The Dangers Of "Social Media Therapy"
- Sep 23, 2022
- 5 min read
Written by: Ryan Light, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I am often asked on my social media posts why I keep pointing out truths but don't supply solutions. There is an excellent reason behind that: Because social media is NOT therapy and should NEVER be a replacement for one-on-one individualized treatment, coaching, or counseling ‒ PERIOD!
People are looking for that "magic pill," "quick fix," or "diagnosis" to explain away their behaviors. And that's not something you will find on Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitter.
Many fail to understand that you're not going to find that in traditional therapy or coaching.
Receiving a diagnosis takes time when done correctly.
Getting to the root causes of one's behaviors, actions, thinking, and coping mechanisms takes time.
Just because you may experience one or two symptoms of a disorder, or believe you have tendencies towards a few, does NOT automatically mean that is what you are struggling with.
A quick video or a 144-character response is never going to be able to get you out from under your struggles, especially since many are stuck in survival mode and continue to cope unhealthily due to unresolved trauma from their childhood.
Do you think a 90-second Reel on Instagram will unravel all that?
Healing is an Investment
I get negative comments almost every day about not offering solutions to such problems as emotional neglect, abandonment, codependency, etc.
Again, there is no way a few sentences will be able to magically heal years or even decades of unresolved trauma and unhealthy coping.
I have also seen individuals tend to take this process more seriously once they realize healing is an investment in several different ways:
Choosing to heal is an investment financially for 1:1 coaching, therapy, counseling, etc.
Healing is an investment in one's self-worth by finding the resources to seek proper treatment.
Healing is an investment in one's time. There's a big difference between having time and making time – and if you genuinely want to heal, you WILL make sacrifices to MAKE the time you need every day to do the hard, consistent work it takes.
Unfortunately, too many still choose the path of blaming others for the way they cope. Or they look for a diagnosis to justify their reactions and feelings. They continue searching for any way to "survive" but fail yet to see that surviving is only coping – and coping has nothing to do with healing.
The Dangers of "Social Media Therapy"
It's ironic so many turns to social media platforms such as Instagram for therapeutic help when in fact, it was stated by Psychology Today that "Instagram… was deemed the worst social media for your mental health in 2017. It reportedly leads to negative body image, increased depression and anxiety, and an increase in bullying."
Not only can social media lead to worsening mental health, but it also lends to an increasing probability of turning towards harmful methods in which to cope.
What is known as "Social Media Therapy" can also be dangerous due to the following:
Self-Diagnosis – Many people (especially the younger generation) are leaning into what they see and hear as the absolute "truth" and consequently fall into self-diagnosing.
It's hard for some professionals to differentiate between one diagnosis and another. And now we have 13, 14, and 15-year-olds looking at videos on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Bipolar, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and lumping themselves into a category all on their own ‒ and that's a recipe for disaster.
Non-Professional Advocates – Another danger is the uptake of advocates on all social media platforms, claiming to be professional when they have no accreditation or certification.
Social media can be a great resource to use as a community for support in not feeling so alone or aid in education/understanding when the correct information is conveyed. However, when you search for that quick fix or expect to find a "cure" on Instagram or Tik Tok, you are just setting yourself up for failure.
Misinterpretation – Part of the problem is that information on social media is easily misinterpreted because we often tend to twist what we read into what we want to hear. Though a post may be meant to deliver a particular message, not everyone is going to read it/see it in the same way.
That is why therapy is meant to be individualized. Within such a 1:1 setting, those possible misconceptions can be sorted out into fact vs. fiction.
For example, just because you receive a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder does not mean you will struggle with every DSM symptom or manifest it the same way as another individual with the same diagnosis.
Crisis Intervention – Though many people want to offer help or a place to turn to when suicidal thoughts or an unexpected crisis may arise, it can be dangerous for your survival to turn to the likes of social media over someone who is adequately trained in how to handle crisis intervention.
Unhealthy Coping Mechanism – In and of itself, social media has become an unhealthy coping mechanism for many struggling. Memes regarding mental illness, disorders, etc., can be seen everywhere you turn nowadays. The problem with that is memes can frequently be used as a defense mechanism to "blow off" (so to speak) unwanted feelings of guilt, regret, and shame. It's an avoidance tactic meant to make light of a subject matter that should not be written off in any way, shape, or form as a joke.
Where "Social Media Therapy" Needs to End
Social media has been an excellent platform to finally get talk of mental health issues out in the open.
The problems lie in that though such issues are being spoken about more freely nowadays, there is still way too much misinformation flooding the internet alongside the fact that certain disorders such as Bipolar, OCD, and BPD are being used in a general and misleading context. They are being trivialized when there is nothing trivial about the seriousness of our mental health struggles in this day and age.
Yes, social media can be a great entry point for individuals to realize they are not alone and that what they may be struggling with needs to be looked into further.
And that's the point where "social media therapy" needs to end, and an individualized program with a certified or accredited professional such as a coach, counselor, or therapist should begin.
Ryan Light, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Ryan Light is a mental health coach, author, thought leader, and influencer in the mental health space. Having spent 20 years of his life attempting to run, avoid and hide from the pain of his childhood and adolescence. He struggled with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and panic disorder. After contemplating suicide, Ryan decided to finally confront his traumas through what he now coins “Feeling Work” and heal the real issues plaguing him with various mental health disorders. Today, his passion lies in guiding others through their struggles with anxiety, depression, and/or trauma through such avenues as social media, public speaking, self-paced courses, e-books, live workshops, and 1:1 coaching.
