Are you addicted to social media?

We meet 25-year-old Jess Campbell who explains how social media has affected her life for better and worse.

Author: Victoria GloverPublished 20th Mar 2019
Last updated 22nd Mar 2019

If you spend more than 3 hours a day on social media - your risk of suffering with a mental health problem goes up by more than a quarter.

That's according to new research from a group made up of MPs, charities and academics.

We're taking a look 'Behind The Filter' of social media as we try to gain some perspective about the impact it's having on some people's lives.

There's no doubt that social media is an amazing tool for keeping connected with friends and finding like minded people who you'd never have had the opportunity to meet before the digital age, but what happens when your use of social media starts to impact on your REAL life?

Jess Campbell is a 25-year-old dancer who performs across the world in some of the most breathtaking locations on the planet. She has everything going for her - an infectious personality, gorgeous curly hair, and a smile to light up a room.

But Jess, like many young men and women in 2019, is battling with her self esteem.

She puts that down, in part, to social media.

Jess has taken time out from a dance contract in India to tell me about her experiences online: "This is one of many occasions where I've worked abroad so, for me, social media is a big part of keeping connected with friends and home. I love to post pictures and I love to like other people's pictures so I've always been very active on social media.

"But recently I felt like I needed to take a step back and have a little break from it.

"I know some people who are 'instagram famous' and they talk a lot about peak time posting and how many people will see your photos. So if I posted a photo at the time my friend had suggested and I still didn't get as many 'likes' as the person next to me - it made me start overthinking and it wasn't very healthy.

"I'd post a picutre and then I'd keep going back onto the app to refresh the photo and see if it had any more 'likes'. It's horrendous when you think about how long you spend looking at your own pictures to see if anyone else has 'liked' it.

"If I get lots of 'likes' on a post I feel good about myself and if I don't get many 'likes' I feel not very good about myself. I removed the apps off my phone and I took a break. I feel a lot better just from a few days away and I'd recommed it for anyone who needs a step back.

Jess told me she feels like she became addicted and wants to try to change her ways: "Instagram went down for a night the other day and one of my friends told me how worried she was about losing her page and her followers. It got me thiking about if I'd lost my account.... But I'm still me, I've still got my friends and my family - so why am I letting social media determine my self worth? That shouldn't be what it's about.

"I feel like it's a popularity contest - the more 'likes' you get shows how popular you are. It's like that episode of Black Mirror! I feel like that's what our world might eventually turn into and it's really scary.

"The thing with a like - it's the same as getting a compliment from someone. Personally when I get a like, I notice who has liked it. If it's a really good friend then I'm glad they're supporting me and if it's someone that I don't know that well I think 'they didn't have to do that - thank you for taking the time out of your day.'

"But when you think about it - a like is actually just a press and it doesn't really mean anything. I don't want to care about likes. I just want to post a picture because I like looking back at what I've done."

Find out more about this by visiting The Royal Society of Public Health.