Have you ever jugged yourself or someone else because of what you have seen on social media? Nowadays, social media is a huge part of our daily lives. Social media is a tool to connect you with the rest of the world and if you know how to use it efficiently, social media gives you a chance to relax and get entertained. However, we spend more time in the tiny screens more than we know and overuse of social media has many disadvantages.
According to the studies in 2019, there are almost 2.77 billion social media users. The number is growing every year and other studies also examined that depression and anxiety rate is increasing. Even though we do not realize, social media has major effects in our mental health. Between 2005 and 2015, depression rate increased more than 18%. How does social media have an impact on these rates?
Social media use is now an addiction for many people. We do care about our follower numbers, likes and we are obsessed with peoples’ thoughts about us. We want to be loved and most of us are scared to be left out. Research made in a Canadian university showed that 7/10 students would delete their social media account if they were not scared to being left out. There is a belief that social media will make you feel less lonely, however, the situation is the opposite. Social media makes you feel lonely but not because there are no people around you, but because it can make you realize what you cannot have. If you are a social media user, you probably have looked at a picture and said ”Why can’t I ?” It is important for us to know that not everything we see on social media reflects the truth.
Moreover, it is also known that depression rate is higher in women than men. As far as I have observed, the biggest reason for this is the beauty standards created by society. Many women look at the social media and think that they are not good enough. Body like the models desired by many women and this desire can turn into an obsession and that obsession can create illnesses such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Now it is not possible to leave social media. However, we can learn how to use it better. First of all, we should be aware of the fact that everything we say can affect the person on the other side of the screen. Since people can be too cruel on social media, not everything you hear on social media can be nice, that’s why it is important to learn how to cope with comments by learning every comment made about you does not define who you are. All this is about how social media makes you feel. From my point of view, it might be a good idea to stay out of social media sometimes and live your own reality.
SOURCES:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/depression-prevents-many-of-us-from-leading-healthy-and-productive-lives-being-the-no-1-cause-of-ill-health-and-disability-worldwide/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/04/what-is-depression-and-why-is-it-rising
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/social-media-use-increases-depression-and-loneliness#Our-curated-lives