by Nicola Maria Gramlich
It is no secret that spending a lot of time on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook has a lot of downsides and can be bad for your mental health. But what are the upsides of social media when it comes to our mental health and what can we do to protect our mental health on social media?
5 positive rewards we can gain for mental health through social media:
- Being on social media can provide relief of stress and loneliness (at least for a short period of time). Social media can be used as a tool to stay connected with friends all over the world. The feeling of connectiveness is very important and beneficial for our mental wellbeing.
- Meeting new friends and connecting with people who have the same interest as you and may even live in your area can contribute to your feeling of belonging and connectedness.
- Influencers (with expertise) can help you create a healthy lifestyle by sharing tips on how to build healthy routines. There are a lot of influencers who share their yoga and meditation practices, workout routines, nutrition knowledge and therefore, provide inspiration for people who want to make their every day life healthier and do something for their mental health.
- Social media platforms can provide a lot of information and support for people who struggle with mental illness and can connect people with the same problem.
- There is a trend that more people talk about their mental illness on social media now and generate awareness for the topic in general. It can help people who struggle with their mental health and support the feeling that it is okay to struggle and there are a lot more people out there with the same problem.
After talking about how social media can have a great impact on our mental health, this following list provides some tips on how you can protect your mental health from the negative effects.
5 ways to protect your mental health on social media
- Set a specific time limit for your social media use and stick to it.
- Mute or unfollow people you don´t care about (saves you a lot of time) or you are triggered by (fitness models, friends you might be jealous of).
- Don´t use any social media platform before you go to bed (helps improve your sleep).
- Put your phone away when you are with friends so you can connect with them on a deeper level.
- Follow sites with positive input instead of sites that are triggering you (for example news sites)
Sites on social media you should check out for your mental health:
Dr. Smith Julie (Psychologist – professional mental health advice) https://www.instagram.com/drjulie/
Jay Shetty (Health Coach) https://www.instagram.com/jayshetty/
Mel Robbins (Book Author of 5 Habits – spreading positive vibes – promoting healthy routines) https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/
Nedra Glover Tawwab (Therapist) https://www.instagram.com/nedratawwab/
Brené Brown (Researcher/Author) https://www.instagram.com/brenebrown/
I love this post! So often I tend to focus on the negative impacts of social media on mental health, but it’s interesting to reflect on how it has benefitted me as well. I get a lot of self care inspiration from TikTok and Instagram. Seeing influencers becoming more transparent about their mental health helps to break stigma and create a society where people who struggle don’t have to feel ashamed. The social aspects also foster a sense of connectivity which is essential for combating loneliness and depression.
Hi Nicole,
Your post is really insightful. Interestingly, it is the “flip side” of my post, which focused on the downside of social media. I think that the best way to benefit from social media use, even at an individual level, is to be strategic about it. Both the upsides and downsides depend on how one uses these tools. I have learned so much from your post. But, in all, discipline is the key word, and defining one’s goals for using social media is critical. I struggle a lot to stick to my decisions on not using social media before going to bed. I hope the insight you provided will help me to change.
Thank you for sharing this! I feel as though we have a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of social media, that we forget about the good parts that keep us coming back. I think that understanding how to protect your mental health is crucial when navigating this space, so I appreciate you include that as well!
Nicole,
This post is really well structured and works as an excellent guide for how to positively engage with social media. Nice! As someone who feels the downsides of technology heavily, I have opted to delete most apps or use them rarely. Still, sometimes I miss the positive sides of the apps (staying connected with friends’ lives, learning things, finding humor.) I think this piece was really insightful and I will definitely implement these techniques so that I can enjoy the benefits of social media again, thank you!
Hi Nicole! I love the way you formatted this blog, with the positives at the beginning, followed by helpful tips. I think it is great to recognize the good that can come from using social media in a positive way, with the structure to prevent the negative outcomes. Your first tip, to limit time spent on social media, is something I have found very beneficial for preventing social media burnout. Setting myself a time limit keeps me from wasting time looking at people and platforms that aren’t worth the time, which eliminates a lot of content that can be negative or unneccasry. That being said, I try to be mindful of the content I intake, but its nearly impossible to filter out everything I don’t care to see. Learning what content is and is not a positive contributer to my overall wellbeing is always something I am working on.
I love this perspective on social media! I think people always get caught up in the negative sides of social media that we forget the positive aspects to it. All of the points you made are valid and 100% true. I think social media in moderation can be excellent for people to connect with others. I also think spending too much time on social media can hurt your mental health. There are many negative people on social media, but it is encouraging to look at the positive accounts to follow and seek information from.
Hi Nicola! I really enjoyed your blog post. It’s easy to get caught up on the negative aspects of social media in connection to mental health; however, I think it’s important for people to recognize the positive ‘consequences’ of social media usage. I agree that social media in moderation is healthy; however, it can get unhealthy for users when they fixate on seeking social validation in the forms of likes, comments, follows and/or shares. Moving forward, I will implement the suggestions and techniques into my daily life when consuming media content. Thanks for sharing!