My research question: How does digital media impact mental health both positively and negatively?

3rd of 4 key research questions: What are the negative mental health consequences? 

This blog post will cover the third research question relating to digital literacy and why it’s important. Digital literacy is the ability to use technology to evaluate and share information in an increasingly technology dominated world. Digital literacy is concerned with being able to successfully navigate and use technology to complete tasks while also adhering to safety and privacy concerns.

The negative mental health consequences of social media

Although social media offers tools for connection, learning and peer support, it can create issue relating to mental health concerns. For individuals with poor mental health, platforms like Facebook, twitter and youtube can have negative effects and even make mental health worse when navigating these platforms.

One major issue with misinformation is exposure from digital platforms and the vast ammount of people it can reach. Without the ability to criticall assess the content, individuals could take harmful advice which can cause damage and worsen the symptoms of poor mental health. For example, cyberbullying, comparison culture and hostile comments can negatively impact emotional wellbeing which can amplify feelings of isolation and indaequacy. Essentially, noot having the correct skills to navigate social media could have detrimental effects on someones mental health, especially if they already had poor mental health.

To mitigate harm and reduce the effects of social media on mental health, it’s important to develop awarness into digital literacy and work on the skills that you can develop to reduce the negative effects of social media. By engaging in the content you are consuming critically, safely and supported, it can allow you to avoid some of the negative outcomes of learning online.

This Ted Talks video shows how technology can effect mental health in a negative way.

Citations
Hammoda, B., & Foli, S. (2024). A digital competence framework for learners (DCFL): A conceptual framework for digital literacy. Knowledge Management & E-Learning, 16(3), 477–500. https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel.2024.16.022 

Naslund, J. A., Aschbrenner, K. A., Marsch, L. A., & Bartels, S. J. (2016). The future of mental health care: peer-to-peer support and social media. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 25(2), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796015001067