A few years ago, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, visited Capitol Hill to give a message to senators regarding his company. His message was that Instagram should, could, and will do better in protecting its users, more specifically teen users.
Social Media & Body Image
Intensive research done by Facebook has revealed that Instagram is toxic for several demographics of its users, especially young teen girls. Data shows that 32% of teen girls admitted that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.
In addition, 6% of American users who reported suicidal thoughts traced those to desires to Instagram. Moreover, there was a +178% increase of suicide deaths for children ages 10 to 14 between the years of 2007 and 2017, which was when social media arose greatly.
Knowing that social media use can negatively impact mental health, it is important for its users to take a step back and reflect on how they can better use the app to support their social and mental health.
Is Social Media Presenting You with Positivity or Negativity?
One way to reflect is to talk to someone about the quality of the content that you are consuming online. Ask yourself if it is positive, like images of inspirational quotes or cute dogs or if it is negative, such as politically charged news or images that make fun of certain groups of people.
Maybe the content consists of body-positivity posts, or in comparison, heavily edited and unrealistic images of influencers. Whatever the post may be, it may be negatively impacting your mental health by affecting your mood and feelings toward yourself.
In other words, ask yourself, does the media leave you feeling happy and satisfied or sad and bothered after going on it? Understanding this concept can help you to see whether social media is hindering or helping your mental health.
Reflecting on Your Social Media Usage
Furthermore, another way to reflect is to ask yourself how you want to change the way you are using social media right now. Maybe you want to spend less time on social media or maybe you notice that you feel badly after comparing the lives of others to yours and instead want to feel better after going on it.
These are important goals to set as changes can come by using social media in a way that helps you, not hurts you.
Until Instagram and other social media platforms make changes to better take care of its users, it is crucial for those that go on it to take a step back and reflect on how it is really making them feel. Try using it in ways that will help your mental health such as by using your social presence to form new and strengthen existing relationships with people, to spread positivity through sharing encouraging messages and information, or even to thank your community for its notable gestures.
Changing Your Social Media Diet
Remember, it is always okay to take a break from social media, especially if it is impacting your mental health in a negative way.
Try taking a break once and a while or limiting the time you spend on platforms each day. Additionally, you can unfollow accounts that do not make you feel good and even mute words that trigger or upset you.
Instead, try following accounts that make you feel good and brighten your outlook on life. Making these small changes can help you to use social media in a more positive way which is ultimately better for your mental health and you as a person.