Social Media and its effects on Mental Health
Social media has taken over the world for teens and young adults, they spend hours a day scrolling through their feed or watching videos. “ Young people who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media are susceptible to depression, anxiety…and are more likely to internalize bad feelings about themselves” ( U.S.News). People can use social media to escape reality or just to see what others are doing. The bad is going to be the focus for this argument as likes and comments can trigger bad thoughts for people. Social media can make people feel bad about themselves while they are comparing themselves to others. Staring at screens for hours also keeps one’s mind going all night and has lasting effects on the eyes. Although social media allows people to interact with others at any time, social media still affects people in negative ways as it affects people’s mental health including depression and anxiety, and it affects people physically as it strains their eyes.
Depression and anxiety have risen with technology over the years. One of the reasons anxiety has risen with technology is the fact that social media can be extremely toxic. When posting on social media people only want to post the perfect photo and get a lot of likes. If they don’t reach their goals they might delete the post. Comments on social media also tear people down because people can hide behind the screen with no true identity. Worrying about likes and seeing these comments can cause people to be anxious on social media and anxious in person.
Depression rates have risen due to social media because it promotes really good looking people. This makes it so teens feel they aren’t good looking compared to “superstars” on social media. Another reason depression rates are rising in teens and young adults is because connecting with people in person is happening less.“ Some experts see the rise in depression as evidence that the connections social media users form electronically are less emotionally satisfying,” ( Childmind). Social media makes people feel they are interacting with other people by seeing their posts, texting back and forth, and liking each others pictures, but this is not true. These things aren’t genuine like having a real conversation with someone in the world, so this screen time makes people feel alone.
Staring at screens all day has lasting impacts on one’s physical health and connects back to your mental health. Screens release plenty of light into your eyes that make your eyes strain and become dry. Social media affects this because when teens are on social media they tend to be on for hours at a time. There are so many different social media platforms that when someone gets bored of one, they can go to the next app which is why so many people stare at screens all day. The lights admitted by phones gets people’s brain moving and thinking which is why social media is not good to view before bed. “Teenagers definitely use social media in a way that affects their sleep,”…. “They are exposed to light right before bed and that light exposure alone delays their sleep by 30 minutes. ””(NBC News). Social media is not only straining people’s eyes, but is also taking away from their sleep. If a person does not get enough sleep then it can affect everything the person does the next day.
Social media does have positive sides however, as it is a quick way to communicate with someone and see what people are up too. “ All of these social media platforms are used to communicate with friends and are also popular sources of news ”( National Center for Health Research). All social media platforms have a good side even if they aren’t seen on one’s fyp or in someone’s feed. There are people on all platforms trying to make a difference in the world. There’s people who talk about mental health on social media and give ways to cope or handle your mental health on a daily basis. Then you also have people who are working to make people understand that everyone is different and you should be proud of the way you look no matter what. Social media does have its good sides with wonderful creators trying to make a difference in the world, but a lot of the time they are overshadowed by the negativity across platforms.
In conclusion social media has its positivity and world changing creators, but the toxic environment of social media with views, comment sections, and likes help contribute to teens and young adults anxiety and depression. The extreme amount of time on these apps also puts one’s eyes at serious risk of straining or becoming too dry. In all, social media in recent years has become a negative place where the negatives outweigh the positives on all platforms.
Sources:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna982526
https://www.center4research.org/social-media-affects-mental-health/
https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/
