Table of Contents
What effects does social media use have on adolescent mental health?
According to research, negative social media posts can lead to emotions like envy and inadequacy as well as lower levels of life satisfaction. The compulsive use of social media by teenagers has also been linked to sleep deprivation, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and ADHD symptoms (Columbia University, 2021). By causing the brain’s reward system to release the feel-good chemical dopamine, using social media can result in physical and psychological addiction. Actually, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical messenger between neurons, and is important for both neurological and physical health.Spending more time on social media can increase the risk of social anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying as well as expose users to inappropriate content.Social media use can have a negative impact on children’s and adolescents’ mental health. Consequences range from anxiety and depression to body image issues, self-harm, and substance abuse.These include: Salience (the degree to which social media use is heavily ingrained into your daily routine); Tolerance (the degree to which you find yourself needing to spend progressively more time on social media in order to achieve the same satisfaction); and Euphoria (the degree to which you rely on social media as a source of excitement or to combat boredom or loneliness).How does teen students’ use of social media impact their mental and psychological health?It demonstrates that students who use social media more frequently tend to have lower levels of mental health and psychological well-being, whereas students who use it less frequently tend to have higher levels of both. Theories Involved A number of theories, including the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects, the Interpersonal Impact Hypothesis, the Differential Impact Hypothesis, the Uses and Gratifications Theory, and the Media Dependency Theory, are applicable to social media and the addiction factor.Numerous studies show links between the use of social media and unfavorable outcomes like heightened anxiety, compulsive behavior, loneliness, and narcissism. Concerns about these potential harmful effects of social media use have grown as young adults’ use of it has increased.Due to this, this paper only uses four archetypal theories to explain social media use in daily life: Heidegger’s phenomenology, Sartre’s existentialism, Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and Goffman’s symbolic interactionism.Theories Involved A number of theories, such as the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects, the Interpersonal Impact Hypothesis, the Differential Impact Hypothesis, the Uses and Gratifications Theory, and the Media Dependency Theory, are applicable to social media and the addiction factor.
How does addiction to social media impact mental health?
Among these negative effects is increased anxiety brought on by fear of missing out, or FOMO. FOMO—the fear of missing out—and addiction.Teens’ mental health and well-being are impacted by social media in both good and bad ways. Despite the fact that social media sites can support adolescent connection and help them stay in touch with friends and family, they can also exacerbate depression, anxiety, loneliness, and FOMO (fear of missing out).It may also be harmful to mental health. The use of social media has been linked to bullying, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and destructive social comparison.Teenagers who use social media more frequently are more likely to experience stress, anxiety, and depression, according to research. The frequent use of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has been linked in numerous studies to emotional distress.
What exactly is the research on the impact of social media on mental health?
People’s thoughts, feelings, and even their physical health can be affected when they discover they are not included in an activity when they look online. A 2018 British study linked the use of social media to less sleep, sleep disruption, and sleep delay, all of which are linked to depression, memory loss, and subpar academic performance. In some areas, such as self-image, body image, health, and citizenship, media messages can have a negative or unhealthy impact on preteen and adolescent behavior and attitudes. Social media, other forms of media, and advertising can affect how your child feels about herself and how she looks.Researchers think that since social media competes for your attention with the promise of constant new content, heavy social media users lose the ability to ignore distraction in general, which affects cognitive performance and shrinks areas of the brain related to maintaining concentration.There may be a link between adolescent social media use and a negative sense of self, according to recent research findings. In other words, the more a teenager uses social media, the more likely it is that they will feel self-conscious about their appearance.Teenagers’ mental health is negatively impacted by social media because it prevents them from interacting with their peers in person and promotes constant comparison online, which can result in depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.Social media can have a negative effect on students, both physically and mentally, even though it offers many advantages, including the chance for creative expression, educational opportunities, and the chance to connect with others.
What are the three negative effects of social media on mental health?
According to research studies, social media use has unfavorable effects on teens and young adults, such as an increase in anxiety, stress, depression, body image issues, and loneliness (APA, 2022). Although social media can provide a window into people’s lives, mental health experts claim that the likes, comments, and shares frequently do more harm than good.In comparison to non-social media users (43 percent), about 6 in 10 (67%) adults who use social media several times a day report having experienced a mental health issue in the previous 30 days.Social media harms Teens’ exposure to bullying, rumors, unrealistic expectations of other people’s lives, and peer pressure can all result from using social media. It can also keep them awake at night, keep them from sleeping, and distract them.In several studies, it was discovered that teenage and young adult users who spent the most time on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms had a significantly higher rate of reported depression than those who did not (from 13 to 66 percent).