Social Media and Mental Health

Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook. They are some of  the more popular social media that are used by many teenagers like me. Teenagers are using these sites more and more at earlier and earlier ages. With teenagers using almost nine hours of screen time every day https://www.mykidsvision.org/knowledge-centre/screen-time-in-teenagers-how-can-we-manage-it#:~:text=Screen%20time%20is%20a%20 necessary,hours%20for%20pre%2Dteen%20children., (a large portion of it being on social media), it is necessary to understand the effects this has on their mental health. In this post, I will cover one way social media can adversely affect a teen.

90% of teens use social media https://ctrlcarebh.com/what-percentage-of-teens-use-social-media/#:~:text=Although%20it%20seems%20like%20all,of%20teenagers%20use%20social%20media.. This means that almost all teenagers are communicating with others through social media, and therefore encounter the posts of others on social media as well. On Instagram and Snapchat, there are many filters made to change one’s appearance to look “enhanced”. There are even natural filters to cover up the smallest of blemishes that are used by many. Furthermore, the posts of women who look “perfect” and have the “skinniest” bodies are highly unrealistic, but are viewed often. A large number of these pictures are edited in order to make the girl in them look “perfect”. The increased exposure to unrealistic images on social media will increase the amount of mental health problems. The constant worry (that I face as well) of getting enough views and likes takes a huge toll on one’s well-being. 

The increased use of filters and Photoshop, especially young girls, impacts their self esteem. They begin to compare and feel as if they are not enough. They often form the opinion that they are not pretty or skinny enough because of these unrealistic standards. Over a period of time, this affects their mental health. A survey done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that was published in early February 2023 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 https://www.cdc.gov/digital-social-media-tools/index.html. More than half of all high-school-aged girls feel persistent sadness. This number has increased in the last couple of years and will continue to increase. Given that the unrealistic standards shown on social media play a large part in increasing mental health issues, it is important to educate young people about the process that goes into creating these “perfect” images. 

A couple of months ago, I cut down on my social media time and set only a few minutes every day on various platforms. This helped me to worry less and focus more on the present. Overall, social media connects many people and builds community, but its drawbacks should not be overlooked.