Social Media Influencing Mental Health

Social Media’s Influence on Mental Health

Did you know that suicide is now the second leading cause of death among adolescents? Between the years of 2009-2014, the rate of admission to the hospital for attempted suicide has risen by 110%. The question is then asked, what is the main factor causing mental health problems to such an extent that young people wish to take their own lives? One contributing factor would be the rise of social media and its effect upon the younger population. In today's generation, over 90% of adolescents ranging from the ages from 13-17 have social media accounts, access them regularly throughout the day, and compare their lives to those of others, often to their own detriment (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020).

Social networking has been a great form of communication with people around the world, gives opportunities to collaboratively work with individuals internationally, and keeps people informed about the news. Although the evolution of technology has its benefits, the usage of social media has substantially grown to where there are now negative side effects. A study was performed that monitored the use patterns of adolescents and did conclude that there was a link between the increased usage and depressive symptoms (Beeres et al., 2021). These sharing platforms will not be disappearing any time soon, therefore there needs to be discussion and further awareness surrounding increasing mental health concerns, as adolescents are in a crucial time period of their lives and need guidance and support.

The audience for my proposed topic will be directed towards adolescents and adults. It is important that the specific audience is parents with children in their adolescent years, as this is the most vulnerable group regarding the rise of mental health concerns. In my project, I made sure to include a page specifically directed towards the adults and explained many aspects of how to look for warning signs and what support systems there are for families who are struggling or wanting to seek guidance. Adolescents themselves should be the main target audience, as social media has created a direct link to their age group, and this will give them insight of the present issues that continue to grow with the usage of social media.

Technology, particularly social media, is still a relatively new phenomena and researchers are starting to understand the harmful effects that can occur to adolescents with increased use. This is an important topic to discuss, as the ages of anxiety and depression are continuously becoming younger and there appears to be a distinct link between social media and the increasing mental health concerns of the youth. The harmful effects of online interactions have created dangerous results, such as the number of suicides, which is not a topic that should not be taken lightly (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020). As social media is such a prominent aspect of most adolescents’ lives, there needs to be additional study and information provided so that there can be steps put in place to help develop solutions and prevent devastating outcomes.

I chose this topic to research, as I grew up in a family where mental health was not discussed, therefore I struggled figuring out strategies of how to cope with my own emotions. This unfortunately led me down a dark path and I immediately had to seek out professional help from experts. Struggling can be silent, as no one knew the way I was feeling at the time, as I have a bubbly and happy personality. This ended up being a pivotal time period and I learned a lot about myself in the process. This research will not only help others to become more educated in the topic of mental health, but also gives me the opportunity to gain more knowledge to incorporate into my life.

The project commences by presenting how prevalent adolescents are in utilizing social media, which is stated to be over 90% of that population range (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020). This helps to demonstrate the importance of online networking and its effects upon mental health, as the majority of teenagers are users of these platforms. This article also provided the evidence of suicide rates increasing, which has now become the second leading cause of death for the youth. I was able to use this research to educate both adolescents and their guardians on how to seek help for arising problems. This inspired me to find resources and attach the links for easy access for anyone viewing the website. I have a page that is targeted towards adolescents to learn about different ways social media influences mental health. There was a two-year long study performed in the United Kingdom which examined the correlation of social media and mental health. This has shown that the higher the usage of social media platforms, the worsening of symptoms the individual developed. I incorporated this study as it had a large sample size and would give adolescents an insight to the negative impacts that are may be experiencing. This had then inspired my research to further investigate what was going on psychologically and physiologically in the human body. What I have learned is that social media is disrupting the chemicals in the brain, such as the release of cortisol when it is not necessary (Amedie, 2015). There is also the emphasis of the risk versus reward concept of how social media is becoming a form of a drug and releasing bursts of dopamine (Sperling, 2022). Coupled together, this is allowing for the brain to repeat the behavior of checking cellular devices on a far to frequent basis, causing a negative cycle that is difficult to stop (Coyne et al., 2019). The usage of social networking has also impacted young girls more negatively due to online harassment (Kelly et al., 2019). This has become dangerous, as social media has given people the freedom to easily lure teenagers into harmful situations (Amedie, 2015). This problem needs to be addressed; therefore I added a section to further discuss how this impacts their mental health by lowering self-esteem (Kelly et at., 2019). The next area of research that inspired my project was that of propaganda. This is a major component of social media that has been seen to worsen adolescents' mental health and increase the feelings of loneliness (Hunt et al., 2019). Comparison is normal for human beings, but with the use of filters and staging, adolescents have become hyper-aware of their physical appearance (Sperling, 2022). The Mental Health Foundation (2019) states that 54% of girls and 26% of boys are self-conscious due to comparing themselves to people online. This research greatly informed my project, as this is a prominent reason for social media causing depressive symptoms. I presented different factors such as the portrayal of unrealistic lifestyles to showcase the misinformation that is being continuously shown to be true or realistic. This led me to find sources that are trying to make a difference and uncover the truths that lay behind social media. I chose to present a commercial released by the company, Dove, that demonstrated all of the behind the scenes work and editing the advertisements and photoshoots. Dove (2016) states that they want to ensure that the next generation has a positive relationship with their bodies. Finally, I chose to have a section that is directed towards the guardians of adolescents, as it is equally important that they are informed of the negative impacts that can affect their family dynamic. The parent's involvement in all aspects of their children’s lives is critical in forming genuine connections with their children. Researchers have found that parents who are avid social media users affect their relationship with their children by spending time less quality one-on-one time in favour of their own screen time. (Abi-Jaoude, 2020). This gave me inspiration to create a section that identifies warning signs to help parents spot cues of depressive or anxious symptoms in the family. Some include dissatisfaction with appearance, the language used, and images posted (Yazdavar & Mahdavinjad, 2020). The pandemic has also impacted the use of social media and how it has been a distraction to online learning, which has resulted in poor academic skills (Hollis et al., 2016). All these factors influencing the mental health of adolescents can be overwhelming, which is why I added ways to minimize the use of social media, such as limiting each platform to thirty minutes per day and turning off notifications (Hunt et al., 2018). There are many researchers and resources that are willing to give guidance and counseling to help one’s mental health and well-being. The American Academy of Pediatrics is just one example of an organization that is providing helpful tools to families and adolescents. Although social media is not the only factor of deteriorating mental health, it is more controllable and is a good place to start in helping adolescents maintain a healthy mental state (Schooning et al., 2020).

The current generation of youth is the first group of adolescents who have grown up with technology from a very young age. Researchers are now discovering evidence to prove that mental health issues are rising and suggesting it is related to the prevalence of social media. Adolescents are the most vulnerable age category, putting them at a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms. The more awareness we can create around the topic of mental health, the better the opportunities there are to locate resources and develop strategies for future generations to not experience the same hardships.