How does social media affect mental health in teens?
There are many different variables and considerations that go into answering that question.
But before we ask how does social media affect mental health in teens, let’s reflect on how we got here to a place where we’re even asking the question to begin with.
It’s Been A Long Time Coming.
In the United States, the average age a child gets their first smartphone is now 10 years old.
In recent years (“recent” as in “the last 15-20 years”), social media has become an increasingly popular way for people to connect with one another and social media has become a norm in society, with most teens using some form of social media daily.
However, there is growing concern about the impact that social media may have on mental health, especially in teens.
Some researchers believe that social media can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation, while others believe that it can cause anxiety and depression
Some sinister Big Tech corporations have even been causing such things intentionally.
Do We Even Need More Studies?
How does social media affect mental health in teens?
One study after another seems to try to answer this question but do regular people outside of the medical field or academia really need any more studies on the subject?
It is already abundantly clear to many that social media can have a significant impact on mental health in teens.
Unfortunately, this impact usually tends to be for the worse.
While social media can have some positive effects, like providing a way to connect with friends and family, it also has some negative effects on mental health, like increasing anxiety and depression.
These negative effects tend to outweigh any positive benefit when it comes to mental health.
That goes for adults as well but it is especially the case for teenagers, adolescents, and children.
Interestingly, there is reason to believe that girls are typically even more severely affected by social media than boys.
This is mostly due to the particular ways in which girls typically bully each other and how the online world facilitates them.
Boys, for their part, tend to bully each other (and girls) in different ways which are usually not as affected by the use of technology.
In fact, there is even reason to suspect that much of the sexist abuse that women and teenage girls experience online is actually the work of other women and teenage girls.
Don’t let that cause you to think that boys aren’t getting more than their fair share of abuse online too though.
So, if you have a teenager or are one yourself, this article is for you.
Reputable studies have tended to show that there is a correlation between social media usage and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression for all age groups.
We know that there are many different age groups and demographics but, in this article, we will be specifically discussing how social media affects mental health in teens.
Their issues are important enough to warrant their own article at least.
The Good: Increased Communication And Connection
How does social media affect mental health in teens in a positive way?
In a world that’s constantly connected, it can be hard to disconnect.
For teens, this is especially true when social media is involved.
While there are some negatives to constant connection, there are also some positives.
One of the biggest positives is increased communication and connection.
Social media gives teens a way to connect with their friends and family that they might not otherwise have.
It’s also a great way to communicate with people who have similar interests.
This can lead to increased self-esteem and confidence when used in the proper way.
If used in moderation and with caution, social media can be a great way for teens to stay connected with the people they care about most.
It’s certainly different from the old ways of delivering handwritten letters by way of carrier pigeons and mounted riders.
But maybe that was better in a lot of ways.
If nothing else, the time spent waiting between letters gave the other person the opportunity to miss and remember you until your much anticipated next letter finally arrived.
It’s highly unlikely that anyone is going back to the Middle Ages though.
So social media is what we have now and, when it comes to communication and staying in touch, we’ve never had an easier way of doing it.
The Bad: Cyber Bullying And Body Image Issues
How does social media affect mental health in teens in a negative way?
With the rise of social media, there has been a corresponding increase in cyberbullying and body image issues among teenagers.
Plenty of studies have shown that cyberbullying can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems in teens.
But we bet you would not have needed an academic study from some elite university in some expensive big city to figure that one out for yourself.
Social media can also exacerbate body image issues, leading to eating disorders and other health problems.
Body image is a major concern for teenagers on social media regardless of their gender.
Girls are presented with anorexic or obese “models” who promote self-destructive and often potentially deadly habits.
Boys are shown “fitness” influencers with unnatural proportions who are not at all transparent about their steroid use and who exhibit bodies that are only physically attainable through the use of anabolic steroids.
Studies have shown that social media use is associated with an increased risk of developing eating disorders.
Cyber bullying is a major problem on big social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram but is also a problem on virtually every other social media platform as well.
Cyber bullying can be very damaging to a teen’s self-esteem and can lead to serious mental health consequences.
The Ugly: Depression, Anxiety, And Addiction
How does social media affect mental health in teens in an even worse way?
Every sane person who has been paying any attention for the past two decades has seen that social media use and suicide in young people are linked.
At this point, it is simply common sense and a known fact among the general population.
When we compare ourselves to others on social media, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we’re not good enough.
We compare our own lives to the highlight reels that everyone else is posting, and it’s easy to feel like we don’t measure up.
We are also simultaneously given an IV drip with every bad news story, trolling flame war, or propaganda smear campaign being pumped into us from our phones.
This can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety.
Additionally, social media can be addictive and addiction is its own problem that brings its own issues along with it.
Depression, anxiety, and addiction are some of the ugliest mental health conditions.
They can cause immense suffering for those who suffer from them.
Depression can lead to loss of interest in activities, withdrawal from social contact, and feelings of hopelessness.
Anxiety can cause panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance behaviors.
Addiction can lead to compulsively using substances or engaging in self-destructive behaviors despite negative consequences.
All three of these conditions can be incredibly difficult to cope with, often require professional treatment and, if left alone, can frequently lead to suicide.
The Pros And Cons Of Social Media For Mental Health
Social media can be both good and bad for mental health depending on how they’re used.
To be honest though, it is so difficult to use them in a healthy way that it might be better to simply limit one’s use of them as much as is realistically possible.
While social media can be a helpful tool for staying connected and sharing information, it can also cause or worsen nearly every mental health problem known.
The key is to use social media in moderation and to be aware of the potential risks.
What Are Parents To Do?
This article is not meant to order or prescribe anything, but we can suggest being aware of a few things.
If you’re a parent, it’s important to have some kind of awareness of what your child is being exposed to on social media and the internet in general.
The internet, as great as it is, is also filled with bullies, creeps, predators, and every other type of bad actor – many of whom specifically target and seek out teenagers and children.
Giving your child a device without any supervision is almost akin to putting them in a room alone with all of these people.
These people live in your child’s phone and in every other device they have.
These people are with your child 24/7, usually while you are not around.
It is just as easy for your teen to be contacted or influenced by a predator or extremist in another country as it is for them to be contacted or influenced by their classmates.
Is it any wonder that we regularly see teens develop mental health problems directly related to their use of social media?
As a parent, it is important to keep in mind that your child is most likely spending much more of their time interacting with strangers on the internet than they are with you…
…Strangers who you would probably call the police on if they showed up in your neighborhood trying to talk with or “influence” your child.
And this is to say nothing of what they face online from other young people their own age or what they face at school (where they also spend more time than they do with you).
We don’t mean to worry or upset anyone, but this is a serious issue that is causing tremendous harm.
We simply would not be doing our jobs if we didn’t treat it with the seriousness that it warrants.
