Essay on Negative and Positive Effects of Excessive Social Media

Have you ever gotten ready to go to sleep and right as you got in bed, turned on the T.V. or got on your phone? You probably told yourself that you were just going to check something and then go to sleep. But then you get distracted and scroll for hours, and hours, and hours doing various things all over the web. Then you look at the time and it’s way past when you thought you were going to bed. Some teens scroll aimlessly for hours every night, and it is really starting to take a toll on their mental health. I believe teens should have more concrete guidelines when on social media, because they spend so much time doing things that may not be the best for them.

One of the reasons teens' mental health has been affected by social media is because they spend so much time comparing themselves to others. “‘Teenagers are already self-conscious and easily affected by what others say, they start comparing their lives to those of people on social media,’ said Dr. Drew Pate.”(“Negative, positive effects of excessive social media..”) . When teens wander Instagram or TikTok what is something most everyone comes across? They will most likely see celebrities or even their own friends doing fun things like traveling the world or even going on a shopping spree. They’re immediately going to start comparing themself to that person. They could compare their likes, body image, their clothes, things they seem to own and so much more just off of one post. “Teenagers talk about the pressure to post the perfect photo or compete with the pristine lives of their peers present on the internet.”(“Negative, positive effects of excessive social media..”) Even if the person posting does not have the most perfect life, it may seem like it. People try their best to portray their life as amazing and nothing ever goes wrong, but sometimes it’s not all that true. When a teen is looking at their friends' social media they might get jealous of their friend's “ideal” lifestyle even though in real life their friend could be struggling or dealing with something nobody knows about. Teenagers are very easy to contrast their lives to their friends or famous people. Let’s say a teen looks at Kendall Jenner's Instagram page and is jealous of her “perfect body” or her “clear skin” but it really could just be photoshop. Teens spend months or maybe even years of their life on social media comparing themselves over and over again. If you do this long enough it can really do things to your brain and how you handle everyday situations.

Another reason teens' lives are being affected by the internet is that cyberbullying can be a big problem. Many teens don't speak out about being cyber bullied. Just as with physical in-person bullying many are afraid to stand up for themselves and talk to someone they trust.  “Another study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that incidents of major depressive incidents have increased dramatically among teens, particularly among girls, and that cyberbullying may be playing a role.”(“Negative, positive effects of excessive social media..”) Teen cyberbullying is on the rise and it could be detrimental to teens, especially girls' mental health. Online bullying can be just as hurtful and maybe even worse than in person. The victim might not even know the one being rude in real life. “There's just some pressure in that competitive atmosphere that is all about attention,” said Rachel Whalen, a former victim of cyberbullying.(“A nationwide rise in cyberbullying..”) Sometimes comparing yourself online to others can lead to cyberbullying as well. Let’s say someone doesn't think they’re as pretty as their online friend and to make themselves feel better about their appearance, they start bringing down their friend with negative comments. When teens don’t speak out about bullying it can make them start bringing themself down which is never good for you. Cyberbullying is becoming more and more common in America and it needs to stop for the sake of kids' health.

Now you might be saying, “Social media is a fun and new way for teens to keep up with their friends and favorite celebrities' lives.” Now I'm not saying that teens should cut off social media completely, I just think that if you overuse the privilege it can affect your life in a negative way. Teens should have the ability to have freedom exploring the internet but when you stay on for too long, it can take a turn on your thoughts and feelings. Especially when you are doing things like comparing yourself or engaging in cyberbullying.

There are definitely a few ways to help with this issue. You can set a screen time setting on your phone so you can only spend a certain amount of time on apps. Instead of scrolling for hours you can set down your phone and read a book. There are countless things you can do to help out your mental health. We just need to start applying the ways to our life.