How long can you go without looking at one of your social media platforms? An hour? Two? More? Less? Social media has become an integral part in most of our lives although perhaps not for the better. On this week’s show, we’re going to look at some of the problems associated with social media and how you might be able to keep yourself safe from the potential harm to your mental health.

We first talk with Stephanie Dailey. She is an assistant professor of communication studies at Texas State University and has been actively researching the potential pitfalls of social media for years. It all comes down to our identity. We need to have an identity in cyberspace and that can drive us to disappear from our regular lives and society if only to satisfy this need. This can lead to social media addiction and eventual harms to our mental health.  

But while social media can be a factor in mental health, it may also be a means to identify and possibly diagnose depression. This is one area of Dailey’s research and we explore this more in-depth. Although every person is unique, there are warning signs that can appear on social media. While we are not there yet, the research clearly shows that one day we may be able to use a person’s posts to identify a need for intervention. 

In our SASS Class, we look at one of the biggest issues with social media and mental health. It’s called the fear of missing out, but it’s better known as FOMO. Our guest teacher is Marina Milyavskaya and she is an assistant professor of psychology at Carleton University. Her work primarily focuses on our goal attainment and self-regulation and FOMO is a major factor not just in social media but in real life. She offers us some suggestions as to how we can avoid this feeling not by being positive but realistic. 

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Twitter: @JATetro
Email: [email protected] 

Guests:

Stephanie Dailey
Web: http://stephaniedailey.wp.txstate.edu/ 

Marina Milyavskaya
Web: https://carleton.ca/psychology/people/marina-milyavskaya/ 
Twitter: @MarinaMilyav

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