Social media has grown rapidly over the last decade and research suggests that excessive use can have a negative effect on the mental health of users – in some cases causing anxiety and depression, Sophie Turrill reports.

Social networking is a huge part of our everyday lives whether we like it or not, and it is estimated that globally 1.28 billion of us use Facebook and 313 million people use Twitter monthly. This is largely down to being able to access these sites on devices such as mobile phones and tablets at any point during the day or night.

Worryingly today, one in four people in the UK will suffer from a mental health illness, and while mental health is being talked about more than ever, the effect social media can have on users mental wellbeing is not widely discussed.

Father of two James Cumiskey from Birmingham gave up social media in December last year after finding that in the six months previous it had caused him to become depressed.

The 32 year-old explains: “I’m a happily married father of two, with a good network of family and friends, I had recently moved jobs after I was head hunted by a bigger company yet I felt I was going into a dark place. I started to look into my everyday life and noticed how many times I was refreshing my Twitter feed, how many times I went on Instagram to scroll through and see new trainers, designer clothes, beautiful women whose job it was to look that way (and men too).”

“Every day I was looking at these clever pieces of advertising and feeling a sense of ineptitude towards myself; I can’t afford the latest trainers, or hit the gym everyday like everyone else. You only see what they want you to see and nothing more; everyone’s lives always look better online.”

He adds: “After I quit I noticed the change within me, I didn’t have that constant pressure on me anymore.”

Senior psychology lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, Daria Kuss, specialises in the effect of social media addiction and explains how these types of sites may cause users to suffer from anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

“Research has shown that excessive use of social media sites can cause depressive symptomatology and those with a social phobia (people who may find it difficult to be in social situations) may be more likely to use these sites,” she says.

“An example of this would be Instagram, where users can follow all sorts of people, including celebrities, and very often these types of celebrities have a more luxurious life, a more interesting life, and that may lead people to compare themselves unfavorably to those celebrities because their everyday lives don’t necessarily evolve around fast cars, yachts and all the things they may engage in. This can then lead to downward comparisons in individuals because their own lives cannot live up to that.”

She adds: “It’s a very good question of whether as a psychologist one would be concerned about the effect social media may be having on the psychology of people – particularly when you think about the younger generation growing up on it. Research does suggest that social skills may weaken because people now tend to communicate using their phones and through social media rather than face to face.”

There are many charities and organisations that provide information and help to those who may be suffering from mental health illnesses. High profile faces such as Princes William and Harry have recently been part of campaigns to shed light on how mental health illnesses can affect everyone in society.

 

Casper Lee, a 23 year-old actor and vlogger, has well over seven million subscribers on YouTube and has interviewed stars such as Ed Sheeran and Zac Efron. Using these sites on an almost daily basis he believes turning off social media is crucial and says: “The problem with social media is people try to attack your insecurities, it makes it difficult but sometimes you just need to step away and go outside. From experience stepping away from the computer and social media is very important – I’ve been doing it more and more and it makes you realise there’s so much more than mean comments etc.”

He adds: “I think its unhealthy how much time I spend on social media, even though it’s part of what I do – if someone told me I couldn’t use them for a week I think I could do it!”

Mother of four, Tracey Horan from Beeston, is concerned about the effect exposure to social media at a young age may be having on the mental health of her children.

She says: “It’s harder and harder for children nowadays to just ‘be themselves’, and so much easier to compare, judge, analyse and focus what used to be unimportant aspects of life because of the introduction of social networks. Whereas you used to have ‘actual’ friends and family, it is now open to strangers, celebrities and other ‘fake’ or distorted people.”

“At one point, porn was being distributed over Skype and Snapchat which was very worrying. It makes it very difficult to stop them viewing this type of content when it comes from classmates and friends – it’s so much easier to block strangers and warn them of stranger danger.”

Ellie Turpin from Nottingham, is another one of those affected by social media. She was able to give up social networking after noticing it was making her feel unhappy seeing a variety of posts on her news feed.

The 33 year-old gave up the sites two years ago and says: “At the time I was finding it hard to get pregnant and it made me feel upset when I would go on Facebook and see friends posting pictures of their babies or announcing they were pregnant.”

“At the time I just thought I was going to cut out what I could and see how it goes; it was only supposed to be for a week, and I haven’t gone back on it since.”

The biophysicist at the University of Nottingham now has a seven month old son and adds: “During the end I don’t really know what I was using social media for anymore – I found that my friendships improved when I quit using them because I was having to make an effort to talk face to face.”

Psychologist Daria Kuss explains more about the symptoms, which may show as early warning signs to problems such as depression and anxiety.

“Typically if you feel depressed you feel apathetic, like you don’t want to do anything. You may not be interested in the social things that you usually like to do, you may gain or lose weight, or you may sleep a lot or stop sleeping. Generally what you will find with depressed people is that they are not enjoying their lives like they used to.”

“Anxious people on the other hand may not be comfortable in social situations and find that they worry a lot, even about the day-to-day happenings,” she says

“Currently in the UK there is very little happening in regards to treatments for those who are addicted to social media in particular. Ideally if anyone is suffering from a mental health illness psychological treatment would be the best way to help them, but doctors tend to try to treat mental disorders with medication as it is the easiest and quickest way to tackle the problem.”

However, quitting these sites can be difficult when access is freely available, and not all users have been successful in being able to make this lifestyle change. 21 year-old Anna Weightman from Nottingham attempted to try to give up using Facebook two years ago after noticing she was spending too much time online.

The aspiring veterinary nurse says: “It’s kind of a trend now to have your phone constantly in your hand, and I felt like it took over my life constantly refreshing my social media feeds. But when it came down to it and I tried to quit I found that I would get more anxious for not using them because of the fear of missing out.”

“Sometimes I feel like it puts pressure on me seeing other people’s lives, maybe wanting to idolize them or look like them, but I wouldn’t say I’ve ever felt depressed or took it personally. During my last year at college they have introduced online safeguarding which has been really useful.”

The availability of technology means these sites are so widely accessible and today they play a large role in the learning and development of children. Schools and colleges have therefore begun over recent years to introduce safeguarding steps to provide advice for those struggling with what they are seeing online, or for the possible development of mental health problems because of excessive social media use.

Michelle Harvey, head of safeguarding at Bilborough College, Nottingham, explains what is being enforced in the college, and at many others nationwide, to help protect its students.

“We do a lot of campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers that may be found online, and parents/carers have access to an online portal which contains safeguarding services – such as advice on online safety. We focus heavily on the prevention of online bullying (which in turn could have an impact on a student’s mental health), how to make sure social media settings are set to private, and also on things like radicalisation and sexual exploitation.”

She says: “All these resources are available to parents because they may not use these sites and are therefore unaware of the dangers children can face online. In college, students have access to talk to highly trained tutors if they are worried about anything they are seeing online, or feel depressed or anxious.”

 

While concerned about the effects social media could be having on her children, Tracey Horan acknowledges that schools are starting to actively do more to help.

She says: “Following advice I have taken steps to restrict access to social media sites on devices because my three youngest are still too young to be innocently exposed to images, chats etc.”

The 43 year-old adds: “It is a minefield even with device restrictions, and I definitely think social media companies need to do more, and parental permission should be introduced and be the only way to allow children access to these kind of sites; at the moment it’s just too easy to change the date of birth and gain access.”

Research suggests that anyone, of any age, can suffer from a mental health issue (because of excessive use of social media) however the focus to provide advice seems to be targeting the younger generation who are growing up on these sites, and therefore are spending the most time on them.

James Cumiskey adds: “I think it’s massively difficult for kids now. I mean when I was a kid none of this was around. Now younger people are exposed to it from a younger age, like five or six upwards, they are far more conscious as they can watch YouTube videos, feel ugly when they see beautiful models on Instagram, and feel like a tramp amongst their friends because they cannot afford the latest clothes. It must be awful to be a younger person nowadays.”

Online safety and the impact social media is having on mental health is a growing problem, and the issue was debated in parliament in December last year to discuss if enough was being done to tackle the issue.

Stewart McDonald, SNP for Glasgow South was part of a panel debating the topic in the House of Commons, and feels compelled to talk about the issue because it is a growing problem.

He says: “Social media platforms need to take more responsibility to tackle trolling, online bullying and addiction as I believe it can have a massive impact on the mental wellbeing of young people.”

“I’ve already asked the Prime Minister, Teresa May, what she is doing to hold social media companies to account and what they are doing themselves to tighten the rules to make sure everyone (and young people in particular) are protected.”

“I’ve also pressed the issue with the Home Office, to see what steps they are taking to tackle the problems stemming from the online world. They have made it clear that the government is continuing to work closely with social media sites, and other relevant actors and experts to make sure they are committing to protect those who use their platforms,” he explains.

“However, I think whether it is up to the government or social media companies to address the problems, it will hopefully be a question answered in the next parliament, and one I will certainly be looking forward to being answered.”

Using social media on a daily basis is part of Grace Victory’s job – a Youtube vlogger turned BBC3 documentary presenter, she has talked a lot about mental health in the past, and warns users not to take everything they see online at face value. The 26-year-old Londoner explains: “I absolutely believe social media can have a negative effect on mental health. I think it’s really, really important to not get sucked in to it, because it’s not always real. But you can create your own feed, follow people who make you feel positive and feel inspired and have the same kind of morals as you in regards to mental health and body image.”

Over the last year in particular Facebook has introduced several features to improve safety and privacy on their site. This includes stopping images being shared without permission, adding a suicide prevention tool and launching a parent portal to raise awareness for online safety.

The multi-million pound company has come under pressure from the government and anti-bullying charities in recent years to do more but says: “People share their most valued moments on Facebook, and we want to make tips and tools clear and accessible whenever you need them. This is part of Facebook’s overall effort to make sure you have all the information you need to share what you want with only the people you want to see it.”

The Royal Society for Public Health recently published a report examining the effects social media can have on young people’s mental health.

They found that 91% of young people aged between 16-24 use social networks, and rates of anxiety and depression have risen by 70% over the past 25 years.

The study calls for social media companies, policy makers and the government to promote both the positive and negative sides to social networks. They also urge social media companies to introduce a heavy-usage warning, detect when uploaded pictures have been manipulated, and discreetly identify users that might be suffering from mental health problems.

However, YouTuber Becky Sheeran (also known as TalkBeckyTalk) believes that social media can be beneficial for users seeking to get help for mental health disorders, and these kind of sites raise awareness more than ever on these sorts of issues.

The former BBC news presenter now has a following of over 200,000 subscribers and says: “From Youtube I also work with a bullying charity, and having the platform I do I have hopefully been able to help a lot of people. I have a number of subscribers who have reached out because they are being bullied, have low self-esteem or because they feel suicidal, and I hope I have been able to use social media to help them.”

“I would say that social media can cause some people to feel anxious or depressed, but I think it is also important to consider that it can be a great platform for people to explore the world, connect with friends, and share amazing experiences.”

She adds: “One day I might give it all up, but it’s sort of an addiction for a lot of us – I guess for me that’s how it started.”

Psychologists, social media companies, and the government have all agreed that the online world has created mental health problems that would not exist without the development of social media sites, and while all parties – including parents and education establishments – are starting to look more closely at the problem there is still much more that needs to be done.

If you have been affected by any of the issues explored, visit the NHS website or your local GP for help and advice on mental health illnesses.