Social Media Mental Health Issues

Every second there is an individual posting pictures online or checking social media whether it was Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat, and this had become a normal occurrence in peoples everyday life, but is its effects normal for young individuals’ mental health? Over the past couple of decades there has been concern regarding the relation between social media and mental health problems. A study has shown a correlation in increased social media usage and mental health problems in the young society, therefore the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of social media on young people’s mental health. Effects include loneliness and isolation, substance abuse, low self-esteem, reducing the quality of life, anxiety, and depression.

People post all sorts of stuff online, but they only show the best of it, the part where they seem happy, perfect and having a lot of fun. Therefore, people looking at these pictures and especially teenagers will compare themselves to their peers and think “why isn’t my life like that?” or “I will never be that cool”. But in reality, their peers are not having as much fun as it appears because they are on their phones the whole time trying to capture the perfect picture to post on social media rather than living in the moment. These comparisons that young people make often leaves them feeling insecure about themselves and eventually lowers their self-esteem as they are comparing themselves to perfectly crafted representations of peoples life that isn’t truthful. According to Jill Emanuele, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute “Kids view social media through the lens of their own lives. If they’re struggling to stay on top of things or suffering from low self-esteem, they’re more likely to interpret images of peers having fun as confirmation that they’re

Studies show a correlation between increased social media usage and depression and this can be of many reasons; first of is cyber-bullying. Many teenagers have been a victim of cyber-bullying and this is increasing, as bullies on social media don’t realize the damage of their words and actions as it is online. Many teenagers believe that what they say on social platforms doesn’t really matter, but what truly matters is what is said in face-to-face interactions. This is because people cannot see what’s happening on the other end of the screen therefore they post mean comments not realizing the damage they have done. The American College of Pediatricians “The Media, Children, and Adolescents” stated that “over half of adolescents state they have been bullied online and over 25 percent of adolescents state they have been bullied repeatedly through internet or on cell phones.” Secondly, when teenagers go on social platforms they compare their lives to filtered and unrealistic posts of their peers, this leads to envy of others and tends to produce feelings of depression which then transforms into major depression. And as mentioned before social media results in social isolation which contributes to