Being optimistic is a good thing, but a Northern Virginia psychiatrist says the flood of “good vibes only” content on social media raises the risk of toxic positivity.
“Toxic positivity is only looking for the positive, and negating any other hard emotions,” said Asha Patton-Smith, child and adolescent psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente in Falls Church, Virginia. “That can actually increase the risk of stress, anxiety and depression.”
With TikTok and other social media platforms using #goodvibesonly, “A lot of young people take that and say, ‘OK, yeah, I’m supposed to only be having good vibes,'” Patton-Smith said.
“That’s not based on reality — some even have guilt feelings about not being able to only look at the positive.”
Patton-Smith said it’s important for young people to realize there is a wide range of emotions, despite the good vibes admonishment on social media.
“In order to achieve true mood balance, you have to move through all aspects of emotions, both those that are positive and those harder emotions, as well,” she said.
True healing and growth require a person to experience their emotions and process them, which can enable someone to move on.
“What we really want to do is try to avoid labeling emotions as good or bad,” she said.
Young people are especially vulnerable to countering negative emotions, for several reasons, Patton-Smith said.
“In adolescent development, a large area of (brain) development is the prefrontal cortex. That’s the front part of our brain, where we do executive function, our focus, our concentration, our ability to not procrastinate,” Patton-Smith said. “Those neuron connections maximize around the age of 25, depending on the person.”
In addition to a still-developing brain, young people may not have seen the state of “gray” that often exists for adults.
“Experience is something that also helps with development. (It’s) part of why we look at things as we get older, hopefully, as more different from just black and white,” Patton-Smith said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
