Social Media and Mental Health

Join us for a panel event on social media and its effects on mental health, hosted by the Alsaid Foundation. While social media has had an amazing effect on keeping people connected, it has a negative effect on the mental health of youths. Social media thrives on reinforcement. It causes the releasing of dopamine to make one become addicted and is also highly associated with anxiety and depression. It builds on boosting one’s self-esteem and a sense of belonging to a community, but the reward and the dopamine kick comes from the potential liking of a picture or comment that causes the addiction of constantly checking platforms. Social media is so widely used and has so much great potential, but learning how to use it in a way that is good for one’s mental health is extremely important. This one-hour seminar will feature a speaker who is a professional in the mental health and social media arena. They will speak about the effects of social media on mental health, specifically in adolescents. They will explain what is going on in your brain when engaging in social media apps and how to take this technology and use it in a way that is beneficial for our mental health.