EVALUATIVE COMMENTARY
ELC 231
TITLE OF ARTICLE
Social Media: How To Protect Your Mental Health
PREPARED FOR
SIR DEEPAK SINGH A/L RATAN SINGH
NAME
BIL NAME MATRIC ID
1. ALISHA FAZIRA BINTI AHMAD ALFATAH 2021883556
2. NUR ALIEYA SOFIA BINTI KAMALROLZAMAN 2021838274
3. NURZULAIKA BINTI MOHAMAD ROSLI 2021617098
GROUP
JCS1433D
SEMESTER
OCTOBER 2022 – FEBRUARY 2023
1
EVALUATIVE COMMENTARY
Article Title : Social media: how to protect your mental health
Source of Article and Date : THE CONVERSATION. October 17, 2022.
Author: Ruth Plackett, Research Fellow in Primary Care and Population Health, UC
With the reference of the article entitled Social media: how to protect your mental health
that was written by Ruth Plackett on October 12th, 2022, through the website, THE
CONVERSATION. According to the author, young adults are more likely to experience
deterioration in mental health since they are most active in social media among other age group.
The overall focus of this article is to explore how young people can protect their well-being
when using social media.
Firstly, being mindful about social media helps young people to protect their mental health.
The author underlines that understanding the reason and time using social media can help them
to gain insight and acceptance into their emotions and agenda. It was proven by research that
mindfulness meditation decreases emotional reactivity as people who had practice mindfulness
meditation able to disengage themselves from emotionally upsetting pictures.
Moreover, active use such as communicating and responding to posts, is connected to greater
effects of social connectedness. Young people should interact with an account that offer
inspiring content that should be followed, shared, and engaged with. The author further
highlights that when doom scrolling and reading bad news, young people will exacerbate
anxiety and depression.
The author suggests that taking a break or quitting social media altogether led to the
improvement of one’s wellbeing as well as improving mental health. The author acknowledges
apps like Hold and Offtime to help those who are struggling with social media addiction.
Accordingly, starting off with a couple hours a day and slowly build it up to a whole week will
allows users to progress more efficiently.
Furthermore, social media can be controlled by the owner itself based on their preferences.
It is important for the users to understand the privacy settings and select who can contact
themselves and see their content. For instance, young users can mute, unfollow, block, delete,
2
and report anything or anyone that is bothering them to avoid triggering negative emotions like
dissatisfaction and frustration with their body.
I agree with the author that all young social media users have their choice in changing the
settings of the app according to their comfort and preference. In this way, they will be able to
gain control of their time and feelings. Besides, taking a break from scrolling through your
phone can increase productivity either in work or study, which results in reduction of stress and
anxiety. On the contrary, joining online communities may cause more harm than good. It was
reported that since COVID-19 pandemic, identity fraud crime has rose to 41 percent and often
linked to organised crime, money laundering including terrorism.
Conclusively, using social media in excess might set off a negative, self-perpetuating cycle.
It will affect the feelings of inadequacy, dissatisfaction and worsen symptoms of depression,
anxiety, and stress but in our point of view, social media can indeed be less harmful if all users
practise good online habits to achieve a healthier balance.
(489 Words)
REFERENCE
1. Plackett, R. (2022, October 17). Social media: how to protect your mental health. Retrieved
from THE CONVERSATION website: Social media: how to protect your mental health
([Link])
2. Christine, H. (2020), Identity fraud sees sharp rise during COVID-19. Retrieved from
[Link], website:
[Link]
covid-19-pandemic/
3. Lawrence Robinson and Melinda Smith, M.A. (2022, December 20), Social Media and
Mental Health. Retrieve from [Link] website: Social Media and Mental Health -
[Link]
3
OUTLINE
Paragraph 1 (Overview)
1 Title Social media: how to protect your mental health
2 Author Ruth Plackett
3 Source Social media: how to protect your mental health
THE CONVERSATION, 2022
[Link]
health-
187935#:~:text=Social%20media%3A%20how%20to%20protect%20your%
20mental%20health,giving%20up%20entirely.%20...%204%20Take%20con
trol%20
4 Issue Young people are more likely to suffers from mental health because of social
media.
5 Argument There are alternatives that young people can do to protect their mental health
when using social media
6 Tone Concerned but encouraging
Paragraph 2 (Main Points)
1 Being mindful about your social media use can help you to gain insight and acceptance
into how it makes you feel and act accordingly.
2 Active use, by contrast, is associated with better outcomes.
3 Accounts abound of people taking time off from posting or giving up entirely.
4 It is important to remember that you can take control.
4
Paragraph 3 (Evidence/Supporting Details)
Supporting Details Type
1 Research shows that mindfulness helps us notice what is Research Article
happening in the present moment and creates space between us
([Link])
and our thoughts. Being mindful about your social media use
can help you to gain insight and acceptance into how it makes
you feel and act accordingly.
2 Follow, share and interact with accounts and people that provide Personal Opinion
positive content that you enjoy. Join online communities to find
like-minded people and make new connections. Be mindful of
your own following on social media and use your settings to
make sure only positive people are following you.
3 While the long-term effects of giving up social media are Research
unknown, recent research has found that taking a one-week
break leads to significant improvements in wellbeing,
depression and anxiety, particularly for people who are heavy or
passive users of the platform in question.
4 Understand your privacy settings and select who can see your Personal Opinion
content and contact you. Learn about how algorithms work for
different apps to understand why you might be seeing negative
content.
5
Paragraph 4 (Your Opinion)
Agree Reason
1 Mute, unfollow, block or delete anything or anyone that upsets All users have their
you. Report anything that is abusive or upsetting to the social own right on how to
media platform. manage their account
according to their
preferences.
2 If you’re worried about your social media use, remember that Taking a break from
you can step away from it. That could mean switching off for a social media to avoid
few hours every day, one day a week or even a whole week. procrastinating.
Disagree Reason
1 Join online communities to find like-minded people and make Befriended people
new connections. online can be
dangerous since
people can lie about
their real identity.
Paragraph 5 (Conclusion)
a. Restatement of your opinion
1 Social media negatively contribute to increased risk of depressed and anxiety
symptoms.
2 Excessive social media use can create a negative, self-perpetuating cycle.
b. Your final comments
1 Social media can be beneficial when we use it wisely.
6
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Social media: how to protect your mental health
BY RUTH PLACKETT
OCTOBER 17, 2022 5:19PM BST
The recent inquest into the death of British teenager Molly Russell in 2017 has concluded that
the 14-year-old “died from an act of self harm while suffering from depression and the negative
effects of online content”. For some people, this ruling will be confirmation of what they have
long suspected or indeed experienced: that being on social media can be detrimental to your
mental health.
Of course it isn’t always. Over 50 million people in the UK are active on at least one platform.
That’s over 80% of the population, a clear indication of quite how integral to our daily lives
social media has become.
Young adults are more likely than older adults to have a social media profile and to have more
of them, on more sites and more apps. Young people are also experiencing more mental health
problems than any other age group. Between 2017 and 2021, 52.5% of 17-to-23-year-olds in
England experienced a deterioration in their mental health.
If the anecdotal and self-reported evidence linking these two things exists, the research actually
proving that link is limited. Studies tend to only measure a correlation between social media
use and mental health at one time point, rather than looking at the effects over time that can
help us to understand whether social media causes mental health problems.
The findings are also mixed. Some studies highlight the increased exposure, for example, to
harm, anxiety, depression and cyber-bullying that being online can bring.
Others, meanwhile, suggest that it can in fact be of benefit. It can help people to connect with
others and access social support and information.
7
In our recent workshop with young adults, researchers and clinicians, we explored how social
media can be used to provide support for mental health and reach a wide range of young people.
We are currently exploring how to improve support for young adults seeking help for mental
health issues that might be related to social media use. The effects social media has on our
mental health may depend on how we use it. Here are four tips to help you stay in control.
Be mindful
The first thing to do is to think about how, why and how much you are using social media. Do
you need it for work? For socialising? For activism? Inspiration? Do you need it to stay in touch
with family or for other social support? Do you turn to it for advice?
Social media platforms and many people on them have their own agendas – and they are often
trying to sell you things. So, be mindful of how much time and energy you give to sellers and
users and think about what they want from you when engaging.
To gauge which uses are positive and productive and which are detrimental, ask yourself
simply, when does using social media make me feel good or bad, and why? Do I need to use it
all of the time?
Research shows that mindfulness helps us notice what is happening in the present moment and
creates space between us and our thoughts. Being mindful about your social media use can help
you to gain insight and acceptance into how it makes you feel and act accordingly.
Be active, not passive
Research shows that passive use of social media, such as browsing news feeds and
doomscrolling is associated with negative outcomes. These include social comparison, envy
and feelings of anxiety and depression.
Active use, by contrast, such as messaging and interacting with posts, is associated with better
outcomes. These include increased social support and greater feelings of social connectedness.
Follow, share and interact with accounts and people that provide positive content that you enjoy.
Join online communities to find like-minded people and make new connections. Be mindful of
8
your own following on social media and use your settings to make sure only positive people
are following you.
Take a break
Accounts abound of people taking time off from posting or giving up entirely.
While the long-term effects of giving up social media are unknown, recent research has found
that taking a one-week break leads to significant improvements in wellbeing, depression and
anxiety, particularly for people who are heavy or passive users of the platform in question.
If you’re worried about your social media use, remember that you can step away from it. That
could mean switching off for a few hours every day, one day a week or even a whole week.
Start off small and then reassess how it makes you feel. Apps like Hold and Offtime can also
help you manage how much time you spend on your phone and on social media.
Take control
Research has found that quitting social media for a while is particularly beneficial for those
whose use results in feelings of envy towards others on the platform. It is important to remember
that you can take control. The app or platform is a tool. You are in charge.
Mute, unfollow, block or delete anything or anyone that upsets you. Report anything that is
abusive or upsetting to the social media platform.
On a more granular level, use your settings to maintain that control. If seeing how many likes
others are getting, for instance, leads to corrosively negative comparisons, minimise or turn off
likes or restrict what you see.
Understand your privacy settings and select who can see your content and contact you. Learn
about how algorithms work for different apps to understand why you might be seeing negative
content.
Crucially, if you are worried about your mental health, please seek help. Make an appointment
to see your GP. Get in touch with a charity. Speak to your HR department at work or the student
9
welfare officer at uni. It is always OK to ask for support – it is, in fact, the best tool you have
at your disposal.
(973 words)
10
