Research Jaya

The Influence of Social Media On Mental Health
Jaya Mae C. Cantal
Introduction
Mental health has been an important topic in social media research these past few years. Social media use and its
connection to mental health has even been the subject of systematic reviews. This means that there’s a huge body of
previous studies that you can look to when developing your research question. Exploring both the positive effects and
negative impacts of social media sites on mental health helps people and firms establish guidelines that help user
communities. This research topic might also cover strategies for helping social media users improve their mental health.
When people look online and see they're excluded from an activity, it can affect thoughts and feelings, and can affect
them physically. A 2018 British study tied social media use to decreased, disrupted, and delayed sleep, which is
associated with depression, memory loss, and poor academic performance. Human beings are social creatures. We need
the companionship of others to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge impact on our mental
health and happiness. Being socially connected to others can ease stress, anxiety, and depression, boost self-worth,
provide comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even add years to your life. On the flip side, lacking strong social
connections can pose a serious risk to your mental and emotional health.
Body
Systematic search of articles was carried out from different database from 1991 to February 2020 across five databases.
The PICO guidelines, PRISMA flow diagram and Rayyan software were used in identifying relevant studies which were
assessed using the risk of bias. Cross-referencing was done with the co-authors. A total of 16 studies was finally included
in the review. Social media role is far reaching both in terms of an individual's self-perception and mood but also on their
social relationships. It is interesting to find its effect also in politics, organizations and even psychiatric illnesses. The 16
studies were divided into the positive, negative and neutral effects of social media.
Is the end of the "like" coming? According to TechCrunch, based on the findings of researcher Jane Manchun Wong,
Facebook is currently carrying out tests to reveal only a limited number of likes on a post. The social networking giant is
currently conducting the same type of experiment in seven countries on its Instagram app.
What is the reason for this? To reduce the feeling of permanent competition and social pressure. As recent research
has shown, this decision could be particularly beneficial for the mental health of young people. Based on the results of a
survey of 1,479 people aged 14 to 24 years by the UK's Royal Society for Public Health, the top 5 social networks have
been ranked according to their impact on mental health.
It emerges that Instagram is the social media platform with the most negative effect on the psychological state of
young people. On the other side, YouTube is considered to be the most positive network in this area and the only one in
the research considered to have a 'net positive' influence. To establish this ranking, 14 factors were taken into account
such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, self-image, harassment, and the opportunity to express oneself.
Conclusion
Social media is a new study that is rapidly growing and gaining popularity. Thus, there are many unexplored and
unexpected constructive answers associated with it. Lately, studies have found that using social media platforms can
have a detrimental effect on the psychological health of its users. However, the extent to which the use of social media
impacts the public is yet to be determined. This systematic review has found that social media envy can affect the level
of anxiety and depression in individuals. In addition, other potential causes of anxiety and depression have been
identified, which require further exploration.
The importance of such findings is to facilitate further research on social media and mental health. In addition, the
information obtained from this study can be helpful not only to medical professionals but also to social science research.
The findings of this study suggest that potential causal factors from social media can be considered when cooperating
with patients who have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression. Also, if the results from this study were used to
explore more relationships with another construct, this could potentially enhance the findings to reduce anxiety and
depression rates and prevent suicide rates from occurring.

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The Influence of Social Media On Mental Health

Jaya Mae C. Cantal

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