With viral culture comes many effects on people, and since viral culture is mostly seen on social media, it is the users who are mainly affected. One result being that people who want to be viral, or try to be viral, are now at a higher risk of facing mental health issues. Most users who want to be recognized are often first inspired by other users. This “inspiration” may lead them to believe that they must live up to the expectations on social media, or conform to what is mainstream, or maybe even feel pressured to be completely different. With viral popularity, it seems that there is room for many mental health issues. As social media grows over time, it makes us wonder how younger generations will combat or endure the adverse effects of viral popularity. It also makes us wonder if social media is the cause of these mental health issues. How is it that social media, a platform created to bring people together, has been building a divide between users who ‘are’ and users who ‘want to be.’ The effects of virality on users of social media consist of various psychological issues such as lowered self esteem, depression, and insecurity.

Viewing the viral culture of others through the usage of social media entails considerable risks among users. When users are continually observing the lives of others through their social media accounts, some may slowly find themselves forming comparisons between the two lives. This effect can be extremely detrimental to the mental health of the users making the comparisons. Users may feel the need to live up to the expectations displayed on social media, or they may feel the need to conform to what is mainstream, which could lead to a decrease in creativity and authenticity. People use mainstream content as “inspiration” to become popular, yet end up becoming just like everyone else. Social media is meant to be used as a “self-expression, communication, and peer feedback” (Argo, and Lowery). By using social media and viewing other viral users, their creativity is being condensed and limited to conform to what is seen as the “norm” (the “norm” being what is most popular). Social media could also result in users becoming less authentic, which could have an affect on their mental health if they realize that they are not who they once were.

As users compare themselves to others, they become more self-conscious and experience a higher likelihood of decreased self-esteem. According to a study done by Argo and Lowery, “there are reports that SM [social media] can lead to depression, envy, decreased self-esteem, and risky behavior.” Although this is the case, some may argue that virality on social media is a comical medium, meant to bring people joy and humor. With comedic content being shared on feeds like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, people can share their happiness with others. For example, there are many skits and comical memes which are shared through all of the previously stated platforms. Virality is also seen through memes, as one meme could be shared over and over. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, “memes” are “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media.” Social media consists of meme pages, which are meant specifically for memes, and these pages consist of millions of followers, assuming they have quality content. One could say that meme pages on social media are mediums of self expression among adolescents, that connect people and bring joy. Even though this may be true, there is still a chance social media use could still lead to social isolation and suicidal ideation (O’Reilly, M., Dogra, N.) According to a study done by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine “young adults with high SMU [social media use] seem to feel more socially isolated than their counterparts with lower SMU.” Additionally, always being active on social media accounts of people who are ‘viral’ can be harmful because we only view the highlights of other people’s lives. Social media does not uncover the true half of people’s lives, and users easily forget that what they see is not completely authentic. Thus, the usage of social media can be detrimental to mental wellbeing, not only for users viewing other people’s pages but also for people who are posting content on social media. According to a study done by Argo and Lowery, “Those with higher PHQ-9 reported significantly increased feelings of depression and anxiety after SM use. Higher PHQ-9 scores were also associated with a greater frequency of jealousy and comparing their life to others on SM. Those that spent more time and those that actively posted on SM were found to compare their life to others on SM.” Comparing oneself with another often times will lead to self-doubt and make people sensitive different things.

   While using social media, users become so adept to seeing viral figures such as models and celebrity figures, which could lead to insecurity, low self-esteem, and negative body image. Constant exposure to social media causes potential psychological harm to oneself to maintain their ideal image. Adolescents often find themselves with low self-esteem and indirectly blame social media because of the unrealistic and “photoshopped to perfection” pictures (O’Reilly, M). For example, Kim Kardashian often gets caught making mistakes within her photoshopped images. The results of this are severe to the lives of users because it could potentially lead to eating disorders and over-exercising. Thus, it may be why various companies have begun to create campaigns to support body positivity. Body positivity is a social movement which was designed to lift and empower women. It defies society’s standards of what a beautiful body is and encourages women to love themselves regardless of their body shape. Although body positivity is a current social movement, some could argue that social media does not influence negative body image. Some could say that social media encourages body positivity because of the vast content that is viewed by users. Social media has the potential to represent people of diverse backgrounds, which could introduce users to different female and male bodies (Andsage). However, over exposure to social media could be destructive for users as they may experience cyberbullying.

As users gain more recognition and become “viral” throughout the media, there is a greater chance of them experiencing malicious criticism from viewers; this may also be seen as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is another cause of mental health issues, and as users become more active on social media, cyberbullying increases. As said by Renee Garett, “Children who are bullied are more likely to experience symptoms of mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, changes in sleep and eating habits, increased feelings of loneliness, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy.” Younger generations are much more susceptible to cyberbullying since they are growing up as digital natives. As adolescents and people who are going viral, spend an excessive amount of time on social media, the increased exposure could lead to hateful comments or the creation of bashful content. Experiencing this type of hate is dangerous since it could lead to depression, and even worse, suicide. This is evident among many celebrities such as Robin Williams. It is also evident among younger celebrities who often find themselves receiving death threats and hateful comments on their social media accounts. For example, Megan Fox, an extremely famous American actress had said “I don’t think people understand. They all think we should shut the f—k up and stop complaining because you live in a big house or you drive a Bentley. So your life must be so great. What people don’t realize is that fame, whatever your worst experience in high school, when you were being bullied by those ten kids in high school, fame is that, but on a global scale, where you’re being bullied by millions of people constantly” (Scordo). While it is true that social media increases the likelihood of cyberbullying, others may argue that social media could decrease the likelihood of cyberbullying by spreading awareness on the issue and influence users to take preventative actions.  

Over time, mental health issues have been brought more attention to and have gained more exposure among younger generations. Thus, it is vital to society and can help with society’s progression. Some could say that people who have attained virality through social media are individuals with the most power and the most significant platforms. Although this power could be dangerous, some may argue that these individuals are the ones who are emphasizing conversations about mental health into public online spaces. With this being said, it entails significant benefits to users such as a sense of solidarity, a sense of empowerment, and confidence to be one’s true self (Betton). Going viral on social media is not limited to a person, as ideas and concerns could also go viral. Users can quickly spread ideas through hashtags and initiate positive protests among society against the wrongdoings of people and institutions. The use of hashtags could highlight the positive effects of social media since it is an efficient way to bring people together. Thus, virality makes it possible for people across the world to feel connected to each other. It would also be possible for anyone who is facing a mental health issue to realize that they are not alone. A simple hashtag being shared to raise awareness on how to handle mental health, or raising awareness on mental health, could be beneficial to one’s life. And although I may agree that virality on social media could be beneficial in some cases, the effects of going viral on users still remain extremely detrimental. Although there may be no conclusive evidence that social media is the direct cause of a declining mental health, it is definitely a factor that many adolescents believe to be impactful.

Perhaps social media apps may be useful in bringing people together and keeping them connected, but the viewing and the need of virality could have many psychological effects. These effects consist of: depression, lower self-esteem, loneliness, and insecurity. The usage of social media and virality can be damaging to our self-image. Because we are always active in viewing other peoples accounts, we tend to compare our lives to the lives of others on social media, resulting in a decrease in our self-esteem and increase in self-doubt. One possible solution to this would be deleting apps or reducing the usage of the app. Another solution which may be less intense is simply blocking the posts of users who exert negative vibes. Since social media heavily influences users, there is a possibility of losing creativity and self-expression. This is ironic because social media is a medium used by many adolescents for self-expression. Ideas that were once considered to be creative and unique can quickly turn into something boring and be associated with “hypebeast” culture. To add on, while it may be true that social media could empower people through hashtags and can give people a sense of solidarity, virality on social media is still a potential cause of social isolation. As users spend more time on social media, they are experiencing less face-to-face contact. Isolation could result in detrimental effects on one’s mental wellbeing. Virality on social media could also lead to intense cyberbullying by users which could have an extremely negative impact on the viral user. Cyberbullying could result in depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. Virality of social media users can make them susceptible to various psychologically destructive effects.