Link between excessive social media use and psychiatric disorders

Mental health disorders are an emerging challenge with the progressively increasing usage of social media platforms. Social media use is the second leading cause of disability among psychiatric disorders. A great deal of literature has tried to establish links between social media exposure and mental health diseases. However, there is a need to discuss the current literature that presents crucial perspectives on social media-induced psychiatric disorders to establish a holistic, evidence-based approach for their prevention and treatment. The use of social networks is strongly correlated with the development of anxiety and other psychological problems such as depression, insomnia, stress, decreased subjective happiness, and a sense of mental deprivation. The majority of the cited literature predicts that the likelihood of social media-induced mental health problems is directly proportional to the amount of time spent on these sites, the frequency of usage, and the number of platforms being used. Various possible explanations have been implicated, including a negative impact on self-esteem through unhealthy comparisons, social media burnout, stress, lack of emotional regulation due to social media preoccupation, and development of social anxiety due to decreased real-life social interactions. It has been postulated that increased social media use is driven by preexisting anxiety and is a coping strategy. This era of progressively increasing digitalization, the recent trend of a dramatic shift toward online social life, and the desire to get social attention is expected to take a gruesome toll on the population's mental health, which therefore warrants more attention to mental health care.