TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, among others, are the most used among the so-called “social networks” today. Most adolescents and young people in the world have or currently have an account in one. Is it true that its use can affect our mental health?
Much has been said and written about the influence of social networks on the mental health of youth and adults, especially the first ones. It is not a new topic at all, however, its validity continues to demand great attention. And it is no wonder, because it is more than necessary to pay close attention to a mass phenomenon, which also produces multimillion-dollar figures annually, especially in this time of pandemic, where feeling of isolation of the world has grown and has practically forced us to turn to the networks and a excessive internet usewith all the problems that this may entail.
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Is excessive use of social networks harmful to health?
For some, it would be ideal that social networks come with a red notice, like those on cigarette packs or liquor bottles, announcing: “Excess is harmful to health” or “Its use causes illness of this type,” and thereby get by. Because, we know well, said advertisement does not prevent alcoholism or smoking, is much more a legal requirement than true responsibility with the health of users, who, by the way, know perfectly well that excess is harmful without the need for a label on the packaging.
How do social networks affect our mental health?
However, the ads exist: several studies of the WHO have pointed out that the excessive use of social networks It can intensify, especially in people with a certain predisposition, mental health problems, especially:
- Loss of sleep
- Frustration
- FOBO (fear of missing out): “fear of missing out”
- Dissatisfaction with self-image
- Sensation of distress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Suicidal ideation
And we can add a long etc. But if we think about it a little, is it the same does not happen with the substance use or when they live situations of emotional loss (partner, family, friends) and, even, with conditions such as unemployment either domestic violence? World statistics show that this is the case. So, be careful!… Is it just about knowing how much social media affects us? Probably not.
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What should alert us most is not what excessive use of social networks can generate on a physical and mental level, but rather the causes of someone’s excessive use. The success of your treatment will lie in that understanding, and not the other way around.
No to vicious circles
The phenomenon is much more complicated. The problem to be addressed in health should not be whether or not alcohol or tobacco are harmful substances for the body (we already know that they are), but prevent and treat the causes why a person drinks or smokes too much. And this, be careful, without falling into the vicious circle, into the behavioral tautology: “I drink because I am sad/ I am sad because I drink”, etc.
The same thing happens with social networks.. It is known, for example, that environments that favor substance use (bars, discos, parties, social circles of consumers, etc.) They would not be recommended for people prone to excess or addicts.(as well as asthmatics, patients with gastritis or migraines, of course); The same goes for social networks.: Platforms like Instagram would not be highly recommended for people who have had problems with their self-esteem (for one reason or another). But the matter goes much further.
Social interaction and unrest in culture
The so-called “social networks” are, as we see, mechanisms of social and cultural interaction, and as such they must be understood and analyzed. In that sense, the phenomenon is impossible to understand only from a certain dimension. Even so, it is clear that social networks, like any other social interaction, They necessarily affect not only our physical health but also our mental health..
This is where its great influence on our psychic life lies, in which the networks (and, of course, the technological devices through which we access them) They are not just a work tool, an information medium or a hobby, they are a relational environment to which we are linked, They are a way of existing andtherefore, to link ourselves in society current. Thus, the big problem is that this society, as one of the fathers of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, understood a long time ago, suffers from a profound “discomfort.”
The critical use of social networks: a prevention measure
It is clear that many of the multiple forms of social interaction prior to the existence of the internet were taken advantage of by the economic system and power, as happens today with social networks, for your own benefit. Loyalty, user retentionthe stimulus strategies that emphasize dependency bondsamong others, are not phenomena that emerged with social networks, rather in them they seem to have been perfected. Our role must be to try not to fall prey to these market strategies, because the algorithms that merge the economy Our mental health matters little to them.
That may be why it is difficult to limit our interaction in them. And it is there, in full awareness that we are facing a cultural phenomenon in which we are immersed, where we must be alert and have a very critical use of social networksbeing fully aware of their influences and dangerswithout, of course, dismissing its benefits, or, better, always questioning them so that they influence us as little as possible.