58% of Americans say social media negatively affects their mental health

Among those affected, 64% experience anxiety from social media use.

Users also experience depression (56%), dissatisfaction with life (52%), fear of missing out (52%), and body image issues (51%) as a result of these apps

71% of users who experience negative mental health impacts from social media blame misinformation and disinformation

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are the Most Harmful to Mental Health

Documents leaked by former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen revealed that the company knows its family of social media apps has a variety of negative effects on users.

Despite Facebook trying to hide its harmful impact, a new OnlineTherapy.com survey shows that many users are well aware of how social media negatively affects their mental health.

While the majority of Americans feel that using social media erodes their mental health, some groups are experiencing these negative impacts more than others.

65% of men say using social media negatively affects their mental health, compared to 49% of women.

65% of Americans ages 25-44 say using social media has harmed their mental health.

51% percent of 45-54 year-olds and 49% of 18-24 year-olds agree.

35% of people aged 55+ report mental health challenges as a result of social media use.

The Racial Difference

73% of Asians say social media has had a negative impact on their mental health, followed by 62% of whites, 43% of Hispanics/Latinos, and 40% of Blacks.

Men VS Women

1,250 U.S. adults were surveyed about the negative mental health side effects they’ve experienced from using social media.

Body Struggles

52% of men who have experienced negative mental health effects from social media cite body image issues as a challenge they’ve dealt with, as do 49% of women.

The pressure produced by social media can cause men to develop unhealthy relationships with food and their body, along with mental health struggles.

Additionally, men who feel pressure to express a dominant, toxic masculine image on social media are more likely to engage in negative social media behavior, which is shown to increase symptoms of depression, anxiety, and aggression.

Anxiety

Rates of anxiety caused by social media are also similar for both genders (64% of men and 62% of women).

However, men experience depression and loneliness as a result of social media use at higher rates than women.

Depression

61% of men and 50% of women say they are or have been depressed as a result of social media use.

54% of men have experienced loneliness based on social media use, compared to 41% of women.

READ MORE: 11 Ways to Be More Confident

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Elena Patestas is a journalist and writer for Valuetainment media. She attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and Adelphi University on Long Island, New York. She was born and raised in Roslyn, New York, and currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Elena is passionate about bringing positive change to our world and believes education is the root to solving many societal problems. After overcoming a chronic health condition, Elena became passionate about health and believes food is the key to preventing dis-ease and achieving optimum health.

Amongst her many goals, she hopes to bring positive, impactful change to our world to create a healthy, financially sound, and unified society.