Social Media and Mental Health
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc are a way of life for many people in out world. Indeed for many people the use of social media is a replacement or surrogate for face to face social interaction. For people who are isolated or have great distances between themselves and their friends and family, this is an excellent way to stay connected.
However, as with all good things, there are also difficulties. Social media for some can feed narcissistic personality issues or feed depressive feelings in people who feel that they are being ignored or even bullied via social media. It is current news where people are being harassed unreasonably through social media outlets.
People with good and health resilience can usually handle these attacks. However, for those who do not have these coping strategies these attacks can lead to significant mental health issues. There are those who suffer who do not have the wherewithal to seek help for these issues.
As therapists, we need to make ourselves more available in this digital age. For example, there are some who are hooked on social media who would find the interaction of face to face therapy daunting. It is therefore up to the profession to make our services available in a number of novel ways, such as offering therapy via online outlets. This will give the digitally savvy an additional mechanism to receive good quality therapy.
