Every time you open the Facebook application, the first greeting is always: “What’s on your mind?” That is a greeting that all the 1.7 active users per day do get. Again, this is a question that psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors have on countless times asked their clients. It is also a question that we have instinctively asked a family member or friend who appears to be troubled.
But are you aware that our Facebook Posts could in an extraordinary way predict our mental wellbeing? That is why health professionals employed to check on our mental status are exploiting ways they can make use of social media to learn our inner thoughts. They are trying to see if they can follow up clients Facebook posts so as to learn more about their inner thoughts.
What can social media reveal about me?
The types of posts you write on your social media account, the frequency in which you post them and the length of such posts could go a long way in saying what is going on in your inner world.
A study was conducted on 555 Facebook Users who were found to frequently post majorly about their everyday life. Those who had low self-esteem were found to post majorly about their romantic partner. On the other hand, neurotic individuals use Facebook posts as a way of seeking attention. people with narcissistic tendencies are more likely to use status updates to boast about their achievements or wax lyrical about their diet and exercise regimes.
What about the selfies guys?
A different study found out those individuals fond of posting selfies were more likely to be psychopathic. Whereas those who edit their photos digitally tended to have low self-esteem.
Is Social Media used as a therapy?
Anyone who has ever woken up early at 3am to post an angry post will know that there is some form of therapy that comes with that. But is this therapy just a cry into some void with no good results coming from it? The Center of Mental Health and Gender of Mexico, in Mexico City, thinks that it is so.
But this void is no longer going to be silent. Researchers are now exploiting ways they can use Facebook, Twitter posts to reveal red flags that may indicate suicide plans.
Some online communities have now started to discover how they can react to suicide related posts. Reddit’s Suicide Watch site was set up to offer a way for the community to respond to and support at-risk members. Whereas the reaction on social media may not be that significant, the steps taken indicate a genuine urge to help out.
On the other hand, reduced social media interaction could be a pointer into increased mental health problems. There is one study that makes use of Bluetooth-enabled app so as to create patterns on young people’s social connectivity. That way, it can detect people who are interacting less with friends and also withdrawing – a signal for depression.