Does social media really impact mental health? A Professional’s View

Social media is a must. Teens all over the country rely on social media as a form of communication, and the recently popularized platform TikTok has begun to be questioned in regards to its impact on mental health. As mental health conversations have become more normalized, social media use has begun to be correlated with the assumed increase in depression, anxiety, eating disorders and more. Oftentimes, social media is looked at as the cause for these issues, but is this truly the case?

Mental health professional Shelby Morse talks about how she feels social media has impacted mental health, or if it really has at all.

To provide background on Morse, she is currently a therapist at the Psychiatry of Elgin. She has been in the mental health field for eight years, and prior to working at an individual office, she was a mental health counselor in the ER.

When asked about social media, she expressed gratitude to all it has done, but she also mentioned some of the concerns she has surrounding it.

“Social media attempts to positively impact mental health, but people are still really scared to do things and engage in mental health treatment,” Morse said. “Mental health is more advertised and talked about now.”

Specifically, TikTok, a somewhat new social media platform that allows users to create videos in all sorts of genres, has been a concern for many parents. Sometimes, the videos are seen as inappropriate and dramatized. Since users have the platform to speak out on all issues, they are able to express their own struggles with mental health. Whether this is good or bad is up to interpretation, but the fact is, TikTok allows like-minded individuals to connect and relate to one another. From Morse’s perspective, TikTok has its pros and cons.

“TikTok has great intentions,” Morse explained. “It’s a great platform for people to share their stories and experiences with mental health and the journey they’re taking, but there’s also a lot of misleading videos. Everyone can say something on social media and the truth is usually very far from that.”

Social media often advertises certain fashion looks, body types, experiences, etc. TikTok is not the only platform that does this, and many assume that body image issues can arise from seeing how others portray themselves over social media. There has been an apparent rise in eating disorders, and once again, social media is often looked at as the sole contributor.

“Social media posts can impact confidence,” Morse said. “Models will show what the actual photo looks like and there’s so much editing and retakes. Maybe the outfit they’re wearing hides their ‘imperfections.’ Eating disorders and negative body image issues have been created at such a young age.”

Overall, it seems that social media usage does not affect everybody in the same capacity. For some, it may not be a cause of insecurity, for others, it may be. Its concern ranges from a person-to-person standpoint, and the rise in mental health concerns from social media does not seem to pertain to every individual.

“Everyone minimize as much social media as possible,” Morse advised. “The truth and what is shown on social media is very different. If it’s causing that much distress, distance yourself from it. Instead, have face-to-face interactions.”