The world statistics on mental health states that anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders. This has become the most common aspect to investigating in the current media space. Approximately 40 million adults suffer from anxiety disorders including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias.
This statistic does not exclude the youth in Kenya. Most of the adult youth suffer from a mental disorder. This blog seeks to explore the impacts of social media on the overall well-being of Kenyan youth, and it serves as a beacon of knowledge for people seeking guidance and inspiration.
The World Health Organization defines mental health as ‘the state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her abilities’. The largest cases of mental health issues are neither severe nor moderate but are short-lived. Examples of these cases are anxiety and depression. It is estimated that more than 300 million people suffer from depression and anxiety disorders. These two conditions constitute a greater part of mental health problems.
Key
Increase in the cases of dementia.
The majority of the youth have diverted their attention to the world of social media which has tragically influenced their memory thoughts and their ability to perform their daily activities.
Diet intake.
According to mental health experts it has long been discovered that a person’s state of mind influences their eating behavior. Food taken impacts the overall well-being of a person and the prevalence to some mental illnesses.
Nutritional deficiencies such as zinc, vitamin B12, B9, cause symptoms of depression fatigue, cognitive decline, and irritability. Today’s youth lack knowledge on how food intake influences their mental health and well-being. Too much consumption of fatty foods and excessive sugars as propelled by the media contributes to the overall decline in their personal productivity, their thoughts, and feelings.
Sleep impoverishment.
With a lot of time spent surfing the media platforms, the youth have dedicated most of their rest time in the media. This has led to “sleep shrinking” as they sleep less than 6 hours on average. Globally 35.9% of the population of the youth are “sleep indebted.”
The lack of sleep has birthed depression and has resulted in the many cases of chronic diseases and conditions such as heart disease and obesity among the youth.
Social status
Inequalities in society brought about by socio-economic challenges have been the leading cause of mental health problems among the youth. Many of them struggle with poverty and unemployment and lack of opportunities. These problems have resulted in depression and hopelessness as they compare their achievement with others over the media. Depression due to social media pressure has significantly impacted their education and employment opportunities.
To address these sways.
It is essential to raise awareness and combat the stigma surrounding social media and its platforms.
Educating the public, particularly the youth about mental health disorders and how social media directly and indirectly influence their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and psychological wellbeing is very crucial.
Additionally, offering help to the affected individuals and encouraging them to seek help when needed.
There is also the need to offer mental services and counseling services in
rural areas by training more mental health experts to educate people on the limited usage of social media and how to spend their time being productive.
Citations.
1. L.Bragheri, R Levy and A. Makarin. Social media and mental health. American economic review. Vol.112 November 2022. P 3660.
2. E. Fumigalli, L. J Shrum and I.M.Lowrey. The effects of social media consumption on adolescent psychological wellbeing. Journal of the association for consumer research in press 2024.
3. Primark et al. (2023)
4. Mc Comb et al (2023)
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