Mental health anti-stigma campaign group, Time to Change, surveyed over 5,000 UK adults regarding their social media usage. This information comes alongside Time to Talk day which took place on Thursday 7th of February.

In its sixth year, Time to Change have focussed their researching efforts on the effects of social media on mental health. It is estimated that one in four people are affected by mental health issues.

People aged 16 -24 are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues, and 64% of the university student population are made up of this age group.

According to the research carried out by Time to Change, the average person in the West Midlands has 819 friends on social media, yet 22% have stated that they would be unable to call upon any of these friends if they were struggling with their mental health. Furthermore, 60%, also said that group chats and social media lead to more ‘surface level’ conversations about gossip and funny videos.

Many University of Birmingham students were surprised to learn of the statistics that suggested social media updates can replace friendships. Georgia, a first-year student, commented that ‘university can be so isolating, and I feel social media adds to this, I absolutely need to talk to friends properly, whether on private messages or in real life.’

Echoing a similar sentiment, Ben, a second-year undergraduate, suggested that ‘social media updates cannot act as a substitute for actually talking to friends, as social media only shows what people want to be seen. Especially in my first year, so many of my friends were massively homesick or struggling to settle into uni life, but I didn’t know this until I was actually having real conversations with them, because their socials made it look like they were partying every night.’

However, other students pointed out while social media should not be a replacement for friendships, it has allowed them to stay in touch more easily with people, especially friends and family at home.

Sarah, a third-year, explained she found ‘using social media made the huge transition to a city from a small hometown much easier’ because she could ‘regularly see what was going on at home and stay connected to friends that have gone to other unis.’

Time to Talk day encouraged everyone to start meaningful conversations about mental health with friends and family, on social media and face to face.