Detrimental Effects of Social Media on Teens’ Mental Health

Does social media prevent people from living their best lives? Social media use among teens has grown increasingly prevalent, and with it comes many benefits and downfalls. Many have found it useful for growing closer with others, and found that having more social interactions, albeit online, makes them feel less lonely. However, it tends to take time away from activities that are necessary for adequate health. Overuse of social media may put teens at greater risk for mental health conditions and worsen pre existing symptoms. In addition, “sleep patterns are often totally disrupted by technology addiction” (Rosen). Therefore, teens should control what they view as well as the time they spend on social media in order to minimize detrimental effects to their mental health.

Teens sometimes make unwise choices in order to gain more “likes” on social media. Social media can influence teens to behave differently than they normally would in various aspects of their lives. As unfortunate as it is, teens may feel pushed to change things about themselves to be more desirable on social media. Some of these things include “...altering their appearance, engaging in negative behaviors, and accepting risky social media challenges” (Hurley). When teens feel that their authentic self is inadequate to publicly present, changing things about themselves will not solve their underlying insecurities. Rather, the constant need to always feel worthy heightens their negative self image. Although it may not be apparent, the pleasure of attaining “likes” on social media can also be an extremely addicting. According to The New York Times, “the same reward center in the brain that is involved in the sensation of pleasure and activated by thoughts of sex, money or ice cream also is turned on when teenagers see their photos getting a lot of likes on social media”. This can cause a toxic cycle of damaging one’s self esteem, and potentially lead to mental health issues stemming from the newfound stress of not being enough. The constant need to gain more and more likes on social media may cause bad decisions from teens that otherwise would not have been made.

Minimizing the amount of unrealistic content viewed significantly decreases the negative effects associated with social media use. Influencers often post selectively positive parts of their lives, and that can produce the perception of a life that appears flawless. Teens who spend a majority of their social media time looking at these carefully curated lives often mistaken them as a good standard to strive towards. When they begin comparing their lives to those of the people they follow, their reality cannot compare to the fantasy that is put out onto social media. According to Abington Health, “This constant comparison to unrealistic ideals can result in low self-esteem, self-doubt, poor body image and fear of missing out”. These negative effects are often associated with mental health issues, especially in teens. For example, teens seeing a slew of underweight models on their Instagram feed may begin considering that as being an ideal and healthy body type. Comparing themselves to the highly edited images may cause them to feel self conscious of their bodies, potentially leading to developing eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Thus, being mindful about what they choose to follow on social media as well as how they personally respond is important in promoting the best mental health.

Despite the many downsides of social media use, some teens have found community and support through online communication. Community in social media can give teens a place to feel welcome and acceptance. Although social media used excessively can have isolating effects,“...a study conducted by Griffith University and the University of Queensland in Australia found that although American teens have fewer friends than their historical counterparts, they are less lonely than teens in past decades” (Knorr). Having an online support group to turn to could be beneficial to many teens who struggle with finding friends in real life. However, social media is not an adequate substitute for face-to-face interaction. In Eric Klinenberg’s study, “he found that the more people interacted with each other face to face, the less those people felt lonely. He concluded that the key element of social media is whether this social media made you have more face to face interaction or not”. Online communities are effective in providing a space for teens to interact, but it ultimately comes down to authentic, in-person interactions to quell loneliness. Although social media can provide a virtual sense of social activity, teens tend to replace their valuable in-person interactions with surface level online connections.

Social media causes problems in teen lives by disrupting normal activities that are essential to a healthy lifestyle. The more time teens spend on social media, the more time tends to be taken away from everyday necessities, such as sleep, exercise, and face-to-face interaction. In actuality, “it's not necessarily social media that's causing these issues, it's more likely the content that young people are exposed to and its hindrance of healthy sleep and exercise”. This lack of “healthy sleep and exercise” can cause or further worsen mental health conditions, as well as harm one’s physical health. Sleep in particular heavily affects mental conditions, and “sleep problems may increase risk for developing particular mental illnesses, as well as result from such disorders”. Overall, the healthy living habits that social media takes from teens causes them to be more susceptible to negative mental health effects.

For teenagers, limiting their exposure to harmful content as well as making sure that social media isn’t taking away from necessary activities is essential for good mental health. Constantly viewing unrealistic content leads to negative self-image, and eliminating it from their everyday lives will improve their overall happiness. Social media also tends to take away from everyday living, and many teens end up trading important time in their day for more time on their devices. They may also feel the need to change themselves in order to be more popular on social platforms, which can potentially harm their self-esteem and thus their mental health. Controlling social media use helps teens to maintain their good mental health and take time for what is actually important in their lives.

Works Cited

• “Are Instagram and Other Social Media Bad for Your Teen’s Mental Health?” Abington-Jefferson Health, www.abingtonhealth.org/healthy-living/health-news/library/articles-related-to-general-health/are-instagram-and-other-social-media-bad-for-your-teens-mental-h/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2020.
• Asmelash, Leah. “Social Media Use May Harm Teens' Mental Health by Disrupting Positive Activities, Study Says.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Aug. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
• Hurley, Katie. “Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health?” Psycom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, www.psycom.net/social-media-teen-mental-health. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
• Knorr, Caroline. 'Five ways social media can be good for teens.' Washingtonpost.com, Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, 19 Mar. 2018, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A531561640/OVIC?u=san30851&sid=OVIC&xid=911ad90c. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
• Rabin, Roni Caryn. “For Teenagers, the Pleasure of 'Likes'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 June 2016, www.well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/for-teenagers-the-pleasure-of-likes/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
• Rosen, Larry D., et al. 'Social Networking Is Addictive and Can Lead to Psychological Disorders.' Are Social Networking Sites Harmful?, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, 2015. At Issue, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010744223/OVIC?u=san30851&sid=OVIC&xid=dc326757. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
• “Sleep and Mental Health.” Harvard Health, Harvard Health Publishing, July 2009, www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/sleep-and-mental-health. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
• Wang, Yuhua. “You Need to Meet People Face to Face.” USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 5 Apr. 2017, www.annenberg.usc.edu/communication/digital-social-media-ms/dsm-today/you-need-meet-people-face-face Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.