Mindless scrolling through social media can wear on mental health

Listen to this article

Kathryn DeVinney reaches for her phone to check the weather before going outside.

“Five minutes later, I haven’t checked the weather, I’ve scrolled through Instagram,” she said. “That’s the pattern we get stuck in. It becomes a reflexive thing, to check in, to monitor.”

DeVinney, a licensed clinical social worker who is assistant director of health and counseling services at Nazareth College, has asked herself more than once if she’s really that interested in the temperature and whether rain is coming.

“That should take 30 seconds. I don’t have to open Instagram for that,” she said.

DeVinney said she can’t name a person in her life who hasn’t reflexively picked up a device just to scroll.

Some may put it down a couple of minutes later and continue with their real-time day. Others may get caught in a loop of looking for likes, seeing who’s sharing or measuring their life by what they see others doing. Whether the tether to continuous updates is a lifeline or a chain can affect emotional well-being and mental health.

“If you are using a lot of social media to escape, to turn your brain off after a long day of and all you’re seeing is bad news and possible misinformation, that can have a negative impact on our mental health,” DeVinney said.

The deleterious effects caused by social media are not in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5). But Sara Hopkins wouldn’t be surprised to see them listed in the next iteration.

“The way we use devices and social media sometimes can be compared with gambling, which is considered an addictive behavior,” said Hopkins, director of Outpatient Adult Mental Health Services for Rochester Regional Health.

Hopkins said it’s important to look at emotional health as part of a bigger picture.

“Am I sleeping, am I having fun, am I connecting with people, am I taking care of myself? Screens and social media can be part of the positive ways we take care of ourselves,” Hopkins said. “And then if they are used in a different way, they can be detrimental. It does take some work to look at how you’re managing your emotions and your relationships and take steps to make it as positive as you can.”

There can be outward signs that social media use is hurting mental health. Heather Newton, CEO of NAMI Rochester, suggested listening to people who comment that you’re always on your phone or that you seem jittery after checking it. Maybe you are behaving differently compared to you used to be.

“These are not isolated to social media, but they are things to look out for,” she said.

Inwardly, someone may feel sad or anxious after spending time on various sites.

“Social media tends to be people showing their external selves,” Newton said. “But that doesn’t necessarily show what’s going on with somebody else’s insides. Social media is not in any way representative of a whole person. It’s what that person has curated and decided to put online.”

Newton said she stays close to people who “feel like sunshine.” She acknowledged distancing herself from people who don’t make her feel good about herself or the world around her.

“What I would say about social media is it’s smart to apply that concept in your … online activities,” she said. “If you’re finding that social media is negatively affecting your mental health, whether it’s through comparison or any other way, then I would limit time on social media and assess who you’re following.”

Much of the conversation about social media focuses on “doom scrolling” — getting caught up in reading negative posts.

But people who share their own lives also could find themselves feeling bad, depending on the reason for their posts.

“Social media is a form of entertainment and really should not be used to validate anyone’s worth,” said Mary Russo, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Rochester/Monroe County. “I think that’s really the double-edge sword of social medial.

“We should be able to express ourselves, express our ideas, express our beliefs. But at the same time, if individuals are receiving negative comments from strangers, that’s when our mental wellness can become affected because we’re looking for validation. If that validation is not received, then individuals can be depleted of their self-worth.”

Russo said there’s a difference between seeking validation from people in your circle such as family, friends and colleagues, versus seeking approval from strangers.

“Where things start to go awry with social media is that individuals have the ability to comment on things they see posted by people that they don’t know,” she said. “Individuals are able to be more critical with individuals that they don’t know. There’s not this thought of I might hurt someone’s feelings. … I would urge people to not take heart with individuals that you don’t even know.”

Social media has its redeeming features.

“If it was just an evil form of communication, no one would do it,” DeVinney said.

Finding that balance between boon and bane may not be easy. DeVinney admitted that during the pandemic, her husband said her frequent scrolling when he was trying to talk to her didn’t make him feel good.

“It’s not a light switch, all of a sudden we’re going to break that habit,” she said. “It’s about being aware. If you feel like you can put your phone in the other room for hours and you don’t feel the need to check, that’s a great sign. If you can’t, that doesn’t mean you’re broken or you’re a slave to social media. That means maybe you need to take those breaks more often.”

Here are some suggestions from DeVinney, Newton, Hopkins and Russo on ways to check your dependence on social media.

• Start by keeping the phone an arm’s length away.
• Be aware of how you’re feeling when you reach for your phone. Think of the acronym HALT — hungry, angry, lonely, tired — to help understand the potential emotional component of scrolling and consider healthier coping options.
• Plan time during the day — the first hour you are awake and the hour before bed, for example — to stay physically and emotionally separate from devices.
• Use an alarm clock in the bedroom instead of the phone.
• Charge the phone in another room.
• Use controls to report offensive contact or stop following particular sites.
• Use monitoring apps to gauge usage.
• Turn off notifications.
• Do one thing at a time. When eating, watching television or reading, be separate from other devices.

Patti Singer is a freelance writer in Rochester. Contact her at [email protected]