The Effects of Social Media on Teens Essay Example

Assume you're a teen in 2022, social media is an essential for your daily routine. Do you connect with people and build friendships? Yes, everybody does. However, do you believe this platform is best for you? The lack of confidence you lose when you see beautiful models on Instagram. The lack of sleep you gain when you wake up the next morning from scrolling on Tiktok the night before. In the end, are you truly happy? Does social media make a better you? Social media is a predominant cause of the crucial problems today within teens. Some people may argue it was a great invention to be made. However it is not, it leaves distress in many teenangers life today. 

Social media has an enormous impact on our sleep. Teenagers and even adults scroll through their socials, post after post. Struggling to put their phone down and staying up later than they realized. Research has been found that our artificial light shining bright in our eyes slows down our production of hormone melatonin, which is what our brain produces in response to the dark. When your hormone circadian rhythm controls your sleep-wake cycle is disturbed by the blue light in peoples phone it makes it difficult to fall asleep and wake up the next morning. (JCEM)  Therefore, lying in bed scrolling through Tik tok, Snapchat, Instagram can result in restless sleep and make you feel overly exhausted when you wake up.

Social media negatively influences teens and their self esteem. Scrolling on instagram and seeing their favorite celebrity post caked with makeup, facetune, photoshop, and filters masking this fake portrait onto the internet. Teens see this as a way to compare themselves to what they see on a screen. Most teenagers today have their eyes glued on their phones every second of the day. Phones are addictive and it's hard for others to stop, especially social media like Instagram, snapchat, and facebook. Many people who use social media have integrated it into their daily routine. In one study, Researchers put 118 young women aged 18-27 and divided them into two groups. Researchers asked one group to scroll through their instagram/facebook feed and find one peer they suppose to be more attractive than themselves. Then, ask the other group to scroll their feed and find a peer they don’t consider more attractive than them. The group who found a peers post who they thought was considerably more attracted than themselves changed how they thought of their appearances. Those who found a post who they thought was less attractive than them did not pass judgment on themselves, According to York's Faculty of Health. Young women today are affected by the images they see on social media. Comparing themselves from celebrities to photoshopped models, it makes the youth feel less attractive and feel uncomfortable in their own skin. It induces teens to feel insecure and have heavy self esteem issues making them feel like they aren't good enough.

Plenty of teens suffer through depression daily, far more common in teens than people may think. One in five teenagers is severely affected by this illness. Social media is one of the significant influences on teens' depression. This platform triggers arrays of negative emotions for teens to contribute or worsen their depression symptoms. Two studies have been found, 700 students established online interactions with people were linked to depression, low moods and the feeling of worthlessness. Higher levels of depression symptoms were discovered with students who had more of a negative interaction with someone. (Davila) Brian A. Primack did a study in  2016 including over 1,700 people who used plenty of social media platforms suffering through anxiety and depression. They concluded it was predominantly from bullying online, waste of time and a fake sight of other people's lives. (Primack) Teens who use social media more than those who do not are more likely to experience depression than those who don't. Depression has a vast impact on teenagers and social media, along with interactions that come from the media.

Contrary to popular belief, social media can be beneficial. For many parents, social media can take a toll on their kid's mental health. However social media can have its positives and have a range of benefits. It helps people discover new connections with others, it helps them express themselves and support one another through those hard times. Friendships are key components of a teens life. When a teenager creates a new friendship with someone or has a healthy friendship with another individual, they feel connected and feel like they belong to the world around them. Friends can help one another with support if one of them is going through something that has impacted them. Social media provides a valuable source of creativity in which they can express their true self to make them feel less lonely and more associated. Common Sense Media’s Chief Executive Editor, Sierra Filucci saids  “Across every measure in our survey, teens are more likely to say that social media has a positive rather than a negative effect on how they feel.” (Filucci) However, Social media causes more harm than good. Social media was first made for others to communicate and connect with each other through a platform. It was constructed for people to have an interaction without having to go see and talk to someone. Unfortunately with teenagers having unlimited access to the media, it can develop into a negative outlet. Although building connections with someone can be a terrific way to connect with the world, it's not alway good. Furthermore, teenagers can't always assume someone who they bonded with won't change, switch from this role of being super nice to them to practically bullies, this is where cyberbullying plays in. Cyberbullies can use the mask of the Internet to taunt others with no real life interaction. Teens expressing themselves out in the media might take it the wrong way and express that confusion into bullying and bringing the person down. Regardless, social media increases the risk for depression, loneliness, low self esteem, self harm, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety for teens. 

Banishing social media for good can be a very controversial topic with everyone. Yet, as time goes on, social media will progressively get worse, it will never be at a state where it will be good for teens or in fact anybody. The risk of depression, self reassurance and restlessness will continue to induce and reflect on teenagers who stay on social media. However if teens don't start cutting down the hours/screen time on social media, those risks will horribly worsen over time.