What Are The Negative Mental Health Effects of Social Media?

Website: http://www.julierosenbergmd.com/

Book: Beyond the Mat: Achieve Focus, Presence, and Enlightened Leadership through the Principles and practice of Yoga

Julie Rosenberg, M.D. Pediatric Oncologist and Health Optimization Expert 

Time spent on social media is considered a risk factor for mental health problems.

Analysis of a national survey of 1,787 young adults (published 12/16) found that the use of multiple social media platforms is more strongly associated with depression and anxiety among young adults than the amount of time spent online. People who reported using the most platforms (seven to 11) had more than three times the risk of depression and anxiety than people who used the least amount (zero to 2 platforms).

People who use many different SM platforms multitask, frequently switching between applications or engaging in social media on multiple devices. Multitasking is related to poorer attention, cognition, and mood. Other potential problems include an increased risk of anxiety in trying to keep up with the rules and culture associated with each one and more opportunity to commit a mistake since attention is divided.