DR MAX THE MIND DOCTOR: Why kids and adults can be damaged by social media

by Guest Sat Apr 28, 2018 1:02 pm

We've all read the headlines and heard the reports: social media can be bad for youngsters.

It's been linked to all sorts of psychological problems, from depression to eating disorders.

There's no doubt that, thanks to social media, children are bombarded with unrealistic portrayals of the body.

I see the fallout of this in my eating disorder clinic all the time, with youngsters describing how they started to restrict their diet after seeing pictures of models with their clavicles jutting out and showing off unfeasibly taut abdominal muscles.

Social media exposes children to manipulated, artificial and unachievable images of the body, which promotes low self-esteem and low self-worth.

And I've seen plenty of youngsters who have experienced abuse and bullying online, driven to self-harm as a way of dealing with the stress, with some even attempting suicide.

Indeed, just this week Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that safeguards around children using social media were 'inadequate' and blamed tech firms for 'turning a blind eye' to the emotional problems and mental health difficulties triggered in children owing to unfettered access to online platforms.

But now a new study has suggested that it's not just children who suffer as a result of social media.
In fact, the research found that, when used properly and with caution, social media can actually have a positive impact on youngsters, educating them, empowering them and helping them to connect with like-minded peers and expand their horizons.

Yet it seems that for people over 30, social media tends to do the opposite, having a negative impact on users' mental health, putting them at greater risk of depression and anxiety caused by spending too much time online.

In contrast to the generation who have grown up using technology, middle-aged and older users tended to report higher levels of stress the more time they spent on social media platforms such as Facebook.
Why could this be?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5666995/DR-MAX-MIND-DOCTOR-kids-adults-damaged-social-media.html#ixzz5Dy4G9aD4
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