5) Virtual Relationships

One way social media can negatively affect your mental health is by having virtual relationships, which means interactions on social media that replace actual human connections. The issue with these online friendships is that you may end up caring more about how your comments are perceived than how the person you’re interacting with feels. For instance, if you post a picture and only get one like, or there are few comments on a post, the situation may trigger self-consciousness and other emotions that can contribute to mental health issues such as depression.

6) Digital Intimacy

The social media landscape has changed so much over the past few years, largely thanks to the growth of mobile technology. More than ever before, we are scrolling through our social feeds and seeing a lot more of other people’s lives. We scroll through them on the train, at work, in bed before sleep – when we should be looking inward and fostering connections with people who are actually present in our lives. This can have a huge negative impact on mental health and create feelings of inadequacy.