Navigating the Digital Landscape: Understand the Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

As a teen in the 21st century, it is understandable to attest to the fact that social media does have an impact on mental health. Some attributes of social media are positive, and some attributes of social media are negative. Something negative about social media is constantly comparing oneself to other people. This leads people to have unhealthy expectations about themselves and their progress. These unreal expectations can give people an unhealthy idea of what progress looks like. 

An example is going to the gym or working out. Progression in the gym is based a lot on what one eats and how long you've been training. Consistency with the gym is what puts a person ahead of everybody else. So, people who have been working out for longer naturally have a better physique. Social media amplifies this by allowing us to share our progress in the gym. Along with just overall consistency, a lot of influencers on the platform are fake natural. These give everyone unhealthy expectations of what attainable progress looks like.     

This is how social media can hurt a person's mental health. However, the positive aspect of social media is that we can share our workout journey and reach more people who are either the same as us—meaning struggling to make progress—or people who will encourage us to do better in the gym.

The gym community is pretty forgiving—being more humble, and acknowledging our weak points goes a long way. One's ability to take criticism will help in the long run. In the instance of fitness and working out, there are both positives and negatives to social media. Considering this example and applying it to other categories can benefit the mental health of users of social media.