Social Networking: Benefits and Drawbacks

I thought it was interesting that this week's questions referred to "social networking" as opposed to "social media," which really made me think about the two different but parallel roles that these platforms play in our lives. I'll be totally honest, I typically refer to these platforms as social media, but I think this is because I tend to use these sites as providers of content, as opposed to ways to connect with others. I'm more of a consumer than a networker. :) 

The exception for me personally is Reddit, which by design (Gutman-Wei) has an extra layer of anonymity and privacy to it, in that I'm not communicating with people I know in real life, nor am I using my real name. This gives me a lot of freedom to connect with others on topics I'm not comfortable talking about as myself. (Even though this blog is technically public, it's unlikely that any future employers will search for me here, so I'm okay talking about it here too ... I'm managing Bipolar II disorder, panic disorder, and AuDHD.) It's nice to be able to go to spaces that are specifically made for people with those conditions or other related mental health conditions, and converse with others like me. I can't do that on LinkedIn, or Facebook, or Instagram, because mental health conditions still carry an immense amount of stigma, particularly in the workplace, and I'm easily searchable on those sites. 

I have always used those sites (when I've been active on them, which I'm currently not) mostly to look at other people's stuff, to read what they have to say, and see what they consider worth sharing. So I think of it as social media, given that I'm consuming it in a one-sided way, the same as I would with TV or podcasts. 

This to me leads to what I feel is the most dangerous aspect of social media - the echo chamber. If I'm only using my personal network to give me information, then I'm going to be limited to content that mirrors their moral compasses - which are almost universally similar to mine, because I tend not to be friends with people who disagree with me on important and divisive issues. I think I'm likely different in this way from a lot of others in this class, given that I'm older and I've had a long career working on social issues, so that's where a lot of my friends come from. People - myself included - only ever need to consume content that conforms to their worldview (Cabianca), which makes those views more and more entrenched, and widens the divides between us. We want to feel good, so we want to see things that make us feel like we're right.

For people who focus on the social networking aspects of these platforms, the same theory applies. We want to feel good.

One of my favorite quotes, which I really struggle to follow in real life but I still love it, is "comparison is the thief of joy." (It's often attributed to Teddy Roosevelt but he probably never actually said it. He doesn't strike me as a big Cognitive Behavioral Therapy mindset type of guy.) 

The biggest mental health problem with social networking is that the opportunities for comparison are endless, relentless, and almost certainly false, or at the very least, incomplete. People choose what they want other people to know about them. And they're going to choose things that make them look good. And if they don't think they look good enough naturally, they're going to embellish -- which is easier than ever, thanks to the rise in generative AI and easy-to-use photo editing apps. Again, if we want to feel good, that's really hard to do when everyone around us feels better, is more active, has cuter pets, has more friends, has more fun, and - especially - looks better. 

When you're scrolling through countless updates from people you know where everything seems perfect, it's nearly impossible not to fall into the comparison trap, and this specifically harms teen girls who are susceptible to body image issues (Gerson). I have two girls, one 14 and one 11. Reports like this one hit hard. 

Videos and pictures on image-based social media platforms can trigger intense episodes of self-comparison in adolescent and teen girls. Because of their still-developing brains, they may process this self-comparison in ways that can pose real risks to their mental health — and lives.

So, do social media sites have any responsibility for the mental health of their users? Certainly not legally. 

Morally? I think they do, but I'm at a loss for what they could realistically do about it, other than stop accepting advertising from "self-improvement" products like diet drugs and expensive skin care. 

Which ... hahahahaha. 

Because financially, social media websites have EVERYTHING to gain from pushing their users to feel worse and worse about themselves, so that they can sell advertising that targets those with low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy - even (allegedly) specifically based on their emotional state (Bellens). Advertisers have a captive audience that is perfectly primed to buy their products, and they know it. 

Is the goal of social media giants to make their users feel happy about themselves exactly as they are? No it is not. Is the goal to make more money? Yes it is. Which is why it's up to parents like me to prepare their kids for what they are going to see, contextualize what it is that they do see, and boost their self-image and self-esteem as best we can.  

 

Works Cited:

Bellens, Els. “Meta Allegedly Targeted Ads at Teens Based on Their Emotional State.” Business and Human Rights Centre, 9 Apr. 2025, www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/meta-allegedly-targeted-ads-at-teens-based-on-their-emotional-state/. 

Cabianca, Paige, et al. “What Is a Social Media Echo Chamber?” Stan Richards School of Advertising, 6 Dec. 2021, advertising.utexas.edu/news/what-social-media-echo-chamber. 

Gerson, Jennifer. “The Complicated Ties between Teenage Girls and Social Media - and What Parents Should Know.” The 19th, 13 Sept. 2023, 19thnews.org/2023/09/social-media-teenage-girls-mental-health-body-image/. 

Gutman-Wei, Rachel. “Reddit’s Case for Anonymity on the Internet.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 3 July 2018, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/reddit-anonymity-privacy-authenticity/564071/.