Me, thinking to myself last week, “It’s May! Which means that it’s Mental Health Awareness Month!”
Hi there, and welcome back to another week of Ask Trish! Happy May! I hope you’re well and having a wonderful start to the month.
As many of you will know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States–an opportunity to spotlight the importance of good mental health to living a healthy, meaningful life; raise awareness about the prevalence of mental health challenges faced by millions of Americans; and tackle stigma around mental health. We often spend lots of time talking about and caring for our physical health, but our mental health can take a backseat. And yet, protecting and taking care of our mental health is crucial. In that spirit, in this week’s post, I’m going to share 4 fascinating social media/internet-related mental health statistics to help y’all better understand some of the connections between the digital world and our mental wellness. This is not just interesting food-for-thought–hopefully, it’ll spark some behavior changes, some re-evaluation, and some introspection about how you can protect your mind online.
Sound like a plan? Let’s get into it:
- Social media use appears to make people feel lonelier: Social media platforms were created to bring people together, to enable folks to establish connections and find new communities. And yet, research has found that high social media use can actually make people feel lonelier. Consider this 2017 study, from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, which found that “[y]oung adults with high SMU [social media use] seem to feel more socially isolated than their counterparts with lower SMU.” In fact, interestingly enough, a more recent 2023 NIH National Library of Medicine study not only confirmed this finding, but actually determined that people who use social media for the purpose of maintaining their relationships actually feel lonelier than those who spend a similar amount of time on platforms for other reasons. In other words, social media might not quite give us the “connection fix” we’re searching for.
- 89% of youth engage in comparisons online, and 59% engage in daily comparisons: When we’re on social media, it’s hard not to compare ourselves to others…and The Cybersmile Foundation’s Comparison Culture 2023 report quantifies just how much. This report, which surveyed UK youth, found that nearly 90% of young people compare themselves to others online, 96% feel emotionally impacted in some way when comparing themselves; 50% have experienced low self-esteem because of digital comparisons; and sadly, 89% “feel unsatisfied with their life when comparing it to others on social media.” It seems clear, then, that constant comparison on social media can sometimes make us feel less than perfect. In fact, the report also found that an alarming 74% of respondents said that social media made them want to change a part of their body via surgery.
- Social media addiction is linked to cyberbullying: A 2021 study from the University of Georgia found that social media addiction was linked to perpetrating online harassment. Social media addiction occurs when users crave being on social media constantly–even when they’re not on it, and even when it may result in negative side-effects, e.g., poor sleep. As the study’s principal investigator noted, the study suggests that we need to do more to help young people to manage their screen time and manage their emotions. So many young people today are handed devices without any corresponding advice about using those devices well… and far too many never learn to regulate what they’re feeling (as I would put it, to “rethink before they type”). The result can be unhealthy relationships with devices that then enable reactive behavior that can harm others’ physical and mental wellbeing.
- Frequent social media use is associated with a lower overall mental health rating: According to the American Psychological Association, in 2024, 41% of teens with the highest social media use rated their mental health as “poor or very poor,” while just 23% of teens with the lowest use said the same. Similarly, “10% of the highest use group expressed suicidal intent or self-harm in the past 12 months compared with 5% of the lowest use group.” Social media and mental health, then, clearly have a very complicated relationship. There are plenty of young people I talk to who say that social media has had positive effects on their life–it’s helped them stay in touch with friends and family, express themselves, and pursue creative hobbies. And yet, social media–at least, in its current form–is also having profound negative effects on young people’s mental health. It’s perhaps unsurprising then, that former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has called for a warning label on social media platforms.
I hope you found these facts as interesting, enlightening, and important as I did! If this post has sparked new questions about tech or the internet for you–whether mental health-related or not–when you have a moment, please take a minute to share your thoughts with me here. Remember, anything you’re wondering about is totally valid; there are no “right” or “wrong” questions. So go ahead–fill out the form! I can’t wait to hear from you.
Have a great end to the week,
Trish