Is Social Media Making You Unwell?

The endless pit of too much information and too little credibility raises concerns for mental and physical health, with women becoming uniquely impacted. But, it's not too late to reclaim your feed.

- By Snigdha Ahuja

What's your feed feeding you these days? I asked a friend during our once-a-week phone call session.

She laughed, and simply said: “Ask yourself. You are your algorithm!” It’s a witticism as valid as it is meme-worthy. I have replaced my morning chai with vanilla matcha. Given up my gym membership for Pilates classes I can’t afford. The AI bot that inhabits my phone calculates my calorie deficit and urges me to consider greek yoghurt as a “serious snack.” And, I just lost my android haughtiness to the latest iPhone. The joke, indeed, is on me.

I may have been influenced, but it is not as simple. In 2024, “Brain Rot” was named the Oxford Word of the Year, defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” Much has been written about the almost obsessive, hyper-habitual churn of scrolling, undermining the idea of “breaking news,” challenging what entertainment means, with unpopular political views the death knell of an internet personality, and a wedding proposal in front of the Eiffel Tower, a sacred rite of passage.

But, who am I to comment?