Social media and mental health

Seeing other people’s “perfect” lives online can make you feel like you’re not good enough. But what you see online isn’t always the full picture. Photos can be staged, filtered, or edited, and people often share only the highlights of their lives.

It’s common to feel like you’re missing out when you see others posting about exciting events, holidays or get-togethers. It can make you feel like you're not doing enough or missing out on something important. But everyone has downtime, challenges, and lonely times – you’re only seeing a small fragment of their life.

Social media can sometimes feel like an echo chamber, where you mostly see posts and opinions that match your own. This is because of who you choose to follow, but also because platforms show you posts that it knows you’ll engage with. This can make it harder to hear other perspectives, which could narrow your mind or even reinforce negative or harmful beliefs.

You might feel like you need to keep checking your social media or replying to every message and notification. You might even feel FOMO if you don’t check it all the time. This constant pressure can lead to anxiety and stress.

Social media can easily pull you into an endless scroll of sad news or upsetting content. This is sometimes called ‘doomscrolling’ and it can make you feel anxious, upset, or even unsafe.

Spending lots of time on your phone late at night or when in bed can make it harder to sleep.

Decide how much time you want to spend on social media each day. For example, you could decide to check your accounts for 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. Many phones and apps have settings that let you track and limit your screen time.

When you feel overwhelmed, step away and do something offline. This could be something creative, like drawing, or doing some exercise. Or arrange to spend time with friends in person.

Constant alerts can make you feel pressured to check your phone. Try turning off your notifications for apps or putting your phone into ‘do not disturb’ mode so you can check your phone in your own time.

If accounts are posting upsetting content or content that makes you feel bad about yourself, you can unfollow or mute them. Try to follow accounts that inspire or motivate you instead.

Focus on posting kind and supportive comments to others instead of negative ones. Positive comments can brighten someone’s day, and choosing not to be part of the negativity can help keep up your own mood.

Using your phone or screens late in the evening can make it harder to sleep. Try keeping your devices out of the bedroom and using a blue light filter in the evenings to help you unwind.