{"id":247026,"date":"2024-03-19T14:39:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T22:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socalempowered.com\/?p=247026"},"modified":"2024-03-19T14:39:46","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T22:39:46","slug":"social-media-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socalempowered.com\/social-media-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media and Mental Health: Find a Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In some ways it\u2019s hard to believe, but 20 years ago the term \u201csocial media\u201d didn\u2019t even exist in common vernacular. MySpace was all the rage, and then this new network called Facebook came along and changed everything. Suddenly in this new era, we were connecting with people we hadn\u2019t heard from or even thought about for years, and the world seemed like a smaller, more connected place. While this was all quite exciting, it was also too early in the process to understand the link between social media and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, we\u2019ve learned that yes, there is a link between social media and mental health, and for the most part it isn\u2019t a positive one. Despite this knowledge, the reality is that most of us simply cannot completely escape the clutches of these outlets. There are benefits to its existence, but it\u2019s a slippery slope between obtaining information and becoming too engrossed in it to the point where it harms a person\u2019s mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below we\u2019re going to continue our series on mental health self-care<\/a> with a look at the link between social media and mental health. We\u2019ll also provide some ideas for people to consider as they try to strike that balance between staying connected and not going too far into this world such that their mental health suffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media and Mental Health: An Overview of Studies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before getting into examples of studies linking social media and mental health, let\u2019s begin with the overall prevalence of social media with American adults. Pew Research did a survey<\/a> last year that revealed that revealed the following percentages of adults who have ever used the following social media channels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. YouTube \u2013 83 percent<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Facebook \u2013 68 percent<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Instagram \u2013 47 percent<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Pinterest \u2013 35 percent<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. TikTok \u2013 33 percent<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    That translates to tens of millions of American adults \u2013 or 69 percent to be more exact \u2013 who have used or who continue to use some form of social media. That\u2019s also a lot of people whose mental health can be affected, depending on a specific person\u2019s usage time and particularities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In terms of studies done analyzing the link between social media and mental health, many more have led to results indicating a negative link between the two. However, there are some that have uncovered positive results, such as the synopsis of this one here<\/a> that found that social media allows people to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n