The PsyCreative Column

  In today’s modern world, one cannot isolate the impact of social media from any sphere of our lives. Whether they are our personal, developmental, cultural, industrial, social, political or religious forces at play, social media has become a channel to connect people and affect them in many ways. If we particularly take a closer look at the context of contemporary India, it is obvious that the nation is under the constant sway of religious-political forces that also dictate the social tolerance and status of individuals in the Indian community. As the country tries to adapt to the constant changes in sentiments of different communities, social media on the other hand plays a major role in influencing the psyche of these communities as a whole, and has become a platform for the unchecked, unfiltered and constant sharing of strong personal views as well as publicly opposing or supporting such views. S ocial media is undeniably the most powerful tool of influence in creating and cha...

  How often do we come across posts on social media that set-off a feeling in us, a weird sense of loneliness that we didn’t even know existed? That is the power social media holds over us. A major, if not the only, source of communication for most people is via social media and it has reached an extent to which people cannot differentiate between it and real life. A lot of the youth derive a good chunk of their self-worth and self-esteem from social media numbers. A person might feel like they have to document everything they do, to feel validated by an audience. They might not even do something because they enjoy it, but only so that they can match the standard of life that everyone lives online. In relation to this, the audience that watches these online documentations of exceptional lifestyles would imagine their lives to be extraordinary and far from reality. This eventually would lead them to often feel an unspoken pressure to keep up with the swiftly changing trends of unrea...

  Social media—this generation’s holy grail, the source of clickbait news, entertainment and a source of body image issues along with mental health dilemmas—is a dangerous place if not handled with care. Filled with influencers, celebrities and their faithful fan tribes, Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok are a few of the top social media sites used by teenagers and adults alike. These sites are futuristic and hypnotic from relatable content to cheap and easily accessible products. Once you get accustomed to them, detaching becomes a tedious task.  There is one goal that all influencers on social media follow; make content so appealing that the viewers get consumed, no matter whether the content is reliable or fictitious. Itisha Nagar, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Delhi, claims that studies comparing mental health advice on social media between 2010 and 2022 revealed that the accuracy was significantly higher in 2010. One cause for this might be that ...

Gen Z today is all about how you look in front of everyone or following fleeting 'trends' and being  up to date even if it means buying a "Balenciaga trash bag" worth $1790. Our generation wants it all. We are both -  the trend setters as well as the trend followers. Hence, it won't be wrong to claim that social media cultures and trends are  of a lot more importance in all of our lives than one might imagine. Dark Academia, what is the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing that word ? When I asked some people about it, the answers were quite confusing. But when they came to know about the real meaning, the most common reaction was that they have come across this culture but they did not know the right name for it. Teenagers have created their own image about  the things they knew existed once and formed this community called ‘dark academia’ in the digital world. It. This culture emphasises what life would have been like in the 18 th and 19 th centuries an...

Ever since we were children, we have been taught to behave a certain way, dress a certain way, and mold our actions to fit better into the stereotypical standards of our society. But as we grew older and reached the stage of adolescence, our behaviors and opinions towards certain things began changing in a manner that felt right to us and which would make us, in a way, fit in better with our peers. In one way or another, it is safe to say that if not all, some of these behaviors and opinion changes may have been a result of the influence of social media on adolescence.  The age of adolescence is marked by a mountain of changes, ranging from physical to mental. During this period, individuals try to figure out what area of life they fit into. They are considered too old to be children but at the same time, too young to be adults. Hence, getting pulled into the dilemma of wondering where they belong. Eventually, the void that comes with not belonging anywhere is filled by the interne...

“Hey, I saw your recent pictures from the Maldives. You looked great.”  “Hey, did you watch that video: 7 simple ways to reduce weight, that I forwarded you.” “Hey, I am sending you the invite for ludo king, join asap.” Don’t all conversations on social media platforms look like that these days? The content available on social media is mostly unreliable. It is also very closely associated with teenagers and their social media standards. Here, what gets unnoticed most of the time is the increased dependency and usage of social media by older adults.  Memes related to indian parents blaming everything wrong with their kids’ existence to a cell phone is needless to say; the most common meme we’ll ever come across. As a teenager, you must have been shouted at for spending the most amount of your time on social media. Similarly, you as an adult, must have passed on those comments or at least opined about social media: its usage, or its effect on your health, to your younger ones....

Social Media has become a part of everybody’s lives, be it in the form of zoom meetings or various apps that adolescents use. There is room for all on social media and there seems to be an obligation to be a part of it, a necessity almost. It is not unknown that social media has consumed our lives and can have a tremendous effect on us, both positive and negative. Social media influences how we think, feel and behave in more ways than one.  The evil seed of racism has been instilled in this world for a long time and has rung its ring loudly. People of colour struggle with racism daily and this has a very deep impact on their mental health. In this age of the internet, as more people have come to be a part of it, people of colour have also found their place on it. Not only do they deal with racial discrimination in real life, but they also find themselves facing it online. While there is a myriad of issues that they struggle with, there is also a sense of community that they have bu...