However, social media can also have a significant negative impact on youth’s mental health. Specifically, social media and teen depression are closely linked. Additionally, overuse of the apps exposes teens to cyberbullying, body image issues, and tech addiction, resulting in less time spent doing healthy, real-life activities. Parents believe they know what their children post on social media, yet a survey of teens found that 70 percent of them are hiding their online behavior from their parents, according to a Pew Research poll. Social Media Girls
Social Media and Teenagers During the Pandemic
Do teens and social media mix well, or does social media use lower teen well-being? Why is social media bad for teens? Recent studies have shown varying results regarding social media’s effects on teens, including research on the use of social media during the recent pandemic.
According to a report released in 2021 by Common Sense Media on social media’s effects on teens, about half of the 1,500 students surveyed stated that social media is very important for getting support and advice, feeling less alone, and expressing themselves creatively, as well as staying in touch with friends and family while distancing themselves from the outside world. Additionally, 43 percent said that using social media helps them feel better when they are depressed, stressed, or anxious. LGBTQ youth said social media helped them cope with these difficult emotions 52 percent of the time. Social Media Girls
Social media can be harmful to mental health
Teen depression has increased drastically over the last decade due to social media, do you think? In US adolescents, surveys have shown an increase in teen depression symptoms and suicide rates between 2010 and 2015, especially among females. These changes might be explained by the increasing use of social media and screens between those years, according to some researchers. Teenagers who spend more time on social media are more likely to report mental health issues. Those who spent more time engaging in unplugged activities, such as in-person social interaction, sports, exercise, homework, and print media, were less likely to report these problems.
In recent years, a large body of research linking teenagers’ use of social media with depression has supported this theory. Teens’ use of social media has a clear correlation to their mental health, according to these studies. In a 2018 study, 14- to 17-year-olds who used social media seven hours per day were more than twice as likely to have been diagnosed with depression, treated by a mental health professional, or taken medication for a psychological or behavioral issue during the year. In contrast, about an hour of screen time per day was used by those who rarely used screens. Social Media Girls
Experts believe that constant overstimulation of social networking puts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode. In turn, this makes disorders such as ADHD, depression in teens, oppositional defiant disorder, and anxiety in teens worse. Some research on social media and teen depression shows a causality the other way around: When teens are depressed, they are more likely to look at social media. Social media use was not associated with depressive symptoms in one study of 600 teens, but greater depressive symptoms were associated with a higher use of social media.
Social media’s impact on society
Teenagers on social media spend a significant amount of time observing the lives and images of their peers, which affects their mental health. Media psychologist Don Grant, PhD, Newport’s Director of Outpatient Services, describes social media comparison as “compare and despair.” Constant comparisons can undermine self-esteem and body image, causing depression and anxiety among adolescents. When teens compare themselves with their peers on social media sites, they report lower self-esteem and self-evaluation. As an example, peer profiles may include curated images of significant others, social events, or accomplishments. Teens felt better about themselves when they compared themselves to peers with fewer friends and achievements, so-called “downward comparisons.”. According to a Pew Research Center report on the impact of social media on teens, 26 percent of teens report feeling worse about themselves as a result of these sites.
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