Social Media and Mental Health Resources
Social media is an incredibly large force in today’s society. Almost everyone uses it. Some could even say one is not up to date or “cool” if you do not use social media. Because of this, college students are one of the main groups of the population that utilize social media on a daily basis. It gives them access to all sorts of information and all sorts of outlets that permit different emotions and feelings. Due to this, mental health concerns among students are rapidly increasing. We get so wrapped up in the online world that they stray away from their personal life, leaving feelings of emptiness and loneliness. Which also leads to isolation. Which also leads to disconnectivity. Which will eventually lead to anxiety, depression, self-image concerns, and sometimes even a rise in suicide rates.
Think about the social media app, Instagram. College students are constantly chatting, direct messaging, and scrolling through thousands of posts a day. They are exposed to extensive comparison and filtered images that can fog what real life really is. They start to spend all of their time looking through people’s perfect posts and end up finding the negative in their own lives. Self image is completely detrimental because of this. We, as students, are just navigating life and Instagram puts a blurred line over the deception between reality and expectation.
Honestly, I have always been aware of the harmful impacts of social media and the internet. Ever since I first downloaded a social media app, I could see that there was no beneficial purpose to it. It was honestly just a tool to compare and contrast other people my age. People are continuously using social media without wondering what the actual effects are. Social media is affecting us more than we know. It is raising mental health concerns across the globe and leading to some pretty deep conclusions, like suicide or depression. Social media is an incredibly powerful presence, and students are the main group of people who are exposed to it and the main group who are affected in a negative way.
This is a topic I am heavily passionate about, and being a student I want to ensure myself and my peers feel supported and have the resources needed for help. Below I’ve included several infographcis to find different ways for help in college.
