Social media is everywhere. It has reshaped how we connect, learn, share, and how we see ourselves and others. But when does social media shift from being a helpful tool of connection into something that hurts mental wellbeing?
The effects of social media consumption on our mental health have been a significant public concern in the last few years. Social expectations are influenced by social media use, and low self-esteem has increased within the last years due to social media use's impacts on social norms. Perhaps you were not aware of the way it has influenced your perception of yourself.
In this piece, we explore social media and mental health, dig into the effects of social media on mental health, examine what makes social media so addictive, and share practical ideas so you can take control of your scrolling.
The Key Effects of Social Media on Mental Health
The impact of social media on mental health is far from uniform. It varies from person to person, depending on factors such as age, personality, context, and how the platforms are used. Yet, both lived experience and research consistently highlight some common negative effects that deserve attention.
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Lowered self-esteem and distorted body image: Because so much of what we see is curated, filtered, and selected, we often compare ourselves to unrealistic ideals. This contributes to self-doubt and dissatisfaction, and fuels negative body-image and even eating disorders.
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Increased anxiety, depression & FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out): Constant exposure to others’ highlight reels can leave us feeling we’re missing out, or not measuring up.
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Stress from social expectations: There is pressure to look, act, or achieve in particular ways, leading to strain, especially when one feels they must present a polished persona.
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Disrupted sleep and attention: Late-night scrolling, bright screens, emotionally intense content — all of it interrupts rest, mood, and capacity to focus.
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Internalised social norms and unrealistic expectations: Over time, what we see frequently online becomes “normal,” shaping what we believe ourselves and others should look like, say, and achieve.
Why Does Social Media Affect Our Mental Health?
Here, we dig deeper into how exactly these effects take root. Three central mechanisms help explain why social media has such powerful effects on psychological wellbeing.
1. Comparisons
Social media has the power to shape, and sometimes damage, our sense of self. The pressure to present a polished, idealised version of ourselves online can be overwhelming. Instead of reflecting who we really are, many people curate an image of who they wish to be, highlighting only the most flattering aspects of their lives. While this selective self-presentation can feel empowering, it often fuels unhealthy comparisons with others.
A major part of this pressure comes from beauty standards. Social media has amplified what we see as desirable, from filtered selfies to heavily edited images and even cosmetic enhancements. These portrayals create a “desired self” — a version of ourselves we feel we should aspire to.
The problem is that this standard is often unattainable. Even when we know that much of what we see online is edited, photoshopped, or surgically enhanced, it still quietly influences how we feel about our own appearance. The result is a cycle that makes us more vulnerable to low self-esteem and dissatisfaction with our real selves.
Comparison is a natural human behaviour, and social media magnifies it. We look to others to define where we stand, whether it’s asking ourselves, “Am I as attractive as my peers?”, “Why do I have fewer followers than my friends?”, “Why am I not as successful as this person? We’re a similar age.” These questions may seem harmless, but over time they can chip away at confidence and self-worth.
Psychologist Leon Festinger’s social comparison theory (1954) explains that people compare themselves in two main ways:
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downward comparison, where we measure ourselves against someone we believe is “worse off,”
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and upward comparison, where we compare to someone we think is “better.”
For those with low self-esteem, downward comparisons can temporarily provide comfort, but they can also take an unhealthy turn. In extreme cases, this manifests as cyberbullying, or trolling: actively putting others down online to feel better about oneself.
2. Who you follow
Cohen et al. (2017) discovered that regularly following fitness accounts, health influencers, and celebrities is strongly linked with greater internalisation of the “thin ideal.” In other words, when you’re constantly exposed to people who embody society’s beauty standards, you may start to feel that you, too, are expected to meet those same standards. Over time, this subtle influence can shift how you see yourself and what you believe you should look like.
Chen et al. (2019) took this further, finding that greater engagement with social media was associated with a stronger interest in cosmetic surgery. Their research also showed that people with lower self-esteem were more likely to edit their images using tools like Photoshop.
What’s striking is that even when we know an image is edited, the sheer repetition of seeing these flawless, highly curated posts can still affect us on a subconscious level. Exposure to unrealistic beauty ideals doesn’t just stay on the screen, it begins to shape the way we evaluate our own appearance.
3. Social norms
We evaluate ourselves through the lens of a nonspecific person in our head, who represents our believed social norms and the opinions of those significant to us. This lens guides us on how to behave. Information on social norms are often influenced by social media use.
Although most people have heard “what you see online is not always true”, the material you see online can still impact your worldview, setting unrealistic expectations for yourself (Piccoli et al, 2021).
What Makes Social Media So Addictive?
Many of us have experienced it: reaching for our phones to check one notification, only to find ourselves still scrolling half an hour later. Why is it so difficult to stop? The answer lies in both the design of social platforms and the way our brains respond to them.
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One of the strongest hooks is the instant feedback loop. Every like, share, or comment delivers a small burst of gratification, a quick signal of validation that our brains register as rewarding. Over time, we begin to crave these microbursts of approval, and they reinforce our desire to keep engaging.
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Adding to this effect is the principle of variable rewards. Not every post or interaction receives the same attention; sometimes the response is huge, other times minimal. This unpredictability works much like a slot machine, keeping us checking back in case the next post brings a bigger “payoff.”
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The design of social media platforms themselves also plays a significant role. Features such as infinite scroll and autoplay remove natural stopping points, making it easy to lose track of time. There is always more content, so we rarely feel a clear signal to put our phones down.
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Meanwhile, algorithms carefully curate our feeds to prioritise material most likely to trigger an emotional reaction — whether it’s joy, envy, curiosity, or even outrage — because strong emotions are what keep us hooked.
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Finally, social media taps into deep human needs for validation and belonging. Unlike offline life, where status cues are often subtle, online interactions make them overt and measurable. Followers, likes, and comments become visible markers of social approval, encouraging constant comparison with others.
This combination of design and psychology creates a powerful cycle that makes social media difficult to resist.
How to use social media
There is no “best way to use social media”. It depends on who you are, and awareness is only the first step. I would encourage you to reflect on your social media use and aim to be more mindful when you do use social media.
Here are 5 practical, actionable ways to manage your social media use so it supports rather than undermines your wellbeing.
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Reflect on your use
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Keep a diary or note for a week how often you use social media, what accounts/content trigger negative feelings, and how you feel after.
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Ask yourself: “Is this giving me connection or comparison?” “Do I feel worse, better, or neutral after scrolling?”
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Curate your feed deliberately
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Unfollow or mute accounts that make you feel unworthy, anxious or dissatisfied.
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Follow more people whose content is uplifting, diverse, authentic. Seek content that inspires or educates rather than just compares.
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Set healthy boundaries
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Choose times of day to limit or avoid social media (e.g. before bed, first thing in the morning).
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Turn off nonessential notifications.
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Use screen-time tools or app limits where appropriate.
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Cultivate self-compassion & mindful awareness
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Notice your emotional state when you are online. If you feel shame, envy or pressure, acknowledge these feelings without judging yourself.
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Remind yourself that much of what you see online is curated, not constant reality.
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Experiment & adjust
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Make small changes (e.g. unfollow one account, reduce daily social media time by 20 minutes) and observe how you feel after a week or two.
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Be open to further changes depending on what works for you.
Six months ago, after reading about the effects of social media use, I decided to unfollow all influencers, celebrity, and health accounts from social media and have scrolled past TikTok’s from similar accounts.
The effects of this have been really beneficial. I have become visibly more confident in myself. Even though I always knew consciously that the accounts were unrealistic, it still impacted the way I viewed myself due to the subconscious comparisons I was making. Now I feel that my standard of beauty is more inline with the people I see in real life.
Conclusion
It is incredible that we can connect to so many of our friends no matter where they are. Social media provides a handy tool to stay in contact with others that, decades ago, we may have lost touch with over time and distance, due to less advanced modes of communication.
It also helps us discover new experiences: exhibitions, nights out, bookshops etc, that are perfect for you, but that you may have never discovered without their eye-catching content popping up on your algorithm.
But we cannot ignore the effects of social media on mental health when usage becomes excessive, unreflective, or centred on comparison and validation. Understanding what makes social media so addictive and being intentional in how we consume it gives us power to protect and improve our wellbeing. We each have more control than we may think — over who we follow, how often we engage, and what content we allow in.
Additional resources
Here are some links to articles exploring the negative effects of social media use and how to deal with these negative effects:
References
