A Review of Social Media's Psychological Effects on Young Adults' Mental Health

Social media has completely transformed how we speak, share parts of our lives, and connect with one another, and how it has affected our mental health is significant. In this review, we embark on a review of the world of social media and its positive and negative sides. There’s freedom in it, stimulation in it; it’s a space to spark creativity and connect emotionally, but it’s also a space that carries with it anxiety and sadness and a blow to self-esteem. We also cover deeply embarrassing topics like cyberbullying, Phantom Vibration Syndrome (a condition that causes seemingly hopeless anxiety when you can’t remember seeing any text messages), and the pressure to appear perfect on the Internet. These factors can put us off sleep and cause psychological stress. With the challenges it brings, social media is vital to our keeping connected and sharing our experiences with others. This paper gathers together work and sounds an important note regarding the importance of a balanced social media message. We urge that the platform’s potential to improve mental health be used for healthier online interactions. However, through this balance, we work to build a safer digital space for everybody.