The Impacts of Social Media on Mental Health

by | 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$.

Dealing with Loneliness

by | 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/.