In other words, social media is here to stay for the foreseeable future. The amount of youth who find themselves almost constantly using social media could be seen as a cause for concern. If someone is spending all their free time scrolling on the internet, what could they be missing out on? What would they be doing instead?
The Impacts
- Social media, like any other thing, has both pros and cons. Some positives include the ability to connect with old friends, discover new topics and ideas, and interact with new people. The same article points out that “These relationships can afford opportunities to have positive interactions with more diverse peer groups than are available to them offline and can provide important social support to youth” (U.S. Surgeon General).
- During the pandemic when the ability to interact with people in person was severely limited, social media helped bridge that gap. It allowed people to not feel so alone and helped provide some stress relief for many in such an uncertain time (Zsila & Reyes).
- Despite these pros, however, it’s impossible to not see how social media has negatively impacted people. When used excessively, it has been found to correlate with an increase in poor mental health. In the study The Impact of Social Media Use Interventions on Mental Well-Being: Systematic Review, a study was done that had participants limit their social media usage. One of the biggest outcomes they found from this study was a decrease in depression from 70% of participants (Plackett, Ruth, et al).
The Content
- Social media itself may not be the root cause of these results, but rather the content that is shared. The article tells us “Concerns have been raised that social media may lead to body image dissatisfaction [6], increase the risk of addiction and cyberbullying involvement [5], and contribute to phubbing behaviors” (Plackett, Ruth, et al). Those on social media need to be mindful of who and what they follow, that they expose themselves to. You could curate your timeline to bring you tidbits of joy through the day, or tidbits of distress.
- From what we have found from research, it is hard to pretend that social media has no negative consequences. Excessive use has been proven to hurt our mental health, and a large amount of people are using it excessively. We should all self-reflect on our screen time and honestly determine if our usage needs to be cut back. After all, our mental health is far more important than our online presence.
Written by Emily Churchill, intern at Safe Harbor House. For more articles, visit www.safeharborim.com/articles.
All images in article were generated using Canva AI.
Sources:
U.S. Surgeon General. “Social Media and Youth Mental Health.”
HHS.Gov, 2023, urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/youth-mental-health/social-media/index.html__;!!PrVBqlTvcBbYrqSF!HnPN5eIBbujXO457Pj9-3TmEJO-fz6yEuFxBG9UO29XD08a2aMNuuZEgaWS5FyoS5AoCVjUteDW6odQI7iunNZkBxFA$
Plackett, Ruth, et al. “The Impact of Social Media Use Interventions on Mental Well-Being: Systematic Review.”
Journal of Medical Internet Research, JMIR Publications Inc., Toronto, Canada, urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e44922/__;!!PrVBqlTvcBbYrqSF!HnPN5eIBbujXO457Pj9-3TmEJO-fz6yEuFxBG9UO29XD08a2aMNuuZEgaWS5FyoS5AoCVjUteDW6odQI7iunt__V3X4$.
Zsila, Ágnes, and Marc Eric S. Reyes. “Pros & Cons: Impacts of Social Media on Mental Health – BMC Psychology.”
BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 6 July 2023, urldefense.com/v3/__https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01243-x__;!!PrVBqlTvcBbYrqSF!HnPN5eIBbujXO457Pj9-3TmEJO-fz6yEuFxBG9UO29XD08a2aMNuuZEgaWS5FyoS5AoCVjUteDW6odQI7iunloi5qro$.
by Emily Churchill | Mar 13, 2025 | Featured Post, Wellness
What is Minimalism?
Why Minimalism?
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There are many benefits to living a minimalist lifestyle. Buying less means spending less money. This allows you to put that money that you may have spent on something you really don’t need towards something more important (i.e. bills, savings for the future) or something more meaningful (i.e. vacation, concert). This can create a domino effect that leads to better financial wellness, which down the road leads to less stress.
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Owning less can definitely help with finding things. A lot of times we sometimes go out and buy multiples of something unintentionally because we may have lost that item, or even forgot we already had that item. Sometimes we intentionally buy multiples so we can always find one of said item when needed. This can be considered wasteful spending if it is not necessary for you to have a duplicate of that item. When you have less clutter in the way, you also are less likely to be scrambling to find something important throughout all the clutter.
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A benefit to some may be the visual appeal. A space that is more maximalist can be overwhelming for some. Minimalism can help create a more visually clear space for a more peaceful state of mind.
How to practice minimalism?
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Decluttering can be a great first step. Evaluate the things you own. Have you used this in the past year? Does this still fit? Is it comfortable? Does this item bring me any joy? It’s also important to discern when you are keeping things for good reasons VS making excuses to keep said item. One common thing that many minimalists do is create a capsule wardrobe. This is a small collection of clothes that usually have more simple, maybe even timeless pieces that mix and match very well. This allows you to keep from spending money on clothes and can help save time when getting ready or when doing laundry.
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Now that you have decluttered, it’s important that you do not just refill your space with more items that you also do not need. The same questions can be asked when shopping as you do while decluttering. Currently there is a challenge called Project Pan that can be very useful for this. The idea is to completely use up one item before buying a second. For hygienic products, makeup, and similar items, that can mean using every drop so long as it is not expired or a hazard to your health or well being. For something like technology, it can mean not upgrading your phone until you actually need a new phone or attempting to repair an appliance before going out to replace it.
Minimalism is not always everyone’s cup of tea, but for many it can be a useful change in lifestyle. It can save money, time, and effort, which in the end creates more space for what really matters to you in life.
by Emily Churchill | Feb 13, 2025 | Featured Post
As Valentine’s Day approaches, constant reminders of the holiday are everywhere. For some, this can be a sweet time to appreciate the love in their lives—whether romantic or platonic. However, for many, it can also bring up negative feelings, with loneliness being one of the most prevalent emotions.
It’s not uncommon to feel lonely. According to the article “Loneliness Matters: A Theoretical and Empirical Review of Consequences and Mechanisms,” up to 80% of individuals under 18 and 40% of adults over 65 report feeling lonely at least sometimes (Hawkley and Cacioppo). Furthermore, 15% to 30% of the general population experiences chronic loneliness.
While it can be disheartening to recognize how widespread loneliness is, it’s comforting to know that you’re not alone in feeling this way. Loneliness can impact more than just mental health; it has been linked to physical health problems such as heart disease, lung disease, cardiovascular issues, hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke, and metabolic disorders (Yanguas, Javier,).
How to Approach Loneliness
Often, the first response to loneliness is to seek the company of others. For some, this strategy may work. However, research indicates that this is not always effective. The study mentioned earlier found that sometimes the most effective way to address loneliness is to challenge our negative thoughts and investigate the root causes of our feelings (Hawkley and Cacioppo). Occasionally, the problem may indeed be a lack of social interaction, but other underlying issues could be at play.
How can we tackle this?
Here are some suggestions:
- Counseling or therapy
- Journaling
- Prayer or meditation
You can also find counseling services through Safe Harbor. The study “What Works in Interventions Targeting Loneliness: A Systematic Review of Intervention Characteristics” emphasizes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to loneliness.
However, it notes that “learned practices and behaviors should be integrated into one’s lifestyle to achieve long-term reductions in loneliness” (Morrish, N., et al.).
Remember, you are never completely alone. There are people in your life who care about you. We hope that you can feel the love around you this Valentine’s Day.
Written by Emily Churchill, intern at Safe Harbor House. For more articles, visit www.safeharborim.com/articles.
All images in article were generated using Canva AI.
Sources
Hawkley, Louise C, and John T Cacioppo. “Loneliness Matters: A Theoretical and Empirical Review of Consequences and Mechanisms.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine : A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 2010, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3874845/.
Morrish, N., et al. “What Works in Interventions Targeting Loneliness: A Systematic Review of Intervention Characteristics – BMC Public Health.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 9 Nov. 2023, bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-023-17097-2.
Yanguas, Javier, et al. “The Complexity of Loneliness.” Acta Bio-Medica : Atenei Parmensis, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 7 June 2018, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6179015/.
