Social Media and Mental Health: Risks, Benefits & Coping Strategies
Social media has a huge impact on our mental health, affecting billions of people who spend over two hours a day scrolling. It’s a part of our daily lives, giving us new ways to connect but also creating some serious risks to our well-being. The dopamine-driven reward system that underlies compulsive checking behaviors and validation-seeking is examined in this article along with the positive and negative consequences of social media on mental health. Social media substantially changes the way our brains work, even beyond the reward system. Overuse of social media has been connected to: Shorter attention spans: Our capacity to concentrate is hampered by our brains' ongoing split attention caused by multitasking and the constant barrage of notifications. Memory impairment: Using social media to record experiences can make it harder for us to recall such times. Cognitive failures: Excessive use of social media...