Damaging social media

Social media is used by so many of us on a regular basis. I use social media every day, communicate with friends in memes, and use it to find out about people and places. It’s great for connecting with people, especially when family or friends live far away.

Picture taken from https://flic.kr/p/aiGbWG

And although there is generally a much darker side to the internet, which won’t be discussed here, there is an immediate sinister effect.

In Behaviour Analysis, researchers have uncovered reinforcement schedules that have different impacts on behaviours. Reinforcement is similar to reward (would be a simplification), but it’s basically something that happens after you do something that makes that something more likely to happen again in the future.

The different schedules depend on when the reinforcement is delivered, and these can be changed by happening every time you do that behaviour, or completely randomly. It can also be based on time, which is a fixed amount of time or an unpredictable amount of time. The schedule I will be discussing is the unpredictable behaviour (variable ratio). In this schedule, you might have to do something once, or seven times, and then five times, and then ten times, then two times, to get the reinforcement. Due to the unpredictability of the reinforcement, this schedule produces the highest rates of responses (people behave more under these circumstances). This schedule is common in gambling and drug addiction. You’ve gotta be in it to win it. Each time you ‘behave’ (or make the response) could be the time the reinforcement occurs, so you keep behaving.

This is how social media works. Posting pictures and getting likes or finding an enjoyable meme, video, etc.. is reinforcement on a variable ratio. You have to keep checking and behaving to get reinforcement. This is why social media is compared to addiction – because it is. Between the reinforcement, you could be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. This can wreak havoc on your mental health.

Also, it is important to remember that social media prompts comparisons. Even if people talk about mental health and are good advocates, you may still think ‘well its easier for them because…’. It can be landmine on social media because your negative self-talk or inner dialogue will be there to help remind you of all those unhelpful stories. Constantly comparing you to the happy, shiny versions people you see on social media.

Exercising mindfulness is the best way to help you gain control over your mind and the negative self-talk. Also, using defusion to create space between you and your thoughts. Thoughts are not facts, so use techniques like “I’m having the thought that …”, or “Here’s the ‘I’m….. ‘ story again”. Depending on what you think, you can insert the words into those statements.

Here is a great YouTube video shared by Self-help Toons (not my content) who explains Fusion and Defusion really well.

How do you think social media is impacting your mental health? Are there periods of your day where you could be screen free? Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling during your day?