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Last Updated: Jan 10, 2023
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How Is Social Media Affecting Your Mental Health?

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Dr. Praveen TripathiPsychiatrist • 15 Years Exp.MBBS, MD - Psychiatry, CE (New York)
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Being away or oblivious to social media is synonymous to not following the herd. Social media probably is no more the latest fad; it is the given code to take a deeper look into the present age. The rewarding fact about social networking sites is their ability to transport us to people and places millions of miles away from us. This epoch with its dictates of overproduction and maximum utilization of labor, snatches away the boon of communication.

Social media gifts us with easy communication and wider access:

  1. Social media creates peer pressure: Coming in continuous contact with occurrences in other people's life can lead to mental setback. You may feel low on comparing your achievements with that of others. Consciously or unconsciously you are struggling throughout to be at par with them who are seemingly jubilant. Virtual peer pressure is realized by many. 
  2. It can bring us at close quarters with penitence: Persistent grief or regret can take a toll on your mental health. It can make you depressive. Depression is again not a healthy thing for personal growth and development. It usually results in lack of motivation.
  3. You tend to panic more through continued use of social media: If you have not been in touch with social media for a couple of days you are instilled with the fear of losing out on incidents. You panic regarding what has been happening all over the world that in reality will in most cases bear no effect on you.
  4. It accustoms you to the glamorous appeal of drugs- Social media tends to showcase the ills of society as glamorous contributing factors of life. It celebrates the vices of drugs and other addictive agents as virtues. Young adults are therefore easily incited to give in to addiction.

Positive effects of social media on your mental health:

  1. Social media will let you take a break from hovering tasks and responsibilities. 
  2. Helps you connect with long lost friends. Social networking sites will bring you close to new and old friends alike. 
  3. Real society is overly judgemental. It prohibits you from coming across as your true self. Virtual media allows you to come out of your cocoon and helps you feel comfortable about yourself.
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