2.

2 Influence of Social Media

on Mental Health
Learning Outcome
Evaluate the positive & negative influences
01 of social media on mental health.

Discuss whether excessive involvement in

02 social media should be considered an
addiction.

Describe how behavior modification could

03 be used to improve a teenager's social
media use.

Discuss the ethics of using behavior

04 modification for this purpose.
What is social media?
Any online resource that is designed to facilitate
engagement between individuals (Bishop, 2019).

Social media has an undeniable influence

on daily life with both positive and
negative effects on users, especially with
regard to its impact on mental health.
 Effects of Social Media
Online activities cause users to engage in fewer social
interactions leading to problems with psychological well-
being (Kraut et al., 1998)

Mental health problems.

Promote healthy behaviors, including weight loss & exercise -

supportive applications to track progress, like-minded social
groups to share progress, receive praise & recognition for
achieving your goals.
Social Media Usage: Data
97% of 13-17 year-olds use
at least 1 of 7 major online
platforms.

Average teenager spends

about 9 hours on social media
each day.

Children between 8 to 12
are spending on average
about 6 hours a day.
Data obtained from Pew Research Center in the United States.
 Social Media Usage:
Data

Note: Teens are those ages 13 to 17. Verbatim responses have been coded into categories. Source: Survey conducted April 14 - May 4, 2022.
"Connection, Creativity and Drama: Teen Life on Social Media in 2022"
Source: Pew Research Center
Verbatim responses have been coded into categories; multiple responses were allowed. Based on a survey of 743
U.S. teens (age 13-17) conducted in March and April 2018. Source: Paw Research Center
 Why can social media be BAD?
Online vs. Reality It is the way people use it in place of actual communication &
in-person socialising.

"Friends" on social media may not actually be friends & may

even be strangers.

Increased Usage The more time spent on social media can lead to cyberbullying,
social anxiety, depression, & exposure to content that is not age-
appropriate.

Social Media is Once you see all the notifications for likes & positive comments
addictive popping up on your screen, you'll subconsciously register it as a
reward.

Your brain will give you a dose of dopamine & other hormones
responsible for making you happy.
 Why can social media be BAD?
Fear of Missing Out 2 common themes (Gupta & Sharma, 2021):
(FOMO) Perception of missing out
Compulsive behavior to maintain these social connections.

Affects mental health - research showing a correlation of

increased anxiety & depression in youth.

Self-image issues Social media sites provide tools that allow people to earn
others' approval for their appearance & the possibility to
compare themselves to others.

It can be associated with body image concerns.

The "selfieholics" & people who spend most of their time posting
& scrolling are the ones most vulnerable to this.
Social media & bullying
While bullying is not a new concept, social media &
technology have brought bullying to a new level.

It becomes a more constant, ever-present threat -

cyberbullying.

The Legal Service Commission of South Australia

states:
In the most severe cases, bullying behaviors can
now be treated as a crime.
This can include bullying that happens via the
Internet, social media, or mobile phones.
 Social Media & Addiction
Addictions can be chemical or behavioral.

Traditionally, the term addiction has been used for

people whose drug or alcohol use has become a
serious problem.

But today, many mental health specialists agree

that behaviours can be addictive too.
 82%
of students struggle with spending too
much time on technology.

74%
of students want to go off social media but
haven't because they would miss out of knowing
what is happening in the world around them.

65%
of students agree social media brings
negative impacts on their mental health.
McCrindle 2020 Future of Education Report.
 Social Media & Addiction
You can't stop doing You can't stop You have trouble
it. thinking about it. managing your
emotions.

It interferes with your You have less and less

daily life or your awareness of the
relationships. negative consequences.
 Social Media & Addiction
Addiction is a mental illness that involves the reward
pathways of your brain - anything that activates these
reward pathways can become addictive.

Pretty much anything that feels good can become

addictive.

It depends less on the behavior itself, and more on how

that behavior makes YOU feel.
American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
Addiction to gaming
Addiction to gaming was listed as "condition for
further study".

There is neurological research showing similarities in

changes in the brain between video gaming &
addictive substances.

Must "cause significant distress" in several aspects of

a person's life.

Require experiencing 5 or more of these symptoms

within a year.
International Perspectives - gaming
The World Health Organisations disorder
WHO included the disorder in the International
Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11) in June 2018.

South Korea & China: video gaming addiction has been

recognised as a disorder for several years & treatment
programs have been established.

Psychologists scientists across the world are currently

studying the prevalence & effects of Internet gaming
disorder - 6 continents & diverse online behaviors.

Researchers worldwide have developed & validated several

scales to assess various forms of adults digital addiction.
 Behavior Modification
Definition + info:
A set of therapies / techniques based Behavior modification does not
on operant conditioning theory. use punishment as a consequence.
Why?
The process of modifying/changing
behaviors over the long-term using
various motivational techniques, &
reinforcement strategies. Example:
Getting small rewards for:
The aim is to replace inappropriate Potty training
or problem behaviors with more Learning to ride a bike
positive, desirable ones. Doing homework.
Behavior Modification
Behavioral psychologists
believe that behaviors
are learned.

If behaviors can be learned,it

is logical that behavior can be
"unlearned".

New behaviors can be

learned to replace existing
behaviors.
 "So, on social networks, social
punishment and social reward
function as the punishment and
reward. And we all know the feeling
of these things.

You get this little thrill - "Somebody

liked my stuff & it's being repeated."

Or the punishment: "...they don't like

me, maybe somebody else is more
popular,..."

Jaron Lanier - The founding father of virtual reality.

Jaron Lanier is using the term behavior
modification to refer to social media
platforms as having the ability to change
people's behaviors based on whether
they are reinforced or punished for the
behaviors online.

Psychologists refer to behavior

modification as a formal step by step
process for systematically &
deliberately shaping, or changing a
person's behavior, where there is a
desire to make a change.

Jaron Lanier - The founding father of virtual reality.

Steps for behavior modification.
Step Explanation
Monitor the amount of time currently doing the activity to
Step 1 create a baseline for how problematic the behavior currently
is.

Step 2 Negotiate a realistic goal to work towards with the person.

Step 3 Discuss & agree upon a reinforcement schedule with a set

of rules for when the person can be rewarded.

Step 4 Start the behavior modification program & reward small

improvements in the desired behavior. An alternative strategy is
to change the environment
Step 5 Gradually remove the reward to determine whether the that is currently reinforcing
behavior has improved. the undesirable behavior.
 Application to your life
Step 1: Monitor
Establish how much time you are spending studying now.
Step 2: Negotiate a realistic goal
Set a goal for how much you would like to study
Step 3: Reinforcement schedule & set of rules
Make your study desk into 'discrimination stimulus' by doing only homework at this desk
Step 4: Start & reward small improvements
Shape the response of studying at the desk by rewarding successive steps
Use rewards that are meaningful.
Make your successful study periods longer & longer before reinforcing.
Step 5: Gradually remove the reward
Remove the rewards & monitor overall improvement.
Remove other stimuli you find rewarding.
 Ethics of using behavior modification for
improving social media use
Controlling other people - encouraging or even forcing people to
behave in a way that might not be normal for them.

All forms of psychological intervention need to be managed with a

"no harm" philosophy.

Taking your 8 y. o. child's phone away at bedtime - might not seem to

pose any issues.
VS.
Forcing someone with poor self-esteem or anxiety to forgo their phone
use after 6pm each night might cause unnecessary stress/ anxiety.
Thank you!
 Tutorial
Question 1
Explain the development of social media
addiction using the Biopsychosocial model.

Question 2
Yusuf has recently noticed that the large amount of time he spends on social media
each night is severely affecting his ability to meet the demands of his studies.

Explain how Yusuf could use behaviour modification techniques to help him decrease
the amount of time spent on social media.