Negative Effects of Social Media (Free Argumentative Essay Sample)

Evidence has shown that social media use is strongly associated with anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Almost 240 million Americans use social media daily. Around ⅔ of these users say that social media affects them in a negative way. “In the last five years depression has increased by 33% and suicide has increased by 65% in young girls,” (Child Mind Institution). There is no way to tell if social media causes depression but it definitely affects it. Social media negatively affects mental health in teens and kids.

Fear of missing out has negatively affected teens online for years now. Fear of missing out is anxiety of missing out on things that are online while you do something else, most commonly sleep. Teens fear that if they sleep that they will miss out on something online. “Fear of missing out has been linked to intensive social media use and is associated with lower mood and lower life satisfaction,” (Child Mind Institution). Fear of missing out makes people stay up longer at night and lose sleep hours. Loss of sleep due to night time social media use can lead to poorer mental health, and poor mental health can lead to intense night time use and sleep loss. When you see other people together online, you become aware that you are missing out on something. When you see people post pictures of themselves with friends you become aware that you were not invited which can lead to anxiety the next time you hang out with friends. 

Social media has been linked to poor self-esteem and body image. “9/10 young females say that they are unhappy with the way they look,” (Royal Society of Public HealthApps). Including: Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook are meant to share photos and tell others about your life. “Because of this people share unrealistic images that promote and set unrealistic expectations of how young people should look and behave,” (Dr. Hamlet). When these expectations are not met, there can be a negative affect on self-esteem. A negative body image can cause unrealistic expectations of how your body should look and can lead to unhealthy eating behaviors and eating disorders. In past years, it has been shown that Instagram is the leading cause of people reporting anxiety, depression, and worries of body image. Depression has occurred more often with the use of smartphones.  

Teens and young adults that use social media were shown to have a higher rate of reported depression. Studies have shown that social media doesn’t cause depression but it does correlate to it. “A study done in 2017 showed that in 2010-2015 over half a million 8th-12th graders had higher levels of depression symptoms,” (Child Mind Institution). Some consultants see the increase in depression as proof that the connections social media users have electronically, are less emotionally satisfied, leaving them feeling socially isolated. “The most common contributing factor in depression in teens is sleep deprivation, which can be caused by social media,” (Dr. Bubrick). Scrolling on social media late at night can cause a lot of stress, anxiety, and depression. Although depression can be found in all genders, women are twice as likely to have depression than males. Negative effects of social media can have a higher impact on young women when their confidence is low. 

Social media can positively affect mental health teens and young adults. Social media can make it easy to find people with similar interests and make new friends. In apps like TikTok and Instagram, they show you posts that they think you would like, which shows you like-minded people. Websites including Omegle lets you chat or video call with people that have similar interests as you. Finding people that share interests can help us feel valued and accepted. Social media is also a great way to keep in touch with friends or family that have moved away. There are many social media sites that people can use to talk to them and send them photos and videos. On social media, people can reach out to new people and start developing relationships with others by getting to know each other more and finding other similar interests. Even though this is true and you can find people similar to you on social media, that does not mean it is safe to use all the time. If people connect better with others online they will stay up late talking to them and not get enough sleep, especially if they don’t live near them. Meeting new people online is a great thing but, people can become addicted to it and won’t be using social media at a safe amount. If people connect with others online and talk to them all day they will miss out on real world experiences and begin to experience anxiety. They will worry about their online friends and won’t want to leave them. 

Social media negatively affects mental health in teens and kids. Studies have shown that social media does not cause anxiety, loneliness, and depression, but it is strongly associated with it. People know that social media negatively affects them yet they still go back to it. It was recently stated that social media could be more addictive than alcohol and cigarettes. App developers know that people get easily distracted so they purposely send more notifications to lure you in. Although social media is a great place to make connections, humans were meant to see each other in person. People need to see each other in person more than they see each other on social media. People should set a time on their social media and not over use it, if they feel negative effects from it they should talk to someone. 

Works Cited

“Anxiety, loneliness and Fear of Missing Out: The impact of social media on young people's mental health.” Centre for Mental Health, https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/anxiety-loneliness-and-fear-missing-out-impact-social-media-young-peoples-mental-health. Accessed 29 March 2022.

Fleps, Bella. “Social media effects on body image and eating disorders.” Illinois State University News, 21 April 2021, https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/04/social-media-effects-on-body-image-and-eating-disorders/. Accessed 29 March 2022

Miller, Caroline. “Does Social Media Use Cause Depression?” Child Mind Institute, https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/. Accessed 29 March 2022.

“Social Media and Adolescents' and Young Adults' Mental Health.” National Center for Health Research, https://www.center4research.org/social-media-affects-mental-health/. Accessed 29 March 2022.

“13 Positive Effects of Social Media on Our Society Today.” Kubbco, 1 November 2021, https://www.kubbco.com/13-positive-effects-of-social-media-on-our-society-today/. Accessed 29 March 2022.