Historical Context

Based on statistics shown by David Schweikert, the % with high depressive symptoms was 18% in 2012 but in the year 2012 that is when teen depression started to rise due to the start of social media. By 2016 the % with high depressive symptoms shot up to more than 30%. This means that due to social media starting, more and more people started developing depressive symptoms which led to more and more suicides being attempted and committed. Some social media platforms started to gain popularity; snapchat became more relevant in 2014 and instagram became more relevant in 2010. Based on these facts, it shows that right around 2012 these things became very popular which could lead to suicide attempts and depressive thoughts.

In early February, 2023, there was a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published. This survey asked about sadness, depression, hopelessness, etc. Elizabeth Englander and Meghan K. McCoy found that in 2021, 57% of high school girls reported experiencing “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year,” up from 36% in 2011. Over the course of the last 18 months, there has been a 21% increase in the proportion of high school females who assign feelings of sadness or depression to social media. This number is concerning because it represents almost two years that high school girls have been unhappy and depressed as a result of what they have seen or experienced on social media.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey that was published, the University of Utah found that the number of suicides in females, ages 15-24 increased 87 percent over the past 20 years. The article mentions,"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of suicides in females aged 15-24 increased 87 percent over the past 20 years." According to the quote above, 87% more females between the ages of 15 and 24 have committed suicide in the last 20 years, which is absurd and unacceptable. In addition to causing mental health problems, social media is, even worse, driving people to take their own lives.