The Pros and Cons of Soical Media (Mental Health)
The Pros and Cons of Social Media
The potential negative impact of social media on at-risk young people is receiving increasing attention. Risks identified include the potential for contagion or copycat events; sharing information about suicide methods; encouragement to engage in suicidal behaviour; and the normalisation of suicide-related behaviour as an acceptable coping mechanism.
There are also significant potential benefits social media can provide. It can create a sense of community, and facilitate the support from friends. It can encourage people to seek help and share information and resources. More frequent social media use has been associated with improved ability to share and understand the feelings of others.
The reach, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of social media means information, support, or treatment can reach people who might not otherwise have easy access. Clinical services are beginning to harness the benefits of social media to augment the care they provide. For example, colleagues at Orygen developed an online platform for clients and their families to augment face-to-face treatment. It has been trialled with promising results
Monitoring language used in online posts might also enable tracking and detection of people who may be at risk.
For example, Facebook recently launched “proactive detection” artificial intelligence technology that will scan all posts for patterns of suicidal thoughts, and when necessary send mental health resources to the user or their friends, or contact local first-responders.
For example, Facebook recently launched “proactive detection” artificial intelligence technology that will scan all posts for patterns of suicidal thoughts, and when necessary send mental health resources to the user or their friends, or contact local first-responders.
But there are ethical implications, which include privacy and duty of care. Social media’s rapidly evolving nature, reach and anonymity make rigorous evaluation of its risks and benefits challenging.
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.But the way social media is used is important. For example, active (compared to passive) social media use can be beneficial. Although browsing Instagram has been associated with increased depression, talking to others online increases life satisfaction.
And some individuals may be more susceptible to the negative aspects of social media than others. Research suggests personality traits and the level of envy felt towards others online influence whether one will be negatively impacted.
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 over-simplification. But we need to acknowledge the risks and platform administrators, parents, mental health organisations, schools and universities, and young people themselves have a role to play in minimising these risks.
Social media is only becoming more prominent in our day to day lives and it's unlikely it's use will decrease in the future, so we need to make sure we manage the risks by making sure people are properly informed about the sites the use and have access to helpful information via these sites and apps.
That is why the social media aspect of our social action project is so important, we need to cement a positive outlook for mental health on social media in an attempt to not only raise awareness, but to stave off any possible negative effects that could present themselves. It's not going to be an easy undertaking in the long run and it's unlikely that the negative aspects of social media will ever be brought under control - but this is a step in the right direction, a step that hopefully many others will follow in the years to come in the fight for awareness.
And some individuals may be more susceptible to the negative aspects of social media than others. Research suggests personality traits and the level of envy felt towards others online influence whether one will be negatively impacted.
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 over-simplification. But we need to acknowledge the risks and platform administrators, parents, mental health organisations, schools and universities, and young people themselves have a role to play in minimising these risks.
Social media is only becoming more prominent in our day to day lives and it's unlikely it's use will decrease in the future, so we need to make sure we manage the risks by making sure people are properly informed about the sites the use and have access to helpful information via these sites and apps.
That is why the social media aspect of our social action project is so important, we need to cement a positive outlook for mental health on social media in an attempt to not only raise awareness, but to stave off any possible negative effects that could present themselves. It's not going to be an easy undertaking in the long run and it's unlikely that the negative aspects of social media will ever be brought under control - but this is a step in the right direction, a step that hopefully many others will follow in the years to come in the fight for awareness.
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