The psychologist spoke about the impact of social media on mental health

Active use of social media can seriously affect mental health, causing anxiety and depression. Psychologist Veronika Akhmetova told Izvestia about this on June 10.

She explained: a huge flow of information for the brain is a lot of stress. And being in this information bubble, a person is simply overwhelmed, unable to concentrate.

"Hence the decrease in the coefficient of useful actions (efficiency), academic performance among children, in fact, the same applies to work. The first sign that using social media is starting to negatively affect mental health is an attack of hopelessness and aggression, anger, as soon as you start scrolling through the feed," the specialist warned.

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The expert explained the main mechanisms of the negative impact of social networks. According to her, social comparison is the main problem. Seeing ideal lives and bodies in the feed, people begin to feel envy and dissatisfaction with themselves, which destroys self-esteem.

"Despite the fact that a person spends a lot of time on the Internet, communicates with some people and is aware of everything, he feels lonely, unnecessary, abandoned. This is also a terrible factor in the influence of social networks," the psychologist noted.

The specialist identified several alarming signals indicating the harmful effects of social networks: bouts of aggression when scrolling the feed, sleep disorders, obsessive thoughts about the reaction to publications and a feeling of loneliness during virtual communication.

"Gadget addiction manifests itself in stress when the phone is low or there is no Internet connection. A person literally cannot live without constant checking of social networks," the specialist added.

To establish healthy boundaries, Akhmetova recommends limiting time on social networks using timers, disabling all notifications, and cleaning the feed from toxic content. She also advised deleting social media apps from the phone and filling real life with communication and hobbies.

"The most important thing is to consciously approach the use of social networks and not allow them to replace real life. If the dependence is strong, it is better to delete the applications altogether and log in only through the browser," the psychologist concluded.

The expert emphasized the importance of "sleep hygiene" — giving up phones before bedtime in favor of books or audiobooks. According to Akhmetova, this helps to restore a psychoemotional state and reduce anxiety.

Earlier, on March 11, psychologist Olga Berg told Izvestia that the constant uncontrolled use of social networks can cause stress, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. She recommended choosing content that inspires rather than makes you feel worse.