Mental Health and Social Media
- by Sofia Blue
- Jun 30, 2017
- 3 min read
We live in the era of Her Majesty Personal Image. We share our lives publicly, we build our careers online, we are soaked in information all the time. But how does this affect our mental health?
We all have those friends on Facebook who never stop showing off everything they have. We all know the success stories of people who seem to get rich and famous overnight. And we all feel shitty comparing ourselves to them. Now add depression and anxiety to that and you have a recipe for mental disaster. The more you see, the worse it gets. So why are we so hooked up?
It’s human’s nature to want to belong somewhere and play an important role in society. We value ourselves largely based on other people’s perception of us. It’s not fancy to show your weakness. It’s fancy to show your success. The nicer your life is, the more likes you get. The more likes you get, the more your self-esteem grows. Popular equals awesome.
I’m sure you know this, but let me remind you - it is all FAKE! Everybody has their struggles, their fears, their failures. But there is no space for that in social media. Nobody wants you to ruin their day with your troubles, “stop nagging”. So we keep only the good side for Facebook and the bad side for the dark corner of the room. It’s like the Moon - you only see one side of it (because the Moon doesn’t spin on its axis).
I have this friend. She constantly posts on Facebook photos of herself with friends in bars or having coffee, and every time the messages these photos come with are all hearts and smiley faces. Life’s beautiful… But I know her and truth is she is very unhappy. She hates her job but doesn’t have the patience to look for another one. Her love life is a mess but she keeps being stuck to this stupid arrogant guy. You don’t see that in Facebook. You don’t see her tears at night. You don’t feel her pain. You don’t hear her suicidal thoughts.
Me on the other side - I was never really into social media. I only have Facebook and rarely ever open it. I don’t have Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. Why? Because I c.a.n.n.o.t take it! I’m not an envious person but I feel so when I look at people’s Facebook lives. I want children so my mind chooses to see all those friends having kids and being all happy. My professional life is totally stuck - I got fired because I had a depressive crisis. So I look at my classmates from university and compare my failures to their professional success. Every time I open Facebook, I regret it. That’s why I almost never do.
This is stressful for a mentally healthy person. It’s so much worse for those who struggle with mental illnesses. Social media feeds your insecurities, buries your chances to get better, and creates an ever-growing hole in your life. At the back of your head you hear this voice always putting you down - “You see, you are a total failure! Look how amazing their lives are and you are sitting here all miserable… You are worthless!” That’s why if you are depressed and/or suffer from anxiety, please - stop using social media. And if it’s too difficult for you at least limit your access to it. I propose an experiment - commit to a certain number of days you will not use your Facebook or/and whatever other platforms you use. Pay attention to how you feel and see if it quiets down at least a little bit that mean voice. You can’t lose anything (except for another baby photo or cats video).
Love,
Sofia Blue
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