Social Media Sites May Be Contributing Towards Psychotic Symptoms

Social media and smartphone use has taken over every aspect of human life and excessive social media usage has been intimately linked with increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression. Evidence, however, also suggests that social networking may be affecting the human brain in more ways than previously thought.

According to the research that was led by Dr. Uri Nitzan of Tel Aviv University and was later on published in Social News Daily, the mental health of social media users becomes vulnerable to detrimental effects. A correlation between excessive social media use and gradual development and aggravation of psychotic symptoms like delusions, anxiety and confusion etc. was established.

Social Media: The Virtual Reality

The study included three case studies to demonstrate the relationship between psychotic episodes and the internet base communications. The patients were found to share some key characteristics including loneliness and vulnerability due to loss or due to separation from a loved one. All the patients were also found to be relatively new to technology and had no previous history of psychosis or substance abuse.

All three patients turned to social media to form virtual relationships in an effort to seek refuge from their lonely situation. Although these relationships started out on positive notes, all of these relationships eventually led to feelings of hurt, betrayal and invasion of privacy. According to Dr. Nitzan, almost all of the patients experienced psychotic symptoms associated with the situation, including delusions about the person they were interacting with on the social media.

Two of the patients began feeling vulnerable owing to the fact that they had shared their personal information on the social media platforms they frequented. One of the patients developed psychotic symptoms like hallucinations about touch, thinking that the person at the other end of the internet connection was touching her in person.

Communication through cyber space can, therefore, lead to feelings of detachment from the people who we know in real life and can harm the authenticity of virtually established relationships on social media.

This is the precise reason why social media sites give a person a false sense of being in a relationship and can prove to be a hindrance when it comes to real-life relationships.

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The Changing Social Horizons

The powerful effect of social media on human beliefs, culture and everyday life is becoming undeniable. Social media has become a power to reckon with since it has the capability of profoundly affecting both users' mental health and users' philosophical beliefs.

This important study has provided a deep insight into the psychological health of people who start living in “virtual cyber space” as a form of escape from a reality they are not content with. Following this study, Dr. Nitzan and his colleagues intend to look further into the emotionally harmful effects of various applications and features of the social websites like Facebook.

According to Dr. Nitzan, it is a very common (and wise) practice for medical providers to ask patients about Facebook and social networking habits including the internet usage. These doctors should keep in mind the fact that people usually tend to act differently on social media from their real live personality and this behavior pattern is extremely important in recognizing the psychotic symptoms of such individuals.

In many ways, social media accounts allow people to create idealized portrayals of their lives that may initially feel good, but that ultimately leave them feeling hollow and lost. Returning to the real world is a key way to improve one's mental health.