Social Media and Mental Health
The Bad and The Good
Hi. I’m 17 years old, and I’ve already experienced the bad — and the good — influences of social media on mental wellness.
Let me first explain the bad.
For teens, social media can feel uncontrollable. We’re on it constantly, and mental health consequences are appearing. 3.1 billion people from all over the world use social media, and an estimated 210 million people are suffering from social media addiction. 54% of teens admit that they spend too much time on their phones. Some may not want to admit the truth. I believe that number should be way higher. 56% of teens say that the absence of their phones leaves them feeling lonely, being upset, or feeling anxious. One reason why is because we constantly feel the need to compare ourselves to either our friends or public figures. We also are constantly bored and therefore curious what other people are doing. 71% of Americans sleep with or next to their phone. Exposure to screens before bedtime is well-established to be detrimental to getting a good night’s sleep. I personally keep my phone on a bedside stool because I go on it at night, despite being conscious of the health consequences. Many of my friends do so too. As more and more social media activity is addictive, these numbers are only going to get worse.
A report from Common Sense Media concluded that 77% of girls text daily, while 66% of boys do. 75% of girls love posting photographs online, while only 42% of boys do. Girls spend more time online because they care more about creating the perfect picture of themselves before posting it, and they want to build the perfect online profile. Girls also tend to compare themselves to others more often than boys. As a girl, I completely agree with that and sometimes it happens unconsciously.
Teen girls have higher numbers of hospital treatments and higher suicide rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate among girls ages 15 to 19 increased by 50% from 2007 to 2015 and boys increased by 30%. The main cause of this is due to the overuse of social media.
Recently, a study from the University of Pennsylvania concluded that there is a causal link between using social networking sites like Facebook and depression and loneliness. The study used two groups of subjects. One group used social media as normal while the second group was limited to only using it ten minutes a day. The second group saw a “clinically significant” decrease in depression and loneliness and the first had no change.
Social media also increases cyberbullying. Only 13% of teens report being cyberbullied but on social media, nearly ⅔ say they have been faced with hate speech. When communicating online, teens seem to be more susceptible to verbally harming others.
In order to prevent self-harm, suicides, increasing stress levels, and cyberbullying, there needs to be a way to alleviate the problem before it becomes massive. Many people delay treatment until it becomes too serious.
However, in order to tell people about ways to alleviate the problem, the best way to reach them is on social media. Ironic.
Now for the good.
I’ve been experimenting all summer with ways to tell people about Supportiv, the support network that can be used any time on any topic where people are seeking emotional support, from a slightly unhappy feeling to problems that are more serious. I tried dozens of approaches and achieved maximum results when I was communicating on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, compared to any other channels.
I frequently post about what users say in their own words about Supportiv, ways Supportiv can help, and articles about mental health that may be useful. Using social media, I can reach people from everywhere, targeting the ones who are looking for the exact kind of info I’m sharing. It’s convenient for both me and the recipient.
Since social media has become so instantaneous, it is inevitable that so much communication occurs on online platforms. 43% of teens and young adults state that social media is very important for communicating with close friends. I suspect that number should be higher, considering that online forms of communication are more prevalent than face-to-face interaction. While using social media, 82% say they often or sometimes get positive comments, while only 26% say they often or sometimes get negative comments. If social media use does not get excessive, these positive comments actually boost self-esteem. Overall, social media can be a very welcoming place.
I’m aware of being distracted by social media at times but nevertheless, I try to find a balance between using social media and interacting with real people. We should dedicate more time to hang out with our friends and family. During this time, we should stay off of social media and let our attention focus on each other. When we use social media, we need to be aware of how much time we are spending on it. When we use social media to our advantage, it can be an outlet for us to discover new ideas, build more knowledge, and meet new people.
Social media should be a way for us to stay connected online, and not a way for us to belittle ourselves through comparison. When we stop building up the pressure we put on ourselves and seek help early, social media will not have such a negative impact anymore. The moment we feel negatively affected by social media, we need to immediately contact people around us for help. If that feels uncomfortable, turn to a platform like Supportiv or seek a professional’s help when it feels too serious.
Jasmine Cheng graduated from Alameda High School in June 2018. She spent the summer as a social media intern for Supportiv, The Support Network for precision-matched peer support. This fall, she’s a freshman at UC Davis.
