Angela Valela, Joycelyn Kelly, Juan Carlo Alicaway, & Rosanna Nusseiri
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Adolescence marks a critical phase in development, where several changes in the body occur, leading to future implications for well-being (Giedd et al., 2008 cited in Choi, 2018). In today's digital age, adolescents can turn to social media platforms to cope with these changes. In fact, survey data shows that 97% of teenagers use the Internet daily, and 46% reported using the Internet almost constantly (Vogels et al., 2022). At the same time, data from the World Health Organization shows that one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 struggle with mental health challenges (2021). Based on these statistics, researchers have been tasked with conducting studies to examine the impact that social media has on adolescents' mental health and academic performance.
Social media, like any other technology, is neither good nor bad, where mental health problems serve as either antecedents or consequences of its use. While many social media platforms have potential risks, they can also be argued as a positive environment that supports the challenges faced by adolescents. As social media becomes a ubiquitous part of adolescents' lives (Valkenburg et al., 2022), it is clear that the affordances of these platforms need to be explored in relation to adolescent mental health and education.
Social media can be broadly defined in terms of its characteristics for allowing various groups to collaborate, connect, and interact with content (O'Reilly et al., 2019). In research, it is crucial to clearly define the type of social media when investigating its links to mental health outcomes and academic performance (Valkenburg et al., 2022), as each platform may have varying results. Our review defines social media as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Discord, where each will be discussed to evaluate its affordances on adolescent mental health and academic performance.
Our review aims to identify practical strategies for leveraging social media to support adolescent mental health and enhance learning outcomes. Thus, our research questions are:
(1) What evidence exists to support the impact of social media affordances on adolescent mental health?
(2) What evidence exists to support the use of social media by educators in enhancing academic performance among adolescents?
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