Is social media bad for your mental health?

Leading UK psychiatrists have called on social media companies to hand over their data to mental health researchers, in a bid to understand the risks to children.

Technology companies must be made to share data and pay tax to fund research into the effects of social media on children’s mental health, says a report from the Royal College of Psychiatrist (RCP).

“We will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use unless the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram share their data with researchers,” said Dr Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the college’s child and adolescent mental health faculty and co-author of the report.

But Civil rights group Big Brother Watch said children should have “autonomy” on social media, and not be treated “like lab rats”, the BBC reports.

Amid conflicting research, The Week looks at whether the emotional risks of digital technologies outweigh the rewards.

The negative effects

A number of studies have found an association between social media use and depression, anxiety, sleep problems, eating issues, and increased suicide risk, warn researchers from the University of Melbourne’s National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, in an article on The Conversation.

Ian Russell, who has become a campaigner against social media harm following the suicide of his 14-year-old daughter Molly in 2017, wrote an emotional foreword to the RCP’s new paper.

“Among the usual schoolfriends, pop groups and celebrities followed by 14-year-olds, we found bleak, depressive material, graphic self-harm content and suicide-encouraging memes… I have no doubt that social media helped kill my daughter,” writes Russell.

A 2015 study by the University of Missouri found that regularly using Facebook could lead to symptoms of depression if the site triggered feelings of envy in the user.

If social media is used “to see how well an acquaintance is doing financially or how happy an old friend is in his relationship - things that cause envy among users - use of the site can lead to feelings of depression”, says Professor Margaret Duffy, who co-authored the report.

However, care needs to be taken when making a direct link between mental health and social media use, warn the University of Melbourne researchers.

Most studies examining social media and mental health “aren’t able to determine whether spending more time on social media leads to depression or anxiety, or if depressed or anxious young people spend more time on social media”, they say. “The pathways to mental illness are many and varied, and to suggest mental health problems can be attributed to social media alone would be an oversimplification.”

It is also important to note that social media does not affect all people equally, the researchers add, as some individuals may be more susceptible to the negative aspects than others.

The positive effects

The same University of Missouri study that found a link between Facebook use and depression also found that people who use the platform primarily to connect with others do not experience the negative effects. “In fact, when not triggering feelings of envy, the study shows, Facebook could be a good resource and have positive effects on well-being,” Psychology Today reports.

There is also compelling evidence that social media can benefit people already dealing with mental health issues by helping them build online communities that provide a source of emotional support. The UK Mental Health Foundation says it is “undeniable” that online technologies can be used to reach the most vulnerable in society, as well as helping to reduce the stigma attached to seeking treatment.

Social media is “invaluable for people with health conditions to know that they are not alone, that there are other people who have gone through this and got better”, says Professor John Powell, a public health researcher at Oxford University, who has researched how social media can be used to support people with chronic illnesses.

Matthew Oransky, an assistant professor of adolescent psychiatry at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, also says many patients make social connections online that they could not find elsewhere, reports USA Today. This is particularly true of marginalised teens, such as kids in foster homes and LGBT adolescents, Oransky says.

Are children more affected than adults?

For young people, who spend on average far more time than over-25s on social media, the problem appears even more serious.

A study by the UK’s media regulator has found bullying of young people online has grown significantly worse in recent years. The Ofcom report revealed the proportion of 12 to 15-year-olds who reported having been bullied on social media has nearly doubled from 6% to 11% since 2016.

Children are also using multiple social media profiles to project a “picture-perfect self” to different social groups.

The rise of popularity in platforms such Instagram, which primarily focus on people’s physical appearance, are “contributing to a generation of young people with body image and body confidence issues”, says the London-based Royal Society for Public Health.

There is also concern at the failure of social media firms to protect young people from disturbing content online, specifically related to self-harm, given the fact that suicide is now the leading cause of death among under-20s in the UK.

Acknowledging the need to tackle the problems associated with increased social media use and “internet addiction” among young people, new forms of treatments have emerged.

One 28-day inpatient programme in the US called Reboot is targeted specifically at 11 to 17-year-olds. 

It uses diagnostic therapy and psychotherapy to help those who have addictions that include online gaming, online gambling, social media, pornography, and sexting, “to escape the symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression”, says Tech Times.

So what is the consensus?

Experts appear to largely agree that social media is neither wholly good nor bad for our emotional well-being, and that its impact on our mental health depends on a number of factors, including how it is used. 

And while the risks of these platforms should be acknowledged, so should their potential to help people, especially those already struggling with mental health issues.

Anyone in need of immediate mental health support can call the Samaritans free on 116 123