Entertainment is a performance intended to entertain or unwind an audience, whether they take part actively through their acts or passively through watching acts, drama, opera,s or a movie. Entertainment is an important part of our life as it brings together family members, unites friends, and makes an individual happy.

Happiness and Entertainment are interrelated as entertainment makes people happy.  It develops the feeling to experience all kinds of emotions, which makes us feel psychologically active. However, misinformation, exaggerated, erroneous, and humorous depictions of people add to the negative outcome that affects mental health in negative ways. The cultivation theory and the social learning theory, the two mass communication theories, collaborate with each other to affect how things portrayed in media change, entertainment platform affects mental health, and preconceived notion around particular kind of emotion is created and maintained.

Influence of social media on mental health

Human is a social animals. To prosper in life, we require the company of others, and the quality of our relationships has a significant bearing on both our mental health and enjoyment. Social interaction with others has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, improve self-esteem, bring comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even lengthen life. On the other hand, a lack of solid social ties can seriously jeopardize your mental and emotional wellbeing. Many people around the world use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram to communicate with one another. While each has advantages, it’s crucial to keep in mind that social media can never fully replace face-to-face interaction.

Positive aspects of social media

There are numerous healthy ways that social media can help you stay connected and boost your well-being, even while it doesn’t have the same psychological advantages as face-to-face conversation.

Social media enables you to:

• Connect, Communicate and stay up to date with family and friends.
• Find new friends and join groups and communities according to your interest levels; network with people who share similar interests or ambitions as yours.
• Take part in social causes; raise awareness on important issues.
• Seek or offer emotional/financial support to others during tough times.

Negative aspects of social media 

• The feeling of Inadequacy in your life and experience

Even if you are aware that the photographs you are seeing on social media have been altered, they may nevertheless cause you to feel anxious about your appearance or the circumstances of your own life. Similarly, we are all aware that other people frequently only discuss the positive aspects of their lives rather than the negative events that everyone goes through. However, it still makes you feel envious and unsatisfied when you go through a friend’s photo-shopped pictures of their exotic beach vacation or read about their exciting new job advancement.

• Isolation

High Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram usage do not reduce loneliness; it increases it. In contrast, the study discovered that cutting back on social media can boost your general well-being and make you feel less lonely and isolated.

• Depression and anxiety

Face-to-face interaction is essential for maintaining healthy mental health. Making eye contact with a caring person is the fastest and most efficient way to alleviate stress and improve your mood. You’re more likely to experience mood disorders like anxiety and sadness if you prefer social media interaction over in-person relationships.

• Cyber-bullying

On social media, about 10% of teenagers report being bullied, and many other users experience nasty comments. Twitter and other social media platforms can serve as hubs for the dissemination of damaging rumors, lies, and abuse that can cause long-lasting emotional scars.

Signs that social media affecting our Mental Health

• Spending more time on social media rather than physically active or spending time with family and friends-A lot of your offline social engagement is now replaced by using social media. You feel the need to continuously check social media, even while you’re out with friends, frequently motivated by feelings that others may be having more fun than you are.
• Comparing yourself unfavorably with others on social media- You have a bad body image or low self-esteem. You might even engage in abnormal eating practices.
• Having no time for self-reflection- You spend all of your free time on social media, which leaves you with little to no time to focus on your identity, your thoughts, or the reasons behind your actions—the things that help you develop as a person.
• Suffering from sleep problems- When you go to bed at night, when you get up in the morning, or perhaps both, do you check social media? Your sleep might be disturbed by the light from phones and other electronics, which can have a negative effect on your mental health.

Here are a few tips by which you can take care of mental health while using social media and minimizing its negative consequences.

1. Spend time with yourself rather than be on social media – To be content and healthy, we all require the companionship of others in person. When used effectively, social media is an excellent tool for fostering in-person connections. But there are many methods to forge meaningful connections without relying on social media if you’ve let online connections take the place of in-person friendships in your life.
2. You can also take time for reflection. Consider utilizing a thankfulness app or keeping a gratitude journal. Keep a list of all your wonderful experiences and blessings, as well as the things and people you’d miss if they disappeared overnight. You can even express your thankfulness on social media.
3. Therapist also suggests that by practicing some mindfulness techniques you can keep your life focused and avoid negatively comparing yourself to others. It can also help you to effectively deal with life’s setbacks and difficulties. You can learn to live more in the present by engaging in mindfulness practices, which can also help you cope with a blank slate and enhance your general mental health.

If social media or any entertainment source is affecting your mental health negatively, you could take help from a “Psychologist near me” at TalktoAngel and connect with them for Online Counselling. You can also take a self-assessment test for social addiction and understand your underlying thoughts and emotion related to your mental health. Online Counselling can be helpful in limiting the negative effects of social media and promoting better mental health outcomes.