Why Social Media Is Bad for Your Health (And What to Do About It)
For those of us who remember a time without social media, it is incredible to reflect on how much life has changed since it seemingly took over our culture. So much of our lives are spent online. It’s not just about sharing photos with your friends anymore. It’s where we get our news, our health and lifestyle advice, where we look to decide what products to buy, and even how we form our self image.
Now I would argue that most of that isn’t for the best. In fact, I am here today to talk about why social media is bad for our health.
With average screen times on the rise, especially among younger generations, this is becoming a very real concern. The average social media user spends 2 hours daily on social media apps, where in Gen Z and Gen Alpha this average goes up to 4 hours a day.
What is the cost of being this connected on our health?
1. Your Brain (and Eyes) Weren’t Built for This
Mental fatigue: Constant notifications = dopamine rollercoaster. This leads to cognitive overload, attention issues, and worsened anxiety. We have essentially eradicated boredom, or the essential breaks for our mind to just rest, by having endless entertainment at our fingertips to fill the gaps. Think of how many 10 second videos you’ve watched in a day and remember your brain still has to do something with that.
Blue light exposure: Blue light disrupts our circadian rhythm (how our bodies regulate our sleep/ wake cycle) which leads to sleep disturbances, melatonin suppression, and hormone disruptions.
Eye strain: Digital Eye Strain or “Computer Vision Syndrome” is real. With symptoms like blurred vision, headaches, and dry eyes, and long term impacts still under review, we need to give our eyes a break. We’re wired for nature, not notifications
2. The Wellness Wild West
Social media has really made the wellness space into the wild west, where anything goes, views trump truth, and no one is accountable for the advice or information they are giving out. Health trends go viral without any vetting and lead to many people spinning their tires in gimmicks and hacks that hold no real weight in their health goals, or even potential health harm in some cases. Instead of qualified professionals, we have ‘influencer experts’ and algorithmic echo chambers where our biases are confirmed to us. There seems to be very little stock taken on what is true, researched, and proven in the online space vs what looks good for the camera or gets views.
Hot stat: A 2022 study found that nearly 1 in 3 viral TikTok nutrition videos contained misleading or outright false information.
3. Extremes Are the New Normal
Social media turned wellness into a competitive sport — and most of us are losing. While healthy living is firmly rooted in balance, the social media is filled with extremes, all or nothing mindsets that normalize pushing things to the limits, over supplementing, overtraining, and forever seeking to hit the perfect aesthetic. ‘Hot girl’ trends that reinforce unrealistic standards, and biohacking bros that push a toxic grind culture.
4. The Comparison Trap
Highlight reel vs. real life: It’s so important to remember that what we see online is someone’s highlight reel. We don’t see them waking up with eye crusties and a pillow indent on their face. It is incredibly curated and not real life. Our natural inclination to compare ourselves to our peers is incredibly harmful in this ultra curated space, and increases self-criticism, body dissatisfaction, and imposter syndrome.
FOMO & loneliness: Ironically, social media often correlates with less social connection. Think about it, we are just alone in a room staring at a little box.
Mental health impact: Social media use is linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, especially among youth and women.
5. Tech Neck & Digital Posture Problems
You might have even seen some viral videos about tech neck. Slouched spines, rounded shoulders — chronic scrolling is reshaping our bodies. Our posture impacts vagus nerve tone, breathing patterns, and even our stress response. Over time, this leads to pain, fatigue, breathing dysfunction, and lowered mood (yes, posture affects mental health!).
What to Do: Healthy Boundaries & Digital Hygiene
You don’t have to go full hermit in the woods to have a better relationship with your phone — just a few intentional tweaks can make a huge difference.
Digital Detox Tips
Create screen-free zones in your life: think bedrooms, mealtimes, and those precious first 30 minutes of your morning. Give your nervous system a chance to wake up to sunlight, not scrolling.
Use app timers or downtime settings to cap your daily use — Instagram doesn’t need more hours from you than your partner or your self care routine. I suggest a 15-minute daily scroll limit to help shift the algorithm’s grip on your brain.
And most importantly, reclaim real-world joy. Remember hobbies? Books with paper pages? Actual conversations that don’t involve emojis? Prioritize grounding activities like nature walks, journaling, movement, art, or just quiet. The more time you spend in your life, the less FOMO you’ll feel about everyone else’s highlight reel.
Mindful Media: Curate your feed like your pantry. If you wouldn’t let junk into your body, don’t let it into your brain. Follow evidence-based voices you trust. Unfollow anything that spikes anxiety, fuels comparison, or peddles extremes.
Try the 20-20-20 Rule: If you have to use your phone or computer, every 20 minutes, look away from your screen at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. It’s a simple but effective way to protect your eye health, reset your focus, and interrupt the hypnotic scroll spiral. Bonus tip: Stack it with a breath or posture check — a tiny but mighty reset for your nervous system.
What would you gain if you spent less time scrolling and more time truly living? When you catch yourself mid-scroll, ask: “Is this feeding me or depleting me?” Is it inspiring you, educating you, uplifting you? Or is it draining your energy, hijacking your mood, or making you feel like you're behind in some invisible race?
You deserve to feel nourished — not neurotic — by your digital world. Let your online life reflect your real-life values.