How Many ‘Likes’ Is My Life Worth: A radio documentary exploring the Psychological effects of social media.

Abstract

The development of social media has been one of the biggest changes in society over the last 20 years. When it was first established, the premise was entangled with aiding people to communicate and form connections. Today, social media is widely utilised by account holders to present a ‘perfect’ version of themselves and project the best version of their lives to those who follow them. Mental health and well-being are an increasingly acknowledged aspect of an individual’s overall health, in society today. Over the last number of years, there has been an increase in young people suffering from mental health issues. Could there be a correlation between the development of social media and this growth in the number of young people struggling with their mental health? This documentary explores the world of social media and the way in which it is utilised, to discover whether the way we interact with it is affecting people psychologically. The listener is brought on a journey, hearing from a range of mental health professionals, a tech expert and social media users. The voices throughout give an insight into how we use social media, how it can negatively affect us and how frequent users feel it may be negatively impacting their lives. The unearthed facts and opinions explain how social media is changing our brains and affecting the development of one’s sense of self, and how the facilitation of comparisons on social media is causing general anxiety, depression and has links with eating disorders. This accompanying document outlines the research journey of the subject of this documentary by referring to relevant literature and studies conducted in this area. This document also explains the creative and technical process that led to the final edit of the documentary ‘How Many ‘Likes’ is My Life Worth’.