Research Paper Example: Social Media Harmful Effects on Youth Mental Health

Mallory Grossman, 12, took her own life on June 14th, 2017, after being urged to do so over Snapchat. Bullies on the internet tortured a girl who was very interested, brilliant, and energetic. It all started at school, but after she came home and logged onto social media, she couldn't get away from the abuse. They sent the 12-year-old harsh messages over Instagram and Snapchat, calling her “fat,” “a failure,” and, even crueler, suggesting she commit herself. As a result, her life was flipped upside down, with consequences for her academics, personality, and emotional well-being. Mallory's parents eventually met with the school to discuss the bullying, but it was too late. Later that evening, the victim had committed suicide. When teenagers spend too much time on social media, they put themselves in danger.

To begin with, social media has a detrimental influence on the mental health of teenagers by making it difficult for them to acquire a favorable body image. According to the Girl Scouts of America Research Institute, nine out of ten girls say they feel a lot of pressure from the media to be slim, and 31 percent of the girls interviewed acknowledged starving themselves as a strategy to reduce weight, according to Celeste Conway's e-book Body Image and the Media. It's reasonable to conclude that spending time on social media makes females feel bad about themselves and leads them to seek out unhealthy ways to lose weight. Feeling well in one's own skin and developing a positive male image at an early age is critical for everyone, especially young teenagers: When kids use social media, they are always under pressure to be ideal, and they will never learn to appreciate themselves for who they are. As a result, restricting social media use can assist boost a teen's self-esteem and make them feel valued. Teenagers are also put under pressure by altered pictures in the media. According to the Baltimore Sun's story “Negative, positive effects of excessive social media use on teens studied,” a study undertaken by London's Royal Society for Public Health reveals that bad body image is linked to the use of extensively manipulated sites like Instagram and Snapchat.

Body image issues are more likely to develop after spending a large amount of time on various social media platforms, according to the study. This depicts how social media offers youngsters the illusion of a “perfect” body and highlights a style of looking that everyone should have. Teenagers are bombarded with manipulated images that cover people's imperfections as a result of Instagram and other social networking platforms. Models and celebrities are often skinny and attractive, or tall and strong, and teenagers love and aspire to appear like them. Teens feel compelled to compare their bodies to the glamorized ones they see in the media since these are the individuals they idolize. If a kid develops the practice of comparing themselves to others, they will never feel good enough, which will have a long-term influence on their self-esteem. Regardless, body image issues might persist even when kids are aware that the photographs they view are manipulated. Lexi Kite, who co-directs a foundation dedicated to promoting healthy body image, polled 2,000 young women with model photographs. After learning that the photographs were substantially manipulated, the poll indicated that 33% of the individuals still felt anxious about their bodies (Sole-Smith). Girls cannot let go of the false expectations that social media has exposed them to, despite knowing that the photographs of the models were severely altered. Because it portrays such a wonderful and enticing existence that attracts young viewers, social media makes it extremely difficult for teens to establish a healthy body image. Teenagers would be assaulted with flawless photographs if they didn't spend time on social media, and they would be less anxious about their bodies. Having a negative body image may lead to major issues such as eating disorders, improper diets, and the use of medicines to alter one's appearance. Finally, it is clear that social media has a detrimental impact on adolescent mental health since it makes them feel uneasy and, as a result, promotes a bad body image.

While social media makes it harder for teenagers to retain good views regarding their bodies, it also contributes to mental health issues. Clearly, this has something to do with the rise in social media usage. Peggy Parks discusses a 2015 research from Ottawa Public Health that looked at health survey data from 753 middle and high school students in her book Social Media. According to the study, people who utilized social media more regularly had a greater frequency of physiological problems, such as melancholy and anxiety, as well as suicide ideation. This clearly reveals that those who don't use social media a lot are less likely to have mental health problems. The use of social media may clearly harm a teen's mental health. Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety may drastically alter a person's life in every way, including how they perform in school, interact with others, and cope with their emotions. They may be influenced by social media to do even more severe actions, such as ending their lives. According to Peggy Parks, a few studies have revealed that lonely persons tend to expose more personal information on social media than those who are not lonely. Other research has found that when lonely people use social media, it makes them feel even more lonely. When lonely young teens share personal information online, it may lead to cat fishing, cyberbullying, and harassment, all of which can have a negative influence on their mental health. Lonely teens are more prone to bullying as a result of social media. Not to mention the fact that spending time on social media makes teens feel much worse. They may get sad if their emotions of loneliness grow more intense. As a result, if adolescents want to feel less lonely, they should limit their time on social media and avoid revealing material that should not be shared. Furthermore, social media might make teens depressed and cranky. Research published in The Lancet Psychiatry titled “Fact Check: How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health” reveals how spending the night on social media increases the risk of mood issues including neuroticism and bipolar disorder. Similarly, some have stated that monitoring social media makes them feel more lonely and unhappy. As a result, when a teenager has mood issues, such as bipolar illness, it can disrupt their crucial relationships, academic performance, and even basic duties in their daily lives. Not only may have a frequent shift in mood lead to disagreements and arguments with others around them, but it can also interfere with their ability to study and thrive in life. Because social media makes kids feel less joyful, they should spend their time away from it and instead find alternative ways to improve their mental health. Overall, the fact that social media causes mood disorders and mental illnesses demonstrate how it has a detrimental influence on adolescent mental health.

Others, on the other hand, may suggest that social media may improve teenagers' mental health by making them feel socially connected. “Studies suggest that people experience greater social support when they portray themselves honestly on social media, and they feel less stress after posting,” according to the article “Social media may be both a bummer and a boon for the brain.” To put it another way, social media can benefit kids by allowing them to contact their peers through the internet. Friends may stay connected, encourage one other, and offer remarks that will increase their self-esteem thanks to the availability of social media. Even though kids are linked on social media, this does not prevent others from abusing them emotionally. Returning to the e-book, Body Image and the Media, Do Something, a social change group for kids, reports that 43% of teenagers have experienced cyberbullying and 75% of students have been on websites where peers have been bullied (Conway 29). Spending time on social media can, without a doubt, help teens to interact with their classmates, but it also exposes them to cyberbullying. False rumors and unconfirmed information can be spread quickly on social media. Their own classmates and friends may easily harass them over a screen, and they have little recourse. Cyberbullying will grow more common over time, and these teenagers will become traumatized. As a result, youngsters may develop mental illnesses or even attempt suicide. In the case of cyberbullying, the connection that teens form on social media is likely to be accompanied by envy and a sense of exclusion.  The article “Is Social Media Good for Society?” summarizes CNN-led research of nearly 200 eighth-grade students. The findings revealed that when teenagers saw what their classmates were doing online, they felt highly lonely and envious (Nakaya). This exemplifies how sad kids might become after viewing their peers' intriguing lifestyles and thrilling activities on social media. Teenagers who use social media feel isolated from their peers and disappointed that their social life isn't as fascinating. As a result, toxic friendships can develop, in which friends are envious of one another and express unpleasant attitudes against one another. Teenagers who eschew social media can form genuine connections that aren't based on who got invited to which party and who didn't. In conclusion, social media helps adolescents to stay in touch with their friends and family.