It has a significant effect on mental health.
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| | | Q | | How does social media affect your mental well-being? And how do you manage it? | | | | A | | "Honestly, social media is the worst thing for my mental health. I totally fall prey to the 'everyone's life is better than mine' mindset when I'm scrolling. Another thing I hate is that the more I scroll, the harder it is to pay attention while reading. I think because my brain becomes used to the stimulation of the feed and gets bored without it. I have to go off of social media completely to manage these feelings." — Ginger Wojcik, newsletter editor
"If all social media disappeared tomorrow, it would be a huge cognitive relief. I know how to take breaks when I need them (deleting apps, deactivating accounts), but it's hard to step away when everyone is on social media (FOMO is real). If I use it, I'm very honest with myself that what I'm seeing of people's lives is really just representative of a sentence in a whole book, and reading whole news articles is better than skimming clickbait-y and ragebait-y posts." — Sarah Matysiak, associate editor
"In addition to the FOMO aspect and everything we're learning about how it affects dopamine, it's honestly just a huge time suck that takes away from me focusing on other productive and more positive areas of my life. Recognizing that is helpful so I can police myself, but also, frankly, having to constantly police myself on whether I'm using it intentionally or mindlessly just feels like another chore. I also feel the need to research things and check the credibility of certain people and accounts, which only adds more weight to the whole experience." — Catherine Conelly, commerce editor
"Social media is emotionally dysregulating for me. When I watch reels or other short-form video content, I can be on the verge of tears watching a cute animal video, then become angry at a political post, and then laugh at a silly post, all within the span of 5 minutes. This emotional yo-yoing isn't natural or good for me, and I feel like it affects my ability to emotionally self-regulate in real life. But it's really addictive and hard to put down once I start." — Sarah Choi, engagement editor
"Staying connected with friends, seeing memes, and watching reels definitely bring me joy. But I usually find myself scrolling on the couch for hours (yes, hours) then beat myself up over it because I 'should' be doing something else that's healthier. I also use social media as my main way to stay informed on current events, but the nonstop headlines lately are so depressing and jarring and taking a toll on my mental health. So I'm trying to be much more mindful of the content I consume (and how much I consume) as well as leaning into using apps like Pinterest more often, which feels less stressful than others." — Morgan Mandriota, newsletter editor | | | | | | | | If you'd like to request a specific topic, offer feedback, or chime in with your answers to our weekly questions, feel free to email us at newsletters@healthline.com. We look forward to connecting with you and supporting you on the path to mental well-being. | | | | | | | TRY THIS | | Get Help with Anxiety Meds | | Have a prescription for SSRIs, benzodiazepines, or other anxiety medications? Check whether there are coupons that can help you get your meds cheaper. | | | | | | | | | | | We picked these articles just for you | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | We may feature your messages to our inbox within our content. Please do not provide any personal identifiable information. Replies may be edited for length and clarity. For more, see our Privacy Policy. | Healthline, Optum Now, and their respective logo(s) are trademarks of RVO Health, LLC.
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