13.3. Healthy Activities on Social Media

Now let’s look at a more healthy side of social media.

First let’s consider that, while social media use is often talked as “addiction” or “junk food,” there might be better ways to think about social media use, as a place that you might enjoy, connect with others, learn new things, and express yourself.

One of the ways social media can be beneficial to mental health is in finding community (at least if it is a healthy one, and not toxic like in the last section). For example, if you are bullied at school (and by classmates on some social media platform), you might find a different online community online that supports you.

So you might find a safe space online to explore part of yourself that isn’t safe in public (e.g., Trans Twitter and the beauty of online anonymity). Or you might find places to share or learn about mental health (in fact, from seeing social media posts, Kyle realized that ADHD was Causing many more problems his life than just having trouble sitting still, and he sought diagnosis and treatment). There are also support groups for various issues people might be struggling with, like ADHD, or having been raised by narcissistic parents.