The Mental Health Effects Relative to Social Media

• Author: Tiffany A. Lesnik
• Pages: 27-30

SUMMER 2021 27

e Mental

Health Eects

Relative to

Social Media

BY TIFFANY A. LESNIK

negative. ere are numerous benets to social media, and

there is a wealth of information that is available at the click

of a button.

Positive Uses of Social Media

• Communicate and stay up to date with family and friends

around the world.

• Find new friends and communities, and network with

other people who share similar interests or ambitions.

• Join or promote worthwhile causes and raise awareness on

important issues.

• Seek or oer emotional support during tough times.

• Find vital social connections if you live in a remote area,

for example, or have limited independence or social

anxiety or are part of a marginalized group.

• Find an outlet for your creativity and self-expression.

• Learn a skill or how to do a DIY project at the click of a

button.

• Promote your business and use social media as an

aordable marketing option.

• Create a timeline of your life and a storage of important

photos that are accessible in one space.

During the past ten years, the rapid development

of social networking sites (SNSs) such as

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace has caused several

profound changes in the way people communi-

cate and interact. Facebook, as the biggest social

networking website today, has more than one billion active

users, and it is estimated that in the future, this number will

signicantly increase, especially in developing countries. Igor

Pantic, Online Social Networking and Mental Health, 17

Cyberpsychology, Behav. & Soc. Networking 652 (2014).

According to Statistica.com the top ve social media

platforms from largest to smallest are Facebook, YouTube,

WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram, with some

individuals using multiple social media applications daily

such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter. e

reasons for use vary, including personal, business, informa-

tional, and entertainment. While YouTube can be a huge

help when you need to know how to x a garbage disposal

without hiring a plumber, there is a lot of other harmful

information out there when overconsumed that is insidious

to our personal lives.

at is not to say that everything about social media is

Published in Family Advocate, Volume 44, Number 1, Summer 2021. © 2021 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof

may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.