Social Media is becoming our biggest downfall: how it impacts students' mental health.

Article by: Munei Zoe Mbedzi, Yanganani Gora, Zandile Mnisi, Ligugu Gogo, Gugushe Owam, Lwanele Godlwana and Onenceba Zodani

Students across the country, from Basic Education to Higher Education, spend endless hours scrolling through social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. They are constantly engaging with perfectly curated 60-second clips or photography of someone’s life. This greatly impacts students' mental health without them realising it, as they compare their lives to someone's perfect 60 seconds of their life.

Much of the youth today grew up with the internet. Students use social media for networking, entertainment, and educational purposes. Students often use social media to keep up to date with current affairs. One's life is portable and is compacted into one small digital device. Therefore, there is an increase in the time they spend frequently using their phones to keep up with their lives.

Social media is helpful because people share their lives and interests; therefore, it offers an opportunity to find a community of people who share a subculture you enjoy or are facing a difficult situation, so you can meet people and help each other. Social media is a wonderful place for people to express themselves artistically and to feel connected. This new level of connectivity is powerful; however, we have become too aware of the lives people present on social media. The hidden social media filters and Photoshop may lead one to believe that what is seen on screen is natural and achievable; however, it is not, and they compare themselves with something unachievable. Growing up is never easy, especially for students in their last year of High School or those questioning what they might do after university. Students often struggle with feeling behind. Social media adds to this feeling of anxiety about the future and the constant pressure of knowing what to do. Students feel as though they are running out of time because of what they see on social media. The constant interaction of people's lives on Social media is tiresome and dangerous for people's mental health. As content creation continues to grow, we need strategies to protect mental health and make social media a more 'authentic' place.

An image of someone battling with mental health issues- From Pinterest

Social media can also be associated with depression and loneliness. Students who spend excessive amounts of time online may become less involved in face-to-face relationships and other activities. Research has identified social comparison, seeking online feedback, and lack of sleep as factors that can influence the relationship between social media use, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Another important effect is sleep. Students may stay awake late at night scrolling through social media, resulting in insufficient sleep. A large systematic review found associations between problematic social media use, depression, anxiety and sleep problems, as well as lower wellbeing.

One of the contributing factors to a declining mental health rate in our country and in society at large is the fact that within this generation, mindlessly scrolling on social media is jokingly passed by as “brain rot”, a term that we don’t spend enough time analysing and having conversations about. Brain rot means that we are on our phones, consumed by social media for such a long amount of time that our vocabulary resembles that of social media and is no longer our own; this in itself highlights the fact that identity and persona are deeply rooted in what we see and learn, and social media, instead of being our own, which leads to things like anxiety and depression.

An image depicting the amount of media that we consume, impacting our mental health- from Pinterest

Furthermore, social media is extremely detrimental for mental health because of the fact that we are constantly told what to do and what not to do by strangers that we’ve never met and will never meet. I was standards, expectations, and goals are often times dictated by social media's unrealistic expectations, and when we fail to reach them, it takes away from our joy. Social media standards are extremely unrealistic; we’re expected to get into University by 19, and graduate by 22, and sometimes that can be difficult because life gets in the way and social media doesn’t factor that in. When we don’t graduate at this age or get into university, we think that our lives are over, and that contributes to a deteriorating mental health status, but it’s not. As this new generation, we need to be able to break free from social media and its unrealistic expectations and goals. We need to be able to push back from comparison and false beauty standards that seek to hold us.

 We need to be able to create our own goals, expectations, and standards that are realistic enough for us to live by. Anxiety and depression are very real mental illnesses that must be addressed and handled with care. Besides going to Therapists, we also need to try to get offline and tap into reality a bit more because that is one of the things that could lead to an increase enjoy and a decrease in sadness.

Amajelo eendaba ezentlalo aba yeyona nto isilelayo: indlela echaphazela ngayo abafundi impilo yengqondo.

Inqaku Ngo: Munei Zoe Mbedzi, Yanganani Gora, Zandile Mnisi, Ligugu Gogo, Gugushe Owam, Lwanele Godlwana and Onenceba Zodani

Abafundi kulo lonke ilizwe, ukusuka kwiMfundo eSiseko ukuya kwiMfundo ePhakamileyo, bachitha iiyure ezingapheliyo beskena kumaqonga eendaba zoluntu afana neTikTok, i-Instagram, kunye ne-Facebook. Bahlala bebandakanyeka kwiikliphu zemizuzwana engama-60 ezikhethwe ngokugqibeleleyo okanye iifoto zobomi bomntu. Oku kuyichaphazela kakhulu impilo yengqondo yabafundi ngaphandle kokuba baqaphele, njengoko bethelekisa ubomi babo nemizuzwana engama-60 egqibeleleyo yobomi bomntu.

Uninzi lolutsha namhlanje lukhulele kwi-intanethi. Abafundi basebenzisa imidiya yoluntu ukunxibelelana, ukuzonwabisa, kunye neenjongo zemfundo. Abafundi badla ngokusebenzisa imidiya yoluntu ukuze bahlale benolwazi ngemicimbi yangoku. Ubomi bomntu buyaphatheka kwaye buhlanganiswe kwisixhobo esinye esincinci sedijithali. Ke ngoko, kukho ukwanda kwexesha abalichitha rhoqo besebenzisa iifowuni zabo ukuze bahambisane nobomi babo.

Amaqonga onxibelelwano (social media) aluncedo kuba abantu babelana ngobomi babo nezinto abazithandayo; ngoko ke, anika ithuba lokufumana uluntu lwabantu ababelana ngenkcubeko encinci oyithandayo okanye abajongene nemeko enzima, ukuze nidibane nize nincedane. Amaqonga onxibelelwano yindawo entle yokuba abantu bazive bexhumene kwaye bavakalise izakhono zabo zobugcisa. Eli nqanaba elitsha lonxibelelwano linamandla; nangona kunjalo, siye saqaphela kakhulu ubomi obuboniswa ngabantu kula maqonga. Izihluzi (filters) ezifihlakeleyo kunye ne-Photoshop zinokwenza umntu akholelwe ukuba oko kubonakala kwisikrini kuyinto yendalo nenokufikeleleka; kodwa ayinjalo loo nto, kwaye abantu bazithelekisa nento engenakufikeleleka.

Umfanekiso womntu osilwa nemiba yempilo yengqondo- Ukusuka kwiPinterest

Ukukhula akusoze kube lula, ingakumbi kubafundi abakunyaka wabo wokugqibela kwisikolo samaBanga aphakamileyo okanye abo bazibuza ngokuba bangenza ntoni emva kweyunivesithi. Abafundi badla ngokusokola ukuziva beshiywe lixesha. Amakhasi onxibelelweno ongeza kule mvakalelo yokuxhalaba ngekamva kunye noxinzelelo oluqhubekayo lokwazi ukuba benze ntoni. Abafundi baziva ngathi baphelelwa lixesha ngenxa yoko bakubonayo kumakhasi onxibelelwano. Ukunxibelelana rhoqo kobomi babantu kumakhasi onxibelelwano kuyadinisa kwaye kuyingozi kwimpilo yengqondo yabantu. Njengoko ukuyilwa komxholo kuqhubeka kukhula, sidinga amaqhinga okukhusela impilo yengqondo nokwenza amakhasi onxibelelwano abe yindawo 'eyinyani' ngakumbi.

Amakhasi onxibelelwano anokunxulunyaniswa nokudakumba kunye nokuba wedwa. Abafundi abachitha ixesha elininzi kwi-intanethi banokungabandakanyeki kangako kubudlelwane bobuso nobuso kunye neminye imisebenzi. Uphando luchonge uthelekiso loluntu, ukufuna impendulo kwi-intanethi, kunye nokungalali njengezinto ezinokuchaphazela ubudlelwane phakathi kokusetyenziswa kwamakhasi onxibelelwano, ixhala, kunye neempawu zokudakumba.

Enye into ebalulekileyo echaphazelekayo kukulala. Abafundi banokuhlala bephaphile ebusuku besehla besenyuka kwizikrini kumakhasi onxibelelwano, okubangela ubuthongo obungonelenga. Uphononongo olukhulu olucwangcisiweyo lufumanise unxulumano phakathi kokusetyenziswa kwamakhasi onxibelelwano kunengxaki, ukudakumba, ixhala kunye neengxaki zokulala, kunye nokuphila kakuhle.

Umfanekiso obonisa ubungakanani bemithombo yeendaba esiyisebenzisayo, echaphazela impilo yethu yengqondo- ukusuka kwiPinterest

Enye yezinto ezibangela ukwehla kwezinga lempilo yengqondo kwilizwe lethu nakuluntu ngokubanzi kukuba kwesi sizukulwana, ukuskrola ngokungakhathali kumakhasi onxibelelwano kudla ngokubizwa ngokuba “yi-brain rot”, igama esingachithi xesha laneleyo sihlalutya kwaye sithetha ngalo. Ukubola kwengqondo kuthetha ukuba sikwiifowuni zethu, sichitha ixesha elide sihlalutya kwaye sithetha ngayo kangangokuba isigama sethu sifana nesamakhasi onxibelelwano kwaye asisesethu; oku kukodwa kugxininisa into yokuba ubuwena kunye nobuntu busekelwe nzulu kwinto esiyibonayo nesiyifundayo, kunye namakhasi onxibelelwano, endaweni yokuba ibe yeyethu, nto leyo ekhokelela kwizinto ezifana nokuxhalaba kunye nokudakumba

Ngaphaya koko, amajelo eendaba ezentlalo ayingozi kakhulu kwimpilo yengqondo ngenxa yokuba sihlala sixelelwa into emasiyenze kwaye masingenzi ntoni ngabantu esingabaziyo esingazange saba bona kwaye asisoze sihlangabezane nabo. Imigangatho yethu, ulindelo kunye neenjongo zihlala zichazwa ngamaxesha okulindela okungekho ngqiqweni kwamajelo eendaba ezentlalo kwaye xa sisilela ukufikelela kubo, ithatha uvuyo lwethu. Imigangatho yemidiya yoluntu ayinakwenzeka kakhulu, ayinakwenzeka kakhulu kulindeleke ukuba singene eyunivesithi xa sina-19 kwaye siphumelele xa sina-22, kwaye ngamanye amaxesha oko kunokuba nzima kuba ubomi bungena endleleni kwaye imidiya yoluntu ayifaki lonto.

Xa singaphumeleli kwizifundo zethu ngeli xesha okanye singangeni eyunivesithi, sicinga ukuba ubomi bethu buphelile, nto leyo inegalelo ekonakaliseni kwempilo yengqondo yomntu, kanti akunjalo. Njengesizukulwana esitsha, kufuneka sikwazi ukuzikhulula kwimpembelelo zamakhasionxibelelwano kunye neenjongo okanye ulindelo olungekho ngqiqweni oluvela kuwo. Kufuneka sikwazi ukwala ukuzithelekisa nabanye kunye nokwala imigangatho yobuhle engeyiyo efuna ukusibamba.

Kufuneka sikwazi ukuzibekela iinjongo, ulindelo, kunye nemigangatho yethu esinokuyiphila ngokwenyani nangokufanelekileyo. Ukuxhalaba kunye noxinzelelo lwengqondo (depression) zizifo zengqondo zokwenyani ezifuna ukujongwa nokusingathwa ngobunonophelo. Ngaphandle kokuya kwiingcali zempilo yengqondo, kufuneka sizame nokuphuma kwihlabathi ledijithali size siqhagamshelane nobomi bokwenyani ngakumbi, kuba le yenye yezinto ezinokukhokelela ekwandeni kovuyo nokuncipha kosizi.