Understanding the Impact of Social Media on Teenage Mental Health
In today’s age, social media is used extensively in our lives. Especially teenagers who share and stay connected with their friends. The downside is that using social media too much can affect their mental health in a negative way. This article explores the correlation between social media and teenage mental health.
1. Social Media’s Ascendency:
For the past 20 years, social media has exploded and is hard to ignore. With platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X (Formerly Twitter) there are many ways for teenagers to have access to current trends, seeing what famous people are sharing as well as their friends’ activities.
2. Benefits of Social Media:
Staying connected: Social media helps teenagers stay connected to keep up with long-distance relationships. They can interact within a group, for example, a Facebook group, which makes it easier to be part of something exclusive to them.
Express yourself: They can communicate via writing, sharing photos of some art they created, and speaking out about causes that matter to them.
Information and Awareness: Teenagers can be kept up to date with world and local news.
3. Negative Effects on Mental Health:
Compare and despair: When other people show highlights of their life, this leads to many teenagers feeling as if they’re not good enough. This can affect their self-esteem and they feel inadequate.
Cyberbullying: One of the most worrying things about the online world is that cyberbullying can lead to serious emotional trauma. In extreme cases, this online harassment can result in self-harm or even suicide.
Fear of missing out (FOMO): Teenagers feel they need to be on social media constantly otherwise they feel they will miss out on what their friends are doing. This can lead to sleep deprivation, which in turn affects both their physical and mental health.
4. What we’ve learned from research:
A number of studies have explored a link between social media and teenagers’ mental health. For example, Science direct.com has a study from Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell which states that twice as many high (versus low) users of screens had an anxiety or depression diagnosis.
These findings are echoed in another study called: Early Childhood Electronic Media Use as a Predictor of Poorer Well-being A Prospective Cohort Study — Jamanetwork.com, this study found that:
Higher levels of early childhood electronic media use are associated with children being at risk for poorer outcomes with some indicators of well-being.
5. Healthier Online Interactions:
Limit screen time: By setting specific times for social media and making sure to stick to them.
Having a Digital Detox: Pick some times for teenagers to disconnect from social media to focus more on talking to people face to face.
Learning about Cyber Safety: Helping teenagers learn the importance of privacy settings and the consequences of sharing personal data.
6. Conclusion:
Social media is a means of communication and has become one of the main forms for young people. However, its effect on teenagers’ mental health depends on how it’s used. By making them more aware and having healthy boundaries, we can successfully guide teenagers through the digital world. This can hopefully improve their mental health as well.
References
- Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. JAMA Pediatrics.
- Hinkley et al., 2014, T. Hinkley, V. Verbestel, W. Ahrens, et al. Early Childhood Electronic Media Use as a Predictor of Poorer Well-being A Prospective Cohort Study — Jamanetwork.com
- Early Childhood Electronic Media Use as a Predictor of Poorer Well-being A Prospective Cohort Study — Jamanetwork.com -https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/1844044
- Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study — Sciencedirect.com -https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335518301827
