Relationship between Social Media and Mental Health

Social media is not a healthy place for our mental health and well-being. This is due to many factors such as unachievable acceptations and manipulative marketing. Bailey Parnell's Ted Talk helps listeners become aware of the negative side of social media that not many people understand. In the ted talk, we learn that taking time off social media could be beneficial to our mental health and could lead to a more positive mindset. We also learn that the demographic that most use social media is more likely to be diagnosed with either anxiety, depression, or stress. 

I agree with Bailey Parnell's claims about the dark side of social media because, like many, I use social media and can now understand the issues that come with its use. Although the price of social media is high given the potential side effects, we are still willing to turn a blind eye towards it. Why are we willing to turn a blind eye, Bailey Parnell explains that "we struggle with insecurity because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel". This quote highlights the fact that social media is contrasting because it is helping us compare the worst part of our lives with someone else’s best. As a result, we are always focused on seeing others in their best state and use that as a measure to compare our own quality of life. And realistically, it is not possible to meet those standards which are most of the time false marketing, because we never know the truth behind the posts.

"In Social Media, we are the product", this quote mentions our position with social media and where we stand.  As the end-users of social media, the quote means that in social media we are the product, and we create our self-worth with our posts, followers, and likes/dislikes. This self-worth is then measured with social currency. The social currency is the total of followers, likes, and followings that a person has. This argues that if we are selling our product and don’t earn any social currency it has the possibility to affect our mental as we compare ourselves with other people. Bailey Parnell stated social media is making it easier for us to compare ourselves with others, so we are comparing ourselves with others because they have a higher amount of social currency. 

40% of online adults have experienced online harassment and 73% have witnessed it. Would something like this happen if social media was not available? 

Online harassment can affect mental health which many social media users may experience from time to time. It is time to question who must take responsibility to reduce the chances of online harassment on social media platforms, and who should oversee putting more censorship for inappropriate content. For example, when someone leaves a mean comment or reposts someone else’s photo to make fun it may seem like a joke but could have negative effects on the person who is mistreated. A quote mentioned by Bailey Parnell states that "Micro-moments over time become a micro problem", which means that small comments or harsh responses on social media can, in the long run, affect the person’s mental health and become the cause for other issues, such as anxiety, depression or stress.

It is time to move on from Ted Talks and begin to practice what we are learning. Bailey Parnell's Ted Talk on the negative effects of social media on our mental health is a speech that I agree with and believe to be an important discussion that people should become aware of. Excess use of social media and constant comparison of ourselves with others can lead to a negative effect on our mental health and potentially cause anxiety, depression, or stress. These cannot be taken lightly, and we must come up with ways to use more self-control because realistically we cannot completely abstain from it. Just like Parnell, we can also take a social media ‘holiday’ to relax our minds and worry a little less about our social currencies.