Is social media good for a person’s mental health?
My first thought to this question, I would think that would be an automatic and firm no. The pessimistic side to my view sources all the way back to the early days of when classroom computers would be the highlight of my day. Playing online games on websites like Miniclip or Runescape, a world where a 10-year old kid can get lost for hours without a second thought of any other worry or responsibility. The “Golden Age” of the internet some would say, even I would say because it was a time where the Internet was new, fresh, and what seemed like the pinnacle of technology. How else was I supposed to chat with other kids with colorful penguins and meet with friends at the pizza parlor after school? The age was of the internet and the virtual landscape was beautiful and inspired my wide-eyed hope for the future, which is something that changed rather quickly into my teenage and early adult years.
It was only until my middle school and high school days where we were more conscious of the devastating online bullying scene that was ever-present. Schools, teachers, and parents alike warned us teenagers us about the dangers of online chat rooms and the “stranger danger” esque people we would meet online. My eager mind imagined the “online bully” as some sketchy guy in a dark room on his computer, writing nasty comments simply for their entertainment. But my naivety blinded me from the fact that the source of all the blaming, shaming, harassment, and displaced aggression came from the very people sitting next to me in math class.
Social media was something that everyone envied in my early high school years. Facebook was the primary social media that everyone used, a platform that was yet to be known or fully understood by our parents. Meaning, for us high school students, it was free for all. Anything said possibly imagined people blurted on to Facebook whether was it means to be inspiring, comedic, wholesome, trollsome, and even hurtful. An early example was a post that most of us repeated over and over to have something to converse about the next day but importantly, to get alike. The first wave of posts came in the form of a caption saying, “Like for a rate”, which requires the viewer to like the post in order for the poster to leave that person a numeric value (1–10) with no reasoning as to why they got that number. I would participate in these kinds of threads to see what people think about me and others. Generally, the responses were pretty civil and the numbers I thought were pretty fair in according if I was close to that person. But some of the numbers I received like 4’s to 5’s in my mind, quite honestly crushed me.
In my mind in the present day, how can I let a numerical value, a number determine my whole identity as a person, right? True, as a young adult now of course I can handle such scrutiny especially looking back on how absurd it was. But to a fragile and awkward teenager, it devastated my self-esteem and really hurt my confidence to interact with others. Back then, it was hard to make solid friends that really knew me for who I was. To sum it up, I was sort of the class clown and loved to make people laugh. But when I get embarrassed or get anxious about something, I tend to shut down and refuse to interact socially out of fear. Through the course of high school, I did learn to cope with my fears and restoring my confidence by first learning that what people say about you does not matter. Secondly, I learned to not use Facebook so much seeing it was just a distraction and a means simply for entertainment. It was probably a good time to get off Facebook anyway, around the same time my parents made accounts.
The ultimate lesson I learned from social media is that no to take comments, opinions of yourself, or anything questioning your identity to heart. And if you do not like what others are saying to you, then simply press the off button on your laptop or phone. I have always humored myself at the thought that it really should be that easy to solve online bullying. It should but it really is not, especially with today’s social media being so deep-rooted in our lives. To the point, where our whole identities and livelihoods could be tarnished with a click of a button nowadays. Where how you like online triumphs all responsibilities and ignores the basic aspects of respect and kindness. When used in moderation, social media can be a valuable asset to inform oneself about the world and the ability to commune globally. One can limit their time when using the internet and social media, meaning less exposure to the harmful sides and negativity. Social media and the internet are used by all to perform daily good in their lives whether it is their share their hobby online, surround their livelihoods (e.g. content creators, merchandise shops, Etsy, etc.), and even seek mental help resources that could found free online. Social should be balanced in the need of the viewer. There is so much negativity that an individual can handle hence what translates into their own lives. This means social media should be balanced because to some may seem like a curse, but to many, it can be a blessing.
