Addressing social media threats to mental health: Focus on quantity and quality

On a recent episode of The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge podcast, the host read listener responses to the provocative question: Is social media a cancer? Many responses pointed to threats to mental health posed by social media. In the following sections, I will discuss these threats and how to address them.

Two kinds of mental health threats posed by social media

The threats to mental health posed by social media are of two kinds:

(1) those stemming from the quantity of time spent on social media;

(2) those stemming from the quality of time spent on social media.

I will discuss each of these threats below.

Threats stemming from the quantity of time spent on social media

Mental health threats stemming from the quantity of time spent on social media focus on spending excessive amounts of time engaging in social media activities. This can detract from a person engaging in activities which are essential to one’s health and wellbeing. The activities which go by the wayside include exercise and other forms of self-care, social relationships, activities such as sports and hobbies or interests which facilitate self-esteem, and tasks including those related to occupational and educational activities.

Excessive time spent on social media affects people’s lives negatively just as excessive use of substances like alcohol and drugs along with excessive time spent on activities like gambling and pornography. Unfortunately, many people are susceptible to spending excessive amounts of time on social media. People are especially vulnerable to excessive use because of the algorithms social media companies use to entice people to stay on their platforms so that they can amass more profits from advertisers.

Threats stemming from the quality of time spent on social media

Mental health threats stemming from the quality of time spent on social media focus on people being exposed to content which affects their mental health negatively. The effects of such damaging content on young people is detailed in The Anxious Generation by social psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt. Instances of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, suicide and numerous other mental health issues skyrocketed in tandem with the increase in social media use by children and teenagers.

Sites like X (formerly known as Twitter) commonly feature users who make vile personal attacks. This can happen during a disagreement on a political issue or simply because the ‘trolls’ have no other life purpose than to attack people for no reason. The effects of such attacks have led many people, including me, to avoid using such social media sites. For those unfortunate people who must frequent them as part of their occupations, the negative mental health effects they experience are substantial.

Not only do companies like X allow such vile content to be posted with no restrictions, the algorithms they employ deliberately provoke users into anger so that they will post more content which affects mental health negatively. Meanwhile, those posting vile content spend vast amounts of time ruminating in a manner which leads them to feel anger and resentment on an ongoing basis.

Addressing threats stemming from the quantity of time spent on social media

Addressing threats stemming from the quantity of time spent on social media can be done by setting time limits on your or your child’s use of social media. Given that excessive social media usage can detract from a person engaging in activities which are essential to one’s health and wellbeing, scheduling activities which are essential to your health and wellbeing is recommended.

Doing so will allow you or your child to enjoy the benefits of these activities so that the desire to spend excessive amounts of time on social media is reduced. This leads to a sustainable routine in which social media use is one of many activities.

Addressing threats stemming from the quality of time spent on social media

Addressing threats stemming from the quantity of time spent on social media can be done by being selective regarding the social media content to which you expose yourself or your child. Sometimes the nature of the content can be used to decide whether exposure to it will be detrimental to your or your child’s mental health. In instances in which the nature of the content is not a red flag, you should look for negative effects on mood, behaviour and performance in major areas like work, school, self-care and relationships as signals to avoid exposure to certain social media content.

Using social media to benefit your mental health

Although social media can pose threats to mental health based on excessive use and exposure to toxic content, I do not think it should be labelled a cancer. Unlike cancer, which is inherently negative in its effects, if used properly social media can have positive effects on your mental health.

Making social media use one of many enjoyable and productive activities while focusing on social media usage which is good for your mood is a goal which many people achieve on an ongoing basis. For example, I have friends and family members who enjoy posting photos and messages on Facebook while also being productive in their work and educational pursuits along with enjoying other activities.

I also think it is fine not to have social media use as an activity in your routine. In my case, it leaves me more time to help others avoid threats to their mental health posed by social media.

May you avoid threats posed to your mental health by social media,

-Dr. Pat