Pros and cons of social media on mental health

Can sharing your mental health stories online be harmful or helpful? What are the pros and cons of social media on mental health? Does disclosing your mental illness online help?

by Tarena Lofton

Susanna Harris was sitting in her lab class for her graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she received an email that told her she had failed what she describes as “the most important exam in grad school,” the doctoral qualifying exam. She took the rest of the day off, went home, and baked cookies.Harris continued with her regular schedule: lab, work, home, repeat. Everything seemed fine until she realized she was having a hard time focusing due to a lack of sleep. That’s when she decided to go to campus health to ask for a prescription for a sleeping aid. The doctor said they could give her a prescription, but it would be for antidepressants instead.

Harris was surprised by how common depression is among Ph.D. students, so she began sharing aspects of her own mental health journey on social media by creating the Twitter account and hashtag #PhDBalance. 

People share the stories they might otherwise keep private — stories of anxiety, depression, abuse, substance use, PTSD. Others comment on the posts and reach out to the author. “People have found friends and compatriots through our page based on what they are going through, and I think that is beautiful,” said Harris, who has also shared her experiences on stage at The Monti — a nonprofit organization in North Carolina that invites people to tell personal stories.

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While struggles with mental health were traditionally kept private, in recent years a growing number of sufferers are adopting the opposite tack: sharing their mental health stories with the world, via social media. This has given rise to the question: what are the pros and cons of social media on mental health?

Celebrities and public figures like actors Dwayne Johnson and Gina Rodriguez and singer Ariana Grande have used social media as a platform to share stories about their mental health and encourage others. Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers began using his Twitter account to share the story of his struggles after writing an article for The Players’ Tribune — a new media company that provides athletes with a platform to connect directly with fans. The article highlighted how he came to realize that sharing improves not only his life, but the lives of others.

Sammy Nickalls of Lebanon, Pa., is an editor and writer who created the hashtag #TalkingAboutIt in 2015. Nickalls said she did it because, as a University of Michigan study has found, Facebook and other social media can make people feel worse because they tend to show the happier aspects of users’ lives.

“When all you see are highlights from people’s lives, social media encourages comparisons, FOMO [fear of missing out], all that good stuff,” Nickalls said. “That’s why I wanted to start #TalkingAboutIt — because if we’re open about the dark times, too, social media will be less likely to make users feel lonely and like their lives don’t measure up.” 

Read more: Posting about illness on social media

People often connect with one another by using hashtags like #TalkingAboutIt and #MentalHealth that have a broad target audience. Others such as #YouGoodMan and #YouOkSis were created specifically for mental health concerns in the African American community. #ThisIsWhatAnxietyFeelsLike is used by people with that specific problem.

People have also used social media to express their increased anxiety about mass shootings. Hashtag #ItsGettingTooHard To began being used on Twitter in response to the mass shootings that occurred in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. The hashtag #IAmNotDangerous was used to combat erroneous statements that mental illness is responsible for driving people to commit mass shootings.

Lauren Evans, a Philadelphia public relations professional, is a survivor of domestic violence who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety in 2013. 

The community she found on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook helped her cope. Evans keeps the hashtag #DVsurvivor and words “Mental Health Advocate” in her Instagram bio to help her find other mental health accounts on social media.

 Read more: Gaslighting someone with mental illness

Finding others who understood her struggle and didn’t discount her feelings was invaluable. She said the pros of social media on mental health “has been one of the most helpful things for me to have my voice feel validated, especially regarding past trauma. It’s also super cool to network with others who are on their journey, and it makes it seem more socially accepted.”

It is also common for organizations to use social media as a platform to share information, tips, and strategies on mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Health has a Facebook page that provides information about events and a safe space for people to discuss their concerns about the pros and cons of social media on mental health.

Dr. Isaiah Pickens, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles and founder of IOpening Enterprises, believes that there are pros and cons of social media on mental health. When used the wrong way, social media can have a negative impact. “Social media can also exacerbate mental health problems if it’s not the right kind of community and if it’s a community that potentially responds in ways that are toxic,” Pickens said. “When people sometimes try to share their mental health experiences on social media and their experience is received in a way that increases the type of harassment, intimidation, and bullying that happens.”

He cautions that people should think of social media as a secondary tool and get help from professionals and traditional support groups for their mental health. Seek out groups on social media that share your problem, he said, and give yourself permission to hold back some aspects of your life. It’s important to set boundaries and to recognize the pros and cons of social media on mental health.

 Read more: Dating with social anxiety

For people who are open about their mental health on social media, there is a possibility that they will face backlash from friends, family, or co-workers. Such retaliation may result in sadness, anxiety, or even drug misuse. Social media can also be a source of comparison and lead to an increase in symptoms of depression or anxiety. Therefore, those who spend too much time on social media may end up turning to drugs as a coping mechanism, which can further deteriorate their mental health. An outpatient drug rehab program can be highly beneficial for people who are struggling with addiction, as well as their mental health. It is vital to remember that individuals with preexisting mental health issues are also more likely to suffer from the negative effects of social media.

“One time, when I made an understandable and human — in my opinion, anyway — mistake at work and had also been open about my mental health online the same day,” Nickalls said, “a former employer said something along the lines of ‘Maybe you should focus more on your work and less on your mental health.’”

But overall, she said, “I think people, in general, are thinking about mental health differently than they did before, and they’re using social media to reach out for community and support.” 

There are clear pros and cons of social media on mental health: you just need to be able to recognize the difference.

If you or someone you know has talked about contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or use the online Lifeline Crisis Chat, both available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Pros and cons of social media on mental health' is republished under a Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 from KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation