Psychological Effects of Technology Use in Teens Essay Example

Technology has been the rise of the 21st century. Everyone uses it. Especially with a pandemic happening, people are succumbing to technology for their entertainment. Technology, specifically social media, have started to create a decline in young teen’s mental health. Social media can create self-comparisons between teens and celebrities. This issue can lead to eating disorders. There are other disorders that are brought along with the overuse of technology like anxiety and depression. Cyberbullying can stem from social media. People spread rumors and leave mean comments on other people’s posts. Technology is being overused whether that be in classrooms, restaurants, and in people’s pockets. People could stop the overuse of technology with a few different changes in their daily routine. The overuse of technology is affecting teen’s lives negatively. 

Technology is overused. It is everywhere. When people go outside, there are electronic billboards and other people absorbed into their phone screens. Teens are surrounded by technology and social media. Schools are starting to implement technology into their lectures. Younger kids will get iPad. Some schools even give students laptops. Teens also normally carry around their cellphones. They spend quite a lot of time using their personal cell phones to access things like social media. “People ages 16 to 24 spent an average of three hours and one minute using social media each day” is one example from an article from the University of Nevada (1). An average of three hours is an okay amount. There are people who spend more than that just on their phone alone. There are other sources of technology like laptops and PCs and gaming platforms like the Nintendo Switch. Some people will stare at a screen all day. Just like the different forms of technology, there are different forms of social media. “The three most popular social media platforms among teens are YouTube (used by 85% of teens according to Pew Research Center’s 2018 Survey), Instagram (72%) and Snapchat (69%)” (University of Nevada 1). YouTube produces videos, so it would make sense why people would use it so much. Instagram produces likes which people crave. Snapchat allows people to stay connected with friends. There are a lot of other social media platforms, but these are the top three. A lot of people have social media. It has been around for a long time. “81% of teens in the U.S. use social media” proves that there is many teens, in the United States alone, that use social media platforms (McLean Hospital 2). Social media and technology are overused and are going to continue being overused if there is not change in the world. 

Due to the abuse of technology, there are a lot of mental disorders associated with it. These disorders can include anxiety, depression, OCD, addiction, eating disorders and body dysmorphia. “When there’s a filter applied to the digital world, it can be hard for teens to tell what’s real and what isn’t, which comes at a difficult time for them physically and emotionally” (McLean Hospital 4). This false image causes teen to follow unreachable standards for themselves. A lot of brands use photoshopped pictures of models to advertise their products. This is not fair to the teens who look up to these celebrities. Teens will then develop eating disorders because they feel they do not look like these famous celebrities. “Everything from physical appearance to life circumstances to perceived successes and failures are under a microscope on social media” (Hurley 3). People feel like everyone is watching their every move. If people are influencers, then this is true. Their lives truly are under a microscope. Overuse can also lead to addiction without people knowing it. A lot of the social media apps are made to keep users engaged and to keep them coming back for more. Instagram was compared to “playing a slot machine” because of the continuous use when swiping down to see a new photo (Harris 9). YouTube uses an auto-play feature to keep videos playing to keep the user engaged and wanting more. A treatment center called reSTART was made for “Individuals trying to get themselves clean from Azeroth, iPhones, and all other digital narcotics of our age” (Beato 1). This treatment center is in the woods on a five-acre plot by Seattle. Clients use different forms of distractions like “building chicken coops, cooking hamburgers, and engaging in daily therapy sessions” to help detox them from their addiction to technology (Beato 1). 

Additionally, teens who use social media often might be enticed to write mean things to other people. This is classified as cyberbullying. People do it all the time to make themselves feel better or keep their place in a social hierarchy. There are all kinds of cyberbullying like “name-calling (42%), spreading false rumors (32%), unsolicited explicit images (25%), someone makes physical threats (16%) or having explicit images of them shared without their consent (7%)” (University of Nevada 2). These are all examples of cyberbullying that take place between people. This can also lead to disorders like depression and eating disorders. When people are mean to others this can create sadness, which can lead to depression. If people are mean to others about their body image, then this can lead to an eating disorder.  Cyberbullying and bullying are different. For one, one takes place in person and the other online. Bullying would have a different effect because it is face to face. Both would still have the same outcome of someone being sad. “Only 24% of teens believe social media has a generally negative effect, while 31% say its effect is positive and 45% believe its impact is neither positive nor negative” (University of Nevada 3). It is a shocker that only 24% of teens find social media negative. There is so much negativity surrounding it that there would be more teens thinking it is negative. Social media does not give an accurate representation of life. 

However, technology use can be limited, and teens could have a better outlook on life. There are different ways to limit it such as spending more time with friends and family or going outside more. Parents play a big part in use of technology. They have control over their teen’s life and what they view when on social media. “Parents must watch for signs that their children’s use of social media is having negative effects on their mental health” meaning parents can control what teens see and who they follow when on social media (University of Nevada 5). Technology can be a good thing when it is monitored and not overused. Most of the time it is not monitored and creates problems in the teen’s life. Due to the overuse of social media in general, people are always oversharing through their posts. Teens seem to live on social media now. With the rise of the app TikTok, more and more accounts are emerging. These teens find entertainment in scrolling and sharing stories about what is happening in their personal lives. Sometimes they tend to overshare. “It has led young people to publicly announce intimate personal details without thought of the consequences” explains the problem with oversharing (Winzenburg 2). Teens become an open book because the first thing that they do is post new events that occur on their social media account. One example from an article about students asks, “How could someone share something so private in a public setting with a professor she barely knew” (Winzenburg 2). 

In conclusion, technology needs to stop interfering in teenager’s lives. The overuse of it creates addictions and teens keep coming back for more. Teens are bullied over the internet which leads to depression. Deterioration of mental health can cause teens to lose focus in school. The overuse of technology and social media create problems when it comes to teens holding conversations, doing schoolwork, and focusing on their daily lives. If people limit their use, it will be better for the teenager’s mental health in general. Overuse of social media and technology creates problems for teen mental health.