SOCIAL MEDIA’S

NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON

TEEN’S MENTAL HEALTH

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?➤ Teens are expected by peers to have Instagram,

Facebook, and Snapchat. These apps are a main form of communication, as well as entertainment.

“Social media is not only extremely pervasive, it is an activity in which you are expected to participate.”

psychcentral.com

Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat are three major apps being used by teens as a form of communication.

WHY INSTAGRAM?➤ People often put up a facade for Instagram specifically,

photoshopping their images to perfection. People will even go to the extant of buying likes and followers, just to seem “cool” to their friends.

WHY SNAPCHAT?➤ Snapchat is a common way for teens to talk to love

interests. Teens with spend hours snap-chatting their crush, stressing about minuscule things; such as how much time spent between opening and replying to a snap, or which filter might make it look like they’re trying too hard.

WHY FACEBOOK?➤ For many teens in todays world, Facebook was the first

social media platform they were introduced to. Facebook works as a timeline of memories for teens, and often when “embarrassing” photos from their past show up, they can be deeply saddened by how people react. Similar to instagram, it can also be stressful to teens if they think their posts aren’t getting enough likes.

DO YOU “LIKE” ME?“I know that none of what I see on Instagram is real. It’s all smoke and mirrors. I do the same thing with my Instagram photos. I use angles, lighting, and every filter at my disposal to create the perfect illusion of who I want the outside world to think I am.” -menshealth.com

“It’s becoming more and more obvious how the pressures of social media disproportionately affect teenage girls. I can see it all around me. Pressure to be perfect. To look perfect, act perfect, have the perfect body, have the perfect group of friends, the perfect amount of likes on Instagram. Perfect, perfect, perfect. And if you don’t meet these ridiculously high standards, then the self-loathing and bullying begins.”-theguardian.com

WHY IS IT MAKING TEENS SAD? ➤ Teens often connect their instagram likes, or Facebook

likes or who replies to their Snapchats, with their self worth.

“Not long ago, a friend of mine deleted her Instagram account. I couldn’t understand why one would ever do such a thing, so I asked and her response caught me off-guard.She deleted her Instagram because she felt herself becoming depressed by it. The pressure of taking the right picture, with the right filter, wearing the right outfit, at the right place, with the right people was too much pressure.” -psychcentral.com

“The study found that teens who are on social media for more than two hours a day, a full one-quarter of students in the study, report poor self-rated mental health, psychological distress, suicidal ideation or unmet need for mental health support.” -The Ottawa Citizen

“Approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood, and between 10 to 15 percent suffer from symptoms at any one time. Only 30 percent of depressed teens are being treated for it.”

-psychcentral.com

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?➤ Parents could step in and keep an eye on what

younger teens are doing online.

"Parents need to be more aware of the pitfalls of social networking sites (SNSs) and actively engage with young people in making it a safer and enjoyable experience for them. Parents should consider frequent use of SNSs as a possible indicator of, or risk for, mental health problems among children.”-The Ottawa Citizen

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? (CONTINUED)➤ Older teens need to assess the severity their situation,

and if they choose, they can delete their social media profiles if they think it would be beneficial.

WILL QUITTING SOCIAL MEDIA MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BETTER?➤ Some people claim to be so

overwhelmed by social media (specifically Instagram) that they quit the platform all together. It makes a big statement to friends and “fans” to delete your profile. If people find it beneficial to their mental health to quit, it may be the right option.

THE QUITTERS➤ Essena O’Neill is an

internet celebrity from Australia who “quit” instagram (and other social medias, which she later came back to) in 2015.

➤ Justin Bieber is another celebrity who’s said goodbye to Instagram. “The Canadian singer had 77.9 million Instagram followers, followed only 75 users and had posted 3,779 images and videos, according to data from Social Blade, which made him one of the biggest draws for users to the Facebook-owned social media site. Bieber first turned his account to private, limiting access to his photos to those he manually approved, before deleting his account in its entirety leaving visitors to Bieber’s account page are greeted simply with a “Sorry, this page isn’t available” message.”

➤ theguardian.com

WORKS CITEDFROM READINGS

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Reddy, Sumathi. "Mental Illness, Teens & Social Media - Slideshare.net." N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

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Udorie, June. "Social Media Is Harming the Mental Health of Teenagers ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

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Chowdhry, Amit. "Research Links Heavy Facebook And Social Media Usage To Depression." N.p., 2 Apr. 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.

Ramasubbu, Suren. "Influence of Social Media on Teenagers | Huffington Post." N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Gajanan, Mahita. "Young Women on Instagram and Self-esteem: 'I Absolutely ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

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