5 Ways Social Media Positively Affects Mental Health

Social media platforms form a critical component of life in the modern world. However, the platform has both adverse and positive effects among participants. The impacts of social media platforms in your life depend on how you make use of it. Some people benefit from these effects while others get adverse results. This article focuses on ways in which social media positively affect human mental health. The intention is to ensure that you get the best from these platforms.

Social Media Enhances Human Connectivity

One thing you will agree with me is that human beings are social beings. There is an inbuilt desire to interact with other people. Research that links the use of social media to the ego, superego and id mention connectivity as one of the positive psychological impacts of social media. The truth of the matter is that these platforms do not always take participants to the real world. However, you can use the platform to preserve or revive relationships with others.

You can use social media to connect with like-minded persons all over the world with a single click. You will come across groups of people who have never met but keep on sharing ideas. Research by the British Psychological Society reveals that students who have a low self-esteem can use the advantage of the bonding on these platforms to enhance it. Connecting with other people on social media will change the way you think and look at the world. Social media can lift you up when you were feeling so discouraged. You only have to make sure that these connections add value to your life.

Social Media Makes Feel Happy

Surveyors from the University of Michigan collected data on how social media affects the moods of individuals. The truth of the matter is that the use of social media has a direct effect on your happiness. It can either make you happy or unhappy depending on how you perceive life. The design of social media operations is such that it should assist you to lead a happy life. I see people posting what they are going through on social media and the encouragements they receive as comments boost their mood and enhance happiness.

Think of a person who is in grief as a result of losing a loved one. The overwhelming support you get from social media can assist you to overcome the sorrow. You can also receive some financial assistance to finance your bills during such trying moments courtesy of social media. However, we have people who tend to be unhappy as a result of social media interactions. Happiness is a choice, and you should make up your mind to derive the much you can from the social media interactions.

Social Media Leads To Multi-tasking

You will discover that most individuals open several windows while working on their computers. You will rarely come across a person who opens a single social media site while communicating with the world. Research reveals that the human mind lacks the capacity to concentrate on more than one task. According to the survey, multitasking makes the human brain switch in between tasks quickly. Multi-tasking reduces the capacity of a person to process information and remains productive.

However, social media develops the ability of multi-tasking among individuals. It enhances your mental capability and allows you to think sharply. You will come across people navigating through the social media page and other windows as they work. Social media is not all about killing productivity, cyber bullying, and selfie-taking narcissists. Social media can attain what it was designed to do if you use it in a moderate way and with the right intentions. You can develop your mental capacity through the proper use of these platforms.

Social Media Helps In Socialization

Finally, social media plays a critical role when it comes to building human relations. Shy individuals feel safer while using this platform instead of face to face interaction. You will come across several teenagers who empathize with each other across these platforms. You will develop friends from all over the world without having to travel. Social media enhances your ability to develop new friends and retain them.

These social ties can make you start thinking of better ways of building your relations. You start to imagine of the world you see but have never been there. You visit several places and get new experiences without being there in person. This keeps your mind active as it thinks of what happens out there. Indeed, social media is very important when it comes to developing your mental health.

Social Media Makes Participants Compare Their Lives With Others

Most people who use social media keep on updating the things that are happening in their lives. You will know when the person gets a new job, receives a promotion in his place of work, gets a new life partner, or is traveling for a holiday just to name a few. You will find yourself comparing your life to that of other people daily. The effects of such comparisons can either be positive or adverse depending on what you want in life.

An individual who is thinking positively about life should take this as an excellent learning opportunity. Follow the comments and learn how such people achieve their current status. Such posts should challenge you and encourage the reader to work hard. It should create a positive attitude of “yes I can” in the mind of the participants. The challenge is that most people look down upon themselves by reading such posts.

You should make sure that these posts act as building blocks to your ego. As you compare your life with others, make sure you grow into a better person. There is no problem with comparing your life with others as long as you take it as a learning opportunity. However, you should live within your limits until you achieve new status on life. Never try to be someone else when your current financial and social status doesn’t allow you.

Conclusion

This article presents five ways in which social media positively affects our mental health. The design of social media is to make us into better persons. However, it’s your personal responsibility to determine whether these platforms will make you into a better person or not.

This article is written by Lara.J. She is a Chief Editor at OK Life Coaching. To the field of her interests belong publishing, blogging and traveling. Her current goal is to create quality articles to guide/help millions of people to have a better life. Learn more about self-development, motivation & relationship advice on oklifecoaching.com or follow on Facebook & Twitter.