In a recent article in the Economist regarding a study in Britons in a study by the Royal Academy of Public Health in 2017, there was a pretty disturbing review of what use of social media is doing to the brain, emotions contributing to mental illness from ages 14-24. The link below will take you to the complete article. The chart below clearly demonstrates how powerful social media is affecting the mental health of users. As you can see, the more obsessed you are with social media, the great the negative impact on FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), anxiety, depression and sleep. The remedy is to become more social, build self-esteem and real world relationships, garner emotional support, work on your physical health and self-awareness. Monitoring and limiting your time on social media may be the first step. The “problem” described in the study compares overuse of social media, Facebook, Instagram, Texting, Tinder, Redit, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube, WhatApp, LinkedIn, email, and phone equivalent to addiction such as gambling or drug addicts. Basically, overuse of social media has been demonstrated to be detrimental to your emotional well-being and mental health. Of course, what is too much? Is there such a thing as moderation? Do a check-in with your own time on social media, check your mood afterward to determine if you feel better or worse emotionally. In general, the study indicated the following: “Nearly 63% of Instagram users reported being miserable, a higher share than for any other social network. They spend an average of nearly an hour per day on the app. The 37% who are happy spend an average of just over half as long. The happiness rate is much higher for FaceTime (91%), a video-calling app, and phone calls (84%). When it comes to social networking, actual conversations are hard to beat.”
