“Social media is an advertisement for the superficial extroverted self”- Hozier, Irish musician. Hozier, who is often online due to his music career, mentions how many things online are fake and exaggerated to appear better than they actually are. This creates unrealistic expectations that can be harmful. Social media is a highly influential technology-based community online where people can glorify their lives on apps and websites such as TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. People who use these sites immediately are bombarded with severely edited versions of reality, giving the idea of perfection while being completely fabricated. Social media is harmful because it builds impossible expectations and increases the risk of teen suicide. Social media …show more content…
They grow worried that they are missing out on something. Anxiety is now the most common mental-health disorder in the U.S., affecting nearly one-third of adolescents and adults” (1, 2). The severely modified lives seen on social media has caused a staggering increase in anxiety. These photos and videos cause people to compare themselves and reach for an idealistic life that they will never achieve. This causes those who can’t reach this expectation to think of themselves as less than others and increases their anxiety. This issue affects many people, so much that one third of the U.S. suffers from it. Some may say that social media can help those who are struggling with their mental health by providing another way they can reach out for help. In actuality, social media increases mental health issues and the risk of suicide in teens. According to the Netflix Documentary Social Dilemma, “Teenagers who spend 3 hours/day or more on devices are 35% more likely, and those who spend five hours or more are 71% more likely to have a risk factor for suicide than those who spend less than one hour” (iGen,