Teenagers and social media go hand in hand.
But is social media bad for your mental health?
When it comes to social media- many people have LOTS of strong opinions about it. There’s even a reality show on Netflix now called “The Circle” where players interact with each other on the show’s version of social media.
Players can choose to be themselves, or pretend to be someone else, in order to gain popularity and win the entire game.
One player is very vocal about his dislike for social media and for this very reason goes so far as to call it “Social Medusa.”
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As a teen therapist, I hear a lot of the drama using social media can create for teens. At the same time, I also hear a lot of wonderful stories about how teen’s credit social media as a positive impact on their lives.
I think at this point, you know that I'm a pretty considerate person, I like to look at all angles. It's probably because I'm trained as a Dialectical Behavior Therapist, which is all about looking at the “both/and” of situations, not “either/or.” (You can click here to learn about 5 ways DBT helps teens who struggle with self harm).
Let's consider the information that we know about social media.
Connections
Social media is all about forming connections. It has the word social in the title for a reason. By engaging with each other on social media, we're able to find and form communities and stay in touch with loved ones and friends, which can be really helpful. Forming strong social connections and support is really important for improving anyone's mental health and wellbeing.
Social Isolation
On the flip side, social media can be pretty isolating at times. If you are noticing and seeing lots of photos or videos of friends hanging out without you, and you didn't know about it, that can feel really hurtful and painful. And since you're only seeing a snapshot of what's happening, it's tough to know what the circumstances were that you weren't included, so it can make you feel like you're not part of the group or that other people aren't considering you. And that may not actually be the case at all.
Information
Social media can be a really great resource for gathering information. It can be really easy and quick to ask a question and get a response right away in real-time. Companies and businesses today are even more accessible, the more and more that they're on social media, so it can be really helpful if you're like in a pinch and you just need some information right away, you can ask a question on social media, I do it all the time, and you get real feedback response.
Misinformation
Just because somebody posts a response, it doesn't mean that they know what they're talking about. Most of you know that if you're not an expert, or you're not sure about something, you're not going to post it as fact. But some people truly believe ideas or concepts- or things that they've been told- that aren't true at all.
For example, just because somebody posts an image of themselves doesn't mean that they actually look like that in real life. There are so many filters and photo editing apps that are easily accessible to anybody now that it can make it really easy to portray yourself as somebody that you're not, which leads me to my next point….
Accessibility
With social media, we have a lot more access to each other. People are able to get in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, email, snail mail, text message, phone call. That's eight different ways, plus also making an appointment with me- so nine ways! That means that people have a lot more ability to access me directly, just like I can with them, so that can be really cool if you're wanting to stay in touch with somebody.
Exposure
When you use social media, you have to be very intentional about setting boundaries and limits with how much access somebody can have to you. You can do this by limiting the amount of social media that you participate in or choose to engage in. Keeping it to one to two platforms can really be helpful in limiting you feeling so exposed and vulnerable. Otherwise, it's a lot to keep up with!
Relatability
One of the really cool things about social media is that when you find somebody or some information that you connect with, it helps you feel not alone. It can be really validating when you see a post or an image or a video that just feels really relatable, like “oh my gosh, they get me! They totally understand.”
Impressionability
When you are constantly being inundated with information and messages and images left and right, it can lead you to be really impressionable. It's always a good idea to check in with your intuition or your gut and ask yourself is this helping me or is this hurting me? Is this actually what I like or is this being told what I like?
Entertainment
It's really easy to go down the YouTube rabbit hole of watching video after video after video after video. They're really good about suggesting videos just for your interests, which is why it's really important to check in and ask yourself, am I using this social media right now to entertain myself or am I using it to avoid or numb out from my problems? Using entertainment to take a healthy break from an issue can be really helpful.
Numbing Out
When you never go back and revisit the issue or problem, that's called avoidance and then you have a whole other situation going on. You just want to check in, am I using this to avoid my real life and problems, or am I using it to just kinda give me a little peace, a little restorative rest? If you are then you can go back to it a little emotionally stronger.
To help you figure it out, I want you to ask yourself these four questions:
1. Am I connecting with friends and family in real life, too?
2. Am I going on social media to numb out?
3. What is my Screen Time report?
4. How do I feel before I engage with social media? How do I feel afterward?
VERDICT TIME
Just like anything else in life, I think that there are really great components of social media and there are really unhealthy components of social media. It can be really powerful for coping and relationship building. At the same time, it can be really isolating, leading you down dark paths.
Does a teen therapist think that social media is good or bad for mental health?
So my answer is… yes and no. Ultimately I think it's a one to one personal, individual evaluation or assessment that you have to do.
So just like with coping skills, the most important question that you need to be asking yourself in considering is this good or bad for your mental health, is this helping or is this hurting me?
Tell me….
I hope that you found this information valuable and helpful and if you did, let me know in the comments over on my YouTube channel- you can click here to go to this video.
And please be sure to share this video because you never know who you could be helping in the process.
If you want to know more about how to protect yourself on social media, click this link to watch a great video on this very important topic.
Want even more positive influences in your teen's life? Teen Girls Therapy Group is a weekly space where your teen girl can connect with others dealing with anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. By talking and learning together, they learn to feel better about the relationships they have with themselves and others.
If you want to secure your teen's spot- complete your complimentary 15-min parent phone screening at 203-228-8971 or completing the contact form here.
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