A Review of the Article’ Social Media and Mental Health written by Steven A Sumner, Daniel A. Bowen, and Brad Bartholow Publi

A Review of the Article’ Social Media and Mental Health written by Steven A Sumner, Daniel A. Bowen, and Brad Bartholow Published on May 8, 2019

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Introduction

The article ‘Social Media and Mental Health’ written by Steven A Sumner, Daniel A. Bowen, and Brad Bartholow, Published on May 8, 2020, discusses factors that project the spread of positive messages on social networks and why it is important for individual’s mental space. According to (Sumner et al., 2020), individuals or organizations seeking to promote positive messages online need to know the factors that affect the spread of positive health messages. This paper will discuss the factors that predict the spread of positive messages on social media platforms.

The consumers’ routine use of various social networks is influenced by their emotional connection and the positive mental health outcomes derived from the respective platforms (Liang, 2020). Social media users are drawn to platforms that promote their mental headspace by allowing them to explore and express themselves freely.

Social networks enable users to access resources like social support from other platform users and efficient information, thus forming and maintaining social capital (Bekalu et al., 2019). Social media platforms propagate positive mental health messages by providing relevant information, and social support individuals and the community need to grow mentally. Finding common ground and other people one can relate to in the social networks gives a sense of belonging to users, stabilizing their mental health.

Conclusion

Social media plays a vital role in promoting mental health. Individuals’ mental health is essential for their overall well-being and social interactions in society. Their association with the right people on the platform and content provided by social media erases the fear of being left out. Therefore, active social media consumers need to beware of the content they expose themselves to, as it is critical to their mental health and consequent productiveness.

Reference

Bekalu, M. A., McCloud, R. F., & Viswanath, K. (2019). Association of Social Media Use with Social Well-Being, Positive Mental Health, and Self-Rated Health: Disentangling Routine Use from Emotional Connection to Use. Health Education & Behavior, 46(2_suppl), 69S-80S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119863768Liang, H. (2021). Decreasing social contagion effects in diffusion cascades: Modeling message spreading on social media. Telematics and Informatics, 62, 101623.

Sumner, S., Bowen, D., & Bartholow, B. (2020). Factors Associated with Increased Dissemination of Positive Mental Health Messaging on social media. Crisis, 41(2), 141-145. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000598