Exploring the link between Social Media, Social Comparison, and Mental Health

'Nosedive' (Black Mirror Series 3, Episode 1), October 21, 2016

   

   Most recently I have been checking out the research of various organizations and institutions around the idea of social media and social comparison. Not to my surprise, there is emerging evidence that links social media and social comparison with mental health problems and how increased virtual opportunities to make virtual comparisons contribute to these problems. In other words, some of the psychological issues that we see broadcast across social media, and within our communities, are directly tied to folks comparing themselves to others on social media. According to one source, "Social media undoubtedly offers huge benefits for society by providing access and connection to people, services, information and opportunities that would previously not have been possible. However, evidence is growing, particularly in adolescent mental health, of an association between greater social media use and higher depressive and anxiety scores, poor sleep, low self-esteem and body image concerns." (Kelly et al, 2018; Royal Society for Public Health 2017). I mentioned that this is not surprising to me because I have witnessed this increase in mental health issues linked to social comparisons, especially during the 2020 Shutdown and Global Pandemic, and I have engaged it directly on multiple occasions. 

   Sean Parker, the former President of Facebook, once described the App as a "social-validation feedback loop." When people are coming from a place of low or vacant self-esteem, they don't know their value and often use social media to be acknowledged and seek approval. In the world of social media, getting a "LIKE", being liked, and receiving a comment is often enough for people who have low or vacant self-esteem. Thus, these social interactions, and the billions of potential social interactions, become a quantifiable measurement that folks use to determine their value. A value that they are sometimes financially rewarded for with sponsorships, product placement, brand ambassadorships, cross promotions, etc. by sharing the most vulgar, controversial, click-bait content. Think about the numerous people who became celebrities based on sex, violence, and other dysfunctional social media content. This is to say that people can become, and do become, anyone online and literally make a living for themselves. In my sixth-grade class a couple of years ago I had a quiet student who only wore black whom I will call Aiden. When I say quiet, I mean this dude may have spoken one sentence the entire school year. Aiden only nodded and gestured to basically communicate. One day a group of my students came excitedly into class sharing with me in confidence some information about Aiden that floored me. They told me to take out my cell phone and proceeded to show me Aiden's TikTok profile. This dude, posing as a Russian-based Influencer, had almost a half-a-million followers! Long gone are the days of selling youth the idea of going to college, getting a trade, doing manual labor, or going to the military as career choices. Why should they if they can become a celebrity making ASMR videos eating Takis?

  Biochemically speaking, the dopamine people get rewarded with from these social media interactions is a driving force that keeps them seeking validation. Dopamine is a type of 'feel-good' neurotransmitter that plays a role in many important body functions, including motivation and pleasurable reward. Produced in our brain, dopamine is a chemical messenger between our neurons; released when our brain is expecting a reward. On a psychological level, even the anticipation of certain activities associated with pleasure can raise our dopamine levels. Activities such as smelling food, anticipating sex, hearing about a promotion, getting a "LIKE", or receiving an encouraging comment on social media... High or low levels of dopamine are also associated with several mental health and neurological diseases. Having high levels of dopamine has been linked to a person being more aggressive, competitive, volatile, manic, and having poor impulse control. Having low levels of dopamine has been linked to a lack of motivation, apathy, moodiness, obesity, and depression. While all of these symptoms are visible in the everyday world, they are also visible across social media as evidenced by what people share, and how they react/respond to what other people share. What we may write off as people "trolling", being extra, smart-shaming, and soliciting for pity may be real biochemical imbalances. 

   For many, social media becomes a dopamine addiction. According to a Nursing.com article, "The number of hours worldwide internet users spend on social media is increasing and in 2018 averaged 136 minutes a day (Clement, 2019). Social media has been described as more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol (Royal Society for Public Health, 2017), but the nature of addiction is complex and the idea of it being more addictive may relate to the fact that it is available without restriction and is accessible and socially acceptable." In considering this growing social media use, that is often driven by a dopamine addiction, these social interactions amplify social comparisons. 

   Social comparison is defined as a form of sociological self-esteem, where people derive their sense of self through comparing themselves with others. These are comparisons that people make when they begin to measure themselves against unrealistic social media standards of financial success, beauty, health, family, happiness, intelligence, influence, and every other aspect of life that other social media users often LIE about. Comparisons that are virtually impossible to live up to that can impair a person's mental health. While social comparisons in our everyday world involve a limited number of folks that we come into contact with, social media gives us infinite opportunities to compare ourselves to billions of people who we don't even know. If we are insecure about our appearance or body type, there are countless examples on social media to help magnify that insecurity. If we are financially challenged, there are an infinite number of pseudo-entrepreneurs on social media to show us just how broke and unsuccessful we are. Regardless of how beautiful our vacation was, there are millions of folks going places more exotic and extravagant and they look better than us in an unfiltered bathing suit photo. For any person who is already coming from a place of low or vacant self-esteem, who is struggling with their identity and finding their life purpose, the social comparisons they encounter on social media are not healthy for their mental state. In many instances, it can be seen as masochistic for folks to constantly subject themselves to such humiliation; like the people who consistently read these articles, watch my videos, check out my social media posts, etc. but always has something negative to say. 

    So here is the problem: folks are being algorithmically hardwired and biochemically attracted to watch something, and someone, on social media that is impossible to be, and processing this virtual reality negatively affects their mental health. This is no different than an alcoholic, or drug/sex addict who is constantly looking for a fix that cannot fix anything. Some of you who are reading this are social media immigrants. We were born into a pre-cellphone society where there was no internet or social media. Now consider this problem through the lens of children who are born into this landscape as social media natives. They only know of a world with the internet. Imagine the degree of social comparison they are subjected to 24/7 in an already vulnerable developmental state. Now ask yourself the question, does our youth's growing virtual exposure intersect with the increased diagnosis of children between the ages of 3-17 with anxiety and depression, and the increase in substance abuse, sexual activity, and suicide among 12-17-year-old's? From a global citizen perspective, has China, the inventor of TikTok, done this research, and has created countrywide limits on youth social media exposure and gaming because of the potential mental health risks? 

    In closing, this is not a doomsday message. There are many positive applications for social media use and social comparison can be inspirational. We have to be very intentional with its use in order to maximize these social interactions. What I strongly caution people to do, especially with our youth, is to limit our internet screen time. As I shared, it is algorithmically hardwiring  us on a cognitive level. In my article Is Social Media The Digital "Turn on, Tune in, Drop out"? I wrote, "All social media formats use a scroll screen model. This enables users to easily scroll through pages without the cumbersome task of reading anything. If reading was not considered cumbersome, social media Apps would not limit the character count to convey a thought. Consider the following character count limits and ideal character count: Instagram = 2,200 characters max (144 ideal); Twitter = 280 characters max (71-100, 85 ideal); Facebook = 63,206 (40-80, 60 ideal); LinkedIn = 700 (50-100, 75 ideal). While some people have learned and are learning to use these limited/ideal character counts to refine concise truncated thought, many others have found themselves becoming less and less equipped to communicate, online and offline." 

     This society and its technology are not going backward; the internet, and social media, is here to stay in some form or fashion. Thus we must always explore ways to use it in a positive, progressive way, and not allow it to use us, our children, and compromise our mental health. The high propensity of social media use, especially by our children, means that adults need to stay aware of this growing evidence tying mental health problems to social media use. I cannot stress enough the importance of limiting our screen time, and investing more time in everyday life unplugged from our devices; engaging in activities that help build a positive self-image and sense of self-esteem. And if and when we do choose to use our devices, we must be deliberate about willfully engaging in progressive content that reinforces our positive self-image and sense of self-esteem. 

Peace,

Saladin