Social Media and Its Effect on Adolescent Mental health

Social Media and Its Effect on Adolescent Mental health

The issue of mental health in our society amongst adolescents has been increasing at an alarming rate.  As more and more teens each year are diagnosed with psychological problems like depression and anxiety, understanding why this trend is occurring has become a timely and urgent issue.  The widespread overuse of social media is affecting its user’s mental health is one common argument.  With such a large following and users spending tremendous amounts of time on social media, it has to have some impact on them.  Because there are no long-term studies and mental health is such a complex issue, it makes finding the cause and solving it challenging.  Others believe the problem is not rooted in social media and that social media can help those battling mental illness.  Social media does have many benefits, and it can be a handy tool; however, are these benefits worth the effect it can have on a user’s mental wellbeing?

Mental illness is a disorder that affects the brain and can impact a person’s daily life, overall wellbeing, physical health, relationships, and academics.  Mental health is such a complex issue because it can be different in every person, and therefore it is challenging to diagnose and treat.  Sadly, in recent years, mental illness in teens has been exemplified as we hear far too many stories of suicides or mass shootings from mentally unstable teens.  The issue of teens and mental health is extremely concerning as the brain is still forming during the adolescent years of one’s life, leading to lifelong effects.  In our society today, “The mental health of adolescents and teenagers seems to be worsening.  Rates of young people with severe depression have increased from 5% in 2012 to 8% in 2015…Nearly one in three adolescents and teenagers meet criteria for an anxiety disorder by the age of 18.” (Teen Mental Health Statistics, 2).  These high rates of anxiety and depression show the urgency of the issue and the need for immediate change.

Social media is a network that allows people to share and create content online.

Used by billions around the world, the largest demographic of users are teens. The rate of teens aged 13-17 who use social media more than once a day had risen from just 34% in 2012 to 70% in 2018. (Social Media, Social Life Infographic, 1) The popularity and usage of social media will only continue to rise as it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  Social media harbors an addictive environment in which users are drawn in by likes, content they appeal too, and a fear of missing out on what others are doing.  Social media was designed for users to be continuously drawn back as this is profitable for social media companies.  Teens today are constantly connected to social media, spending upwards of nine hours a day connected to media. (Tsukayama, 2).  With the use of social media being so extensive, it has both benefits and drawbacks on millions of teen users.

The benefits of social media cannot be denied.  Social media has allowed the entire world to become connected in a way like never before, this is used to help bring awareness to social issues and will enable people from all over the world to communicate and collaborate.  Many social problems like sexual harassment were brought recognition through movements like #metoo because of how social media can spread information like a wildfire throughout the world.  People are able to be informed faster than ever while staying connected to social media.  Social media also harbors a place where teens can express themselves.  There are groups of all kinds online in which teens can find community.

Social media has negative aspects that can lead to mental health issues.  As a teen, while the brain is developing, these effects of social media will have an even more substantial impact on mental health.  Sabrina Barr shows various ways in which social media affects mental health.  Self-esteem, human connection, memory, sleep, and attention span are all affected by social media with or without users knowing.  Self-esteem issues can arise in social media users very quickly as people are constantly comparing themselves to everyone who posts “perfect” pictures.  Human connection is affected as people don’t know how to have a real face to face interactions anymore.  Memories and experiences are not as enjoyable as people try so hard to show off to their followers.  Using social media before sleep can negatively impact healthy sleeping routines.  Atten spans of social media users are shorter as “Social media has provided a means of constantly giving in to the temptation of instant, easy-access entertainment” (Barr, 3).

These negative impacts will eventually lead to more significant phycological problems like depression and anxiety.  These issues all come from the overuse of social media, which is a common trend for adolescents in today’s world.

The effect social media has on mental health was looked at by Jacob Amedie in his research for Santa Clara University.  Amedie shares what he believes to be the main negative impacts of social media.  First, he talks about how social media harbors “fake” relationships and superficial friendships, which leads to phycological problems.  His next point was that the addictive nature of social media could have an impact on interpersonal skills and lead to antisocial behavior.  The phycological issues that can come from social media are both depression and anxiety.  Amedie backed his claim about social media with credible studies.  “Dr. Mark Becker, of Michigan State University, found a 70% increase in self-reported depressive symptoms among the group using social media and a 42% increase in social anxiety.” (Amedie, 8).  This study proves how social media users are more at risk for depression and anxiety.  Amedie then backs up this evidence with a reason as to why social media actually has this impact.   When people continuously talk about their problems over social media, it makes them over obsess, and these small problems begin to magnify to more significant issues.  Constant worry leads to chronic stress, and that is one of the leading causes of anxiety.  Another reason social media causes depression and anxiety is the stress that comes from trying to keep up an image.  Users are constantly trying to portray themselves as something they are not and have to work so hard to portray a perfect image. (Amedie, 8) Social media can have a direct correlation to mental health as it makes users prone to anxiety and depression.

While many have found a correlation between social media and mental health, two new studies written about in Forbes magazine by, Alice Walton, show not just a relationship but causation.  The first study from U Penn had a real experiment in which students limited their social media use in a three-week time period.  These results proved with limited use; students felt less lonely and had fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression.  The second study from York University demonstrated that women continuously are comparing their body image to others, and this made them feel worse about themselves.  These results only further prove what others have suggested regarding social media.  “Using less social media than you normally would leads to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness. These effects are particularly pronounced for folks who were more depressed when they came into the study.” (Walton, 3). This finding shows that social media can also worse those who are already affected by mental illness.

In the counter argument, Siobhan Kenna shares how she has come to find that social media does not affect mental health in the way people commonly seem to believe. While most people think that Social media users are at an increased rate for depression and anxiety, Kenna discusses why she believes social media is not directly accountable for this. Research she acquired from Bridianne O’Dea, a research specialist at a depression clinic, shows how mental illness is too complex to be blamed solely by social media. She concluded, “Above all else, family support is the most important and what that [her study] confirmed is…the strength and the importance of family is always going to be one of the most important things to mental health,” (Kenna, 4).  Another study written about in Forbes by, Nick Morrison, defends social media being the problem behind mental problems in teens sharing that “bullying, lack of sleep and problems with friendships are more important factors” (Morrison, 1).  While both of their claims are feasible, they are both flawed, because they don’t consider how overuse of social media can impact the things, like sleep and family life, they think is the root behind mental illness in teens.  Social media is negatively impacting the main factors for mental illness and therefore proves the causation between the two.

As a teen who has grown up with the rise of social media, I have firsthand witnessed its effects on my peers and myself.  Back when Instagram first started to rise in popularity, I can remember being reluctant to join as I had no interest in it. However, after about two months, it seemed that everyone had it, and I began to feel somewhat left out.  After succumbing to the pressure and making an account, I instantly felt lesser than all my peers as I had fewer followers and got fewer likes.  I saw how this also affected others as classmates began photoshopping their pictures and buying likes to fit in.  This is where I first began to see the effects social media has on its teen users; however, at the time, I did not understand they were doing this because of an environment social media created.  I have also been able to see how my friends portray themselves online to be someone they are not.  Sometimes it feels as if when I go out with my friends, they spend so much time trying to “show off” that they go out to their followers that they can’t even enjoy themselves.  Instead, they spend their nights out taking countless pictures trying to get the perfect angle and videos that they post endlessly on Snapchat.  Living a life like this is unhealthy as they are faced with pressure to showcase a perfect life.  I have fallen victim to practicing in this unhealthy behavior that social media has inadvertently made familiar among its users.  I have found myself losing sleep because I am stuck scrolling on my phone for hours, stressing over what I post, and feeling left out when seeing friends people going out.  After realizing how social media was affecting my life, I have made a strong effort to change my social media habits.

Social media undoubtedly affects mental health and is the cause of the phycological problems we see in teens today.  Because this issue is so significant and has such a great effect on teenage users of social media, it is essential to try and prevent this issue from continuing to spread and to prevent it from happening in the future.  An effort from the social media companies, the government, parents, and teen users is essential to make social media safer and minimizes its effects for its adolescent users.  Many believe that the best solution for this problem is not to eliminate social media, but moderate and be aware of how much time you spend on it.  Regulating your usage can prevent it from being harmful.  All the studies show how more use causes more problems, so if you limit your usage, you will eliminate the drawbacks of social media.  There are limits you can set on your phone to help prevent you from overusing social media.  The United Kingdom’s Royal Society for Public Health wants, “safe social media use” to be taught during health education in schools” (MacMillan, 5).  This is something that would empower users to have an awareness of the effects of social media from a young age and is defiantly something we will most likely see becoming a trend.  Social media isn’t going away anytime soon, so it is crucial to understand what we can do so that users are not affected in the way in which they currently are.

Arguably the biggest stakeholders in this matter are the social media companies, as they have the most to lose financially.  That being said, they still need to make the right moral decision and work to make social media better for its users in terms of mental health effects.

Instagram has created a competitive and stressful environment for its users with “likes”.  When users share a photo, other users have an option to like it, and the total likes are displayed for everyone to see.  Getting a like on Instagram stimulates dopamine in your brain, the same hormone released when you do drugs, making users crave more and more. (Yates, 2)  Instagram was created to be a place in which people can freely share a picture, but now, users post photos to get likes, worry about how many likes they are getting, and may even delete a photo because they are unhappy with how it performed.  A competitive atmosphere has been created where users feel both stressed and pressured to earn likes, so they feel the most popular when, in reality, these “likes” represent absolutely nothing.  Instagram finally publicly recognized this issue last April and began to test removing the number of likes shown in several countries.  On November 8^th, 2019, Adam Mosseri, a high-level Instagram executive, announced that the number of likes would be hidden from users in the US starting next week.  He stated that “What we’re hoping to do is depressurize Instagram a little bit …The idea is to try and reduce anxiety and social comparisons, specifically with an eye towards young people.” (Wagner, 1).  Instagram acknowledging that its biggest demographic of users is affected negatively by something that is such a big part of their brand, shows this issue was significant where Instagram recognized its own wrongdoing towards its users.  Upon hearing this news myself and discussing it with friends, we all seamlessly agreed this was a smart decision by the company, and one of my peers stated, “I love this because now I can actually post what I want when I want and never have to worry.”  Hearing them say this to me was kind of sad because this meant that for the past few years, as Instagram had such a significant influence over their lives, they were not truly happy as their pictures exemplified.  With Instagram moving in the right direction and being proactive, there is hope for a better social media environment in which teens may not be as affected by the stresses they currently face.

The issue of mental health among teens is something that needs to be addressed in our society.  Looking at social media as the reason for this problem makes sense as there is a viable and proven connection between the two.  Social media use by teens in our society is the root of this mental illness problem and the need for change to prevent this problem from continuing and growing.  Hopefully, with awareness and efforts from social media companies, progress can be made in the right direction.

Works Cited

Amedie, Jacob, “The Impact of Social Media on Society” (2015). Advanced Writing: Pop Culture Intersections. 2https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/2.

Barr, Sabrina. “Six Ways Social Media Negatively Affects Your Mental Health without You Even Knowing.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 15 Oct. 2019, www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/social-media-mental-health-negative-effects-depression-anxiety-addiction-memory-a8307196.html.

Kenna, Siobhan. “Social Media May Not Be Harming Your Mental Health Like You

Think It Is.” HuffPost Australia, HuffPost Australia, 24 July 2017,

W.ingtonpost.com.au/2017/07/24/social-media-isnt-harming-your-mental-heaith-

like-you-think-it-is_a_22223396/.

MacMillan, Amanda. “Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health.” Time, Time,

25 May 2017, time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/.

Morrison, Nick. “Social Media Is Not To Blame For Children’s Poor Mental Health.” Forbes,

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media-is-not-to-blame-for-childrens-poor-mental-health/#7e8db1d532e3.

1. “Social Media, Social Life Infographic: Common Sense Media.” Common Sense Media:

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         Premier Adolescent Treatment Center in Los Angeles, 17 Apr. 2019,

polaristeen.com/articles/teen-mental-health-stats/.

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Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-

switch/wp/2015/11/03/teens-spend-nearly-nine-hours-every-day-consuming-media/.

Wagner, Kurt. “Instagram Will Remove ‘Likes’ From Posts for Some U.S.

Users.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 8 Nov. 2019,

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-09/instagram-will-remove-likes-from-posts-for-some-u-s-users.

Walton, Alice G. “New Studies Show Just How Bad Social Media Is For Mental Health.” Forbes,

Forbes Magazine, 18 Nov. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2018/11/16/new-

research-shows-just-how-bad-social-media-can-be-for-mental-health/#214c2e27af44.

Yates, Eames. “What Happens to Your Brain When You Get a like on Instagram.” Business

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