Social media has been around since 1997, and since then, the amount of internet media has continued to grow. In present-day media, there are now multiple platforms and apps that anyone can access. Although these platforms have led to new and advanced forms of communication, it can have major effects on our mental health. There are multiple studies done that have showcased the life-altering effects such as depression, eating disorders, and numerous anxiety disorders.

Over the course of Instagram's creation, it’s remained the same, keeping the goal of being a “photoshoot” like app. However, as photos that were posted by users began to get popular, many young men and women started to try and change themselves to look like the influencers. According to the Mayo Clinic, over 6,500 15-year-olds have stated that using social media more than three hours a day leads to their mental health declining. With so many teenagers starting to use social media for long hours of the day there is the issue of feeling self-conscious and trying to change themselves to fit the mold left behind by the various influencers. That action of trying to change aspects of yourself to try and fit in and feel better about yourself is a large part of many teenagers' trauma or low self-esteem.

Sadly, when an influencer starts to notice what their work is doing to fans or people just scrolling through social media, they don’t change their behavior. Instead, they pump out half-baked “apologies” that many of their fans blindly believe, as opposed to the some that see through the “apologies” and understand that they mean nothing in the end. No matter what side those fans are on they are still negatively affected by social media.

If it isn’t how their body image and self-confidence are affected, it’s the brain and how the media they consume affects their growth and way of thinking. Twitter is one of the many social media platforms that contribute to the negative outlook on life many people are starting to have. The app alone contributes and almost encourages the creators to have these parasocial relationships with fans. Large and famous creators have some of the largest pull on fans and how they act as a whole. So many people online act like these creators are godlike and if you disagree with any of their opinions you will get your entire life leaked online or will be bullied to leave the platform. Death threats are very common among these online communities, and sadly the influencers that these fans worship don’t do anything to stop the death threats and hurtful online discourse. This type of online discourse only adds to the growing feelings of hurt and unworthiness many teens online feel. The Wall Street Journal did a study on how social media harms teens and found that 32% of young girls reportedly feel worse about their bodies after being on Instagram. With those feelings that many teens experience, their brain slowly starts to believe them. On the off chance that the teen understands the words and images they see are fake, the brain will prioritize the feelings over the rational thought.

Therefore, teenagers’ brains aren’t able to understand the overwhelming negativity of social media. Instead of the mental health of a teenager being the priority, it shifts to having likes, comments, and being internet famous. In reality, it should be the mental health of the teenagers that is the main priority, not the exaggerated online world so many live in.