social science essay outline

social science essay outline

Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Mental Health: A Social Science Perspective

1. Introduction

In the rest of this study, we will discuss the relationship between social media use and mental health with a social science perspective. Mentions of doctors on the mechanism of works that try to investigate this relationship: the change in the quality and quantity of interactions caused by social media in the social lives of the participating people exercising different positions in the field of communication behaviors that affect the presence of mental illness and mental health will be examined within the framework. In addition, the possibilities and problems of social media use will be dealt with within the framework of adaptive social behavior as an explanation for the impact of these platforms on the part of their users.

Originally intended to help people build good text networks, the emergence of social media affects people’s personality formation from a different perspective. Thus, concerns about the other face of social media as a condition that creates unwanted changes in personality have increased. Therefore, the question of how social media affects people from different perspectives has been the subject of the research of many researchers. After this point, mental health is the part that is affected and characterized meaningfully by social dynamics. The desire to socialize while communicating lies at the core of human communication. The presence of a problem or the absence of mental health of the individual’s relationships and communication behaviors also harms the social balance. The answer to the reasons for engaging in social communication over time and the question of which current situation is not enough to protect social communication health remains a curiosity with many questions.

2. Theoretical Frameworks in Social Science Research

Since the term “social media” first began to be widely used around the mid-2000s, it has lent itself to research intended to inform more normative debates about the potential role of internet-based and mobile app-driven technologies in shaping pro-social aspects of human behavior (e.g. by fostering relationships, promoting friendship networks, or contributing solidarity). Academic social scientists have often been critical of these “up with people” discourses, as well as of the data from which unproblematically optimistic conclusions are sometimes drawn. Concern has been raised, for example, about some research methodologies, particularly those based on web scraping or secondary data analysis. Political economy is another tradition that has offered social scientists a theory-driven lens through which to scrutinize the impact of new technology.

This paper highlights some of the current theoretical traditions in understanding the intersection of social media and mental health. Despite their obvious potential for both improving and damaging mental well-being through enhancing and eroding social connections, identity, and agency, the sociology of mental health and illness has been slow to engage with that part of the media landscape which increasingly defines our lives. However, over the years, social scientists with an interest in the role of new media in mental health and mental illness have turned to the theories developed by scholars in other realms of technological and media studies in their attempts to understand the role of social media in fostering or disrupting, supporting or undermining mental health. This paper focuses on two traditions—social construction and critical political economy—in order to explore what the sociology of mental health and illness can add. It does so by summarizing points of contact between the sociology of mental health and illness and each of these traditions, and by suggesting how insights gained from both theorists and empirical researchers working within these traditions can be brought to bear on social media research.

3. Empirical Studies on Social Media and Mental Health

Cyberbullying is also a potential problem of excessive SNS use, which can be related to depressive symptoms in young people. In fact, cyberbullying on SNS was particularly harmful, and increased addictive SNS behavior may lead to increased cyberbullying, which in turn may lead to addictive SNS use. Another study by Marino, Gini, Vieno, and Spada showed further evidence that heavy use of social networking sites related to lower well-being. Additionally, Lee et al. found a positive association between time spent on SNSs and social anxiety among undergraduate students. Ribeiro also found that social anxiety related to higher intensity and excessive use of SNS. Furthermore, Lin, Ko, and Wu also found that high users had significantly higher scores in loneliness and social anxiety. In another line of study, Stepanikova, Martina, and Matej showed that Facebook use is beneficial in cognitive and social capital, but significantly increases the risk of depressive symptoms. Although the literature suggests that the negative relationship with social network is clearer than the positive relationship, some studies do claim that SNS use has a positive impact on individual use.

Empirical research that has been carried out on the relationship between SNSs and mental health suggests similar findings. There are several studies that have investigated the effects of SNS use on well-being. For instance, de Vries and Kühne found that frequent visits and posting of selfies on Facebook related to a decrease in empathy. Meanwhile, another study by de Vries, Kühne, and Hew also showed that when posting and visiting SNSs relate to higher levels of insecurity. Empathy is an important factor in the development of prosocial behaviors and morality, while insecurity is an important factor of social anxiety and well-being. Earlier work by O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson raised concerns with the potential for an increase in cyberbullying, “Facebook depression,” a decrease in privacy, and sexual behavior among adolescents as a result of Facebook use.

4. Interventions and Recommendations for a Healthier Online Environment

Considering our intervention suggestions, products could be developed directly on social media platforms or through stakeholders with a direct link to the research topic. Goal-setting on social media and goal evaluation can be fostered and sped through addictive experiences of posting photos and sharing moments of everyday life that can reduce the need for constant protective signals of presence on the social alienation from the “live community.” Assuming public and shared digital images of everyday life and promoting physical activity and the possibility of direct interaction with network users could be suggested among all the potential ways to ensure integrated and effective psychological effects of mental well-being in real life.

We suggest that interventions and campaigns should explicitly develop diverse platform-specific guidelines and user’s narratives about the use of social media in order to counterweight the global narrative of exaggerated rewards attached to the use of social and entertainment technologies, which often portray digital spaces as “miracle cures” for social interaction and caring. This hyper-reward message about the advantages of the use of digital media in everyday life and social dynamics can amplify the emotional and social side effects that latest research considers suitable for a new mental distress syndrome centered on addicts’ issues.

5. Conclusion and Future Directions

Social media interaction has a huge impact on the mental health of individuals, especially students. In recent years, research on using social media for educational purposes has received great attention. While a few pieces have probed a relationship between social media use and students’ mental health from a social science perspective, employing social media data to investigate medical students’ stress and mental health could provide fresh insights in this research area. Most research on students’ mental health and use of social media outlined in literature has been qualitative and small scale. Preliminary evidence has explored the association between social media use, stress, and academic performance. Our study aimed to help close this gap and offer insight from a new perspective using a more advanced analytical approach.

This chapter suggests that the field of mental health faces a pressing need to conceptualize and respond to the toxic effects of social media. This is an urgent priority for policy and service delivery. As our chapter shows, “hooked” behavioral practices on the part of tech companies aim to link and lock in consumers through habits of use and engagement. Tech and user practices are now being linked to the erosion of democracy itself, erased autonomy through steering and nudging, normative guidance and misinformation, filter bubbles, and sludge practices.