Bernard 1

Brock Bernard
Ms. Hunter
ENG 1201 Online
10/30/19

Social media causing depression in teens

Name the last day you didn’t go on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter​.​ Most

people probably can’t​.​ Social media is taking over the world as we know it​.​ Kids, young teens

and even adults use social media daily and for multiple hours a day​.​ These apps help spread

information and let people post and share whatever they want to. Although social media has

many benefits and is important for young kids to learn and express themselves, studies have

shown that it can be more harmful than helpful​.​ In fact, social media causes many depressive

symptoms, including anxiety, lack of confidence, sadness, sleep deprivation and in many cases

cyberbullying​.

Social media is an important factor in the society we live in today​.​ Using Snapchat,

Facebook, Instagram,Twitter, and YouTube can give you an outlet to the outside world and give

you the opportunity to connect with people over the virtual world​.​ A study by the Royal Society

for the Public Health in the UK surveyed young people, and with that information, found that

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SnapChat all had negative effects on mental health and

Youtube had the most positive impact​.​ Although recently Instagram has pledged to make their

publications more private making the numbers of likes and followers you have private so no one

can see and make fun of you for it​.​ In recent studies a higher rate of depression has been reported
 Bernard 2

to young adults or teenagers who spend the most time on Instagram, Facebook and other

platforms​.​ ​Research shows an increase in major depressive episodes from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.3%

in 2014​.​ About 2.1 billion people get on Facebook alone every single day​.​ Every single day

almost 3 billion people get on social media and social networks to talk and post​.​ The symptoms

of depression caused by social media include, feelings of hopelessness, loss of interest in normal

daily activities, irritable mood, diminished self-care, guilt, difficulty concentrating, social

isolation​.​ I know that every single day I check my social media sites for messages and new posts

to look at​.​ But after this research and what I have learned I will try to use less and less social

media and stress to my friends to use it less as well because of the negative things that it is

causing​.​ It is very easy for someone to sit behind a screen and to pretend to be someone that they

are not​.​ One reason for the increase in depression found through lots of social media use is that

cyberbullying has become a big epidemic in the world that we live in today​.​ I’m sure you could

think of an experience yourself when someone has said to you or one of your friends something

very nasty over the internet​.​ Cyberbullying is one of the main reasons that kids have anxiety and

depression from the use of social media​.​ Girls are more vulnerable to cyberbullying because they

take the things that people say over the internet more to heart​.​ It is very easy for people to say

mean things and make fun of people when their identities are hidden and they can say whatever

they want to behind a computer screen​.​ Cyberbullying makes it easy for people to reveal secrets

or spread false information about someone with just a push of a button and the results can be

very harmful​.​ Having too many fake friends can cause problems as well, spreading rumors,
 Bernard 3

screenshotting photos, and having no privacy on social media​.​ Cyberbullying can ruin a

teenager’s reputation in a matter of hours which can cause the development of depression and in

some cases even lead to suicide​.

One of my friends was once cyberbullied online​.​ She was a girl who was getting made

fun of by a random person online with a made up name and a made up account​.​ The person

would message her and write mean comments under her post and it would make my friend very

sad​.​ She told all of us about the person and eventually we ended up telling the girls parents about

what was happening because we didn’t want our friends to be sad anymore​.​ Through instagram

her mom figured out a way to find the email that the person used to set up the account and

tracked it to figure out who the person was making the comments and who was making fun of

her daughter​.​ They found out that it was another girl at our school and they called her out on it

and it became a big thing and the girl got suspended from our school for a little while because of

what she did. So although cyberbullying can be a very scary thing it is very easy to combat

through the right tools​.​ A simple way to stop it or not let it affect your life is by blocking the

account, even if you can’t find out who's behind the screen name​.

Researchers say that receiving likes and comments through social media on our mobile

devices creates a positive feeling of acceptance​.​ This stimulates receptors in our brain causing a

release of dopamine which is the chemical known for making us feel good about ourselves​. ​The

issues then stem from the downtime when we aren’t getting these positive affirmations​.​ We as

humans do not feel validated by others, causing our brain to put a halt to the release of dopamine.
 Bernard 4

This lack of dopamine leads to feelings of anxiousness and loneliness​.​ Another way that social

media can tap into a user’s psychology is through a concept known as emotional contagion​.​ In a

study conducted by E​.​ Ferrara and Z. Yang, 3,800 randomly selected social media users were

tested on the contagiousness of the emotional tones of the content they viewed online​. ​The study

found that emotional states are easily manipulated through social media​. ​Social media

applications act as the catalyst for destructive behaviors like comparison, and approval-seeking​.

A survey by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, they found the rate of individuals

reporting consistent with major depression over the past year increased by 52 percent in teens

and 63 percent in young adults​.​ They also found that girls are a lot more vulnerable than boys in

this category​.​ Rates of psychological distress rose by 71 percent among people aged 18 to 25 and

death from suicide increased by 56 percent among 18 to 19-year-olds between 2008 and 2017​.

One of the main reasons for this is because of the distorted body image that teens can get from
 Bernard 5

Fig. 1. Shows a woman seeing a model on social media and wishing that she looked like her.​

social media and online influencers​.​ Those who had spent more time on social media had 2.2

times the risk of reporting eating and body image concerns, compared to their peers who spent

less time on social media​.​ The participants who spend the most time on social media had 2.6

times the risk​.​ ​It’s instinctual for teenagers to feel a need to fit in with their peer groups​.

Although this has been a long standing issue prior to social media, technology magnifies the

problem in to unhealthy proportions​.​ Social media can create very unrealistic comparisons which

causes teens and young adults to feel less about themselves​.​ People want to show off the best

versions of themselves to the world​. ​ They want to show nothing less than what they think is

perfect​.​ This means that someone’s online profile is just a highlight real of their most edited,
 Bernard 6

picture perfect experiences. No one goes online and shares their mundane, everyday

experiences​.​ When teenagers scroll through their feed it is easy for them to think that all their

friends and classmates are perfect which makes them feel left out​. ​Focusing on likes and follows

on social media can cause teens to make choices they would otherwise not make, including

altering their appearance, accepting risky social media challenges, and engaging in negative

behaviors​.​ ​It is more prominent in girls because they see Instagram models and models on other

various social media sites and think that they are perfect and that they should look just like them​.

Among teens who use social media the most, the study showed a 50% increase in depressive

symptoms among girls versus 35% among boys​. ​The cause of these depression symptoms can

include feelings of unhappiness, restlessness or loneliness​.​ The researchers also found that girls

reported more social media use than boys; 43​.​1% of girls said they used social media for three or

more hours per day, versus 21.9% of boys​. ​For teens using social media for three to five hours,

26% of girls and 21% of boys had depressive symptom scores higher than those who used social

media for only one to three hours a day​. ​The loss of self-esteem, especially in teenage girls can

be attributed to the comparison to women who they perceive to be skinnier, more popular and

richer​.​ Image-driven Instagram propaganda shows up in surveys as the platform that leads young

people to feel anxiety, depression and worries about their body image, more so than other social

media outlets​.

Have you ever found yourself sitting at home alone on your phone or computer watching

Netflix or YouTube while your friends are going out and having fun? I think we all have
 Bernard 7

once or twice​.​ Social media also causes decreased social skills​.​ Teenagers often rely on social

media to stay in touch with others and therefore don’t have to have real interactions with others​.

Human interface is a dying art​.​ Social media majorly changed the way we communicate,

socialize, and maintain friendships- and not for the better​.​ Many of the youth miss out on

critical social skills developed when talking to people in real life, but instead they only talk

behind a screen​.​ This can cause anxiety and stress when teens and young adults are put in

situations where they have to talk to people in real life and in front of large crowds​.​ They don’t

get the experience and skills that they need because they are so used to just sitting and typing

behind a screen instead of going out and talking to people in real life​.​ When a time comes where

they are put in front of an audience, no matter the size, they feel uncomfortable​.​ Talking to

others is no longer a natural thing​.​ One of the only times young adults and children share face to

face contact is when they get together to hang out​.​ Although, kids no longer know how to

hangout without being accompanied by their phones​.​ More often than not, at least half the group

is sitting nose deep in their phones while they’re in the presence of their friends​.​ If you were to

take the phones away, people who consider each other best friends would be at a loss for words​.

When you don’t have a phone as a buffer, you lose the opportunity to articulate your messages

and plan out what you want to say or how you want to respond​.​ In person communication is

blunt and vulnerable, which is why people like to use their phones as a shield​.​ Social media is a

main reason for loss of interest in normal everyday activities and causes a lack of concentration
 Bernard 8

in teens and adults​.​ Experts say the rise in depression is a resultant of social media users

communicate solely through the web​.​ This leaves them emotionally dissatisfied because even

though you may not think you need to talk to others, the brain craves real life company​.

Contrary to popular belief, talking behind a screen does not fully satisfy the void​.​ Studies have

shown that even supplementing just a portion of online communication with real life interactions,

leads to a decrease in depression levels within a person​.​ A study in 2018 of a national sample of

young adults showed a direct correlation between the time spent on social media and perceived

social isolation​.

Almost every night before I go to bed I am always on my phone scrolling through

Instagram or Twitter, answering my texts and Snapchats or simply watching YouTube​.​ Using

your phone before bed makes you stay awake much later than you should be and takes away

valuable time that you should be spending by resting your brain and going to sleep​.​ According to

studies, 71 percent of people sleep either holding their phone, having it by them on their

nightstand, or having it in the bed with them​.​ Going on social media before bed can give you

information overload which can keep your mind racing​.​ This makes you more invested in what

you are seeing and reading, causing it to be more difficult to set your phone down and actually

fall asleep​.​ Looking at a bright screen before bed can also keep you awake and harm your eyes.

Even when people do set their phone down and make a conscious decision to go to bed, the

notification ringer is usually still turned on​.​ The process of falling asleep often gets interrupted

by a loud noise​.​ When someone hears this noise, that notification registers in their brain by
 Bernard 9

releasing that dopamine and people can’t resist the urge to check what was just sent to them​.

The drive to feel that dopamine release and the temptation to stay in the loop has been compared

to that of a drug addiction​.​ People are addicted and crave their phones just like an alcoholic

craves alcohol​.​ Not picking up the phone and staying in tune leaves people feeling isolated,

which is similar to withdrawal symptoms of a drug addict​. ​Not going to bed on time can

seriously affect your body and the way that you think​. ​Not only does is affect you physically by

not getting enough sleep but it can seriously harm you mentally​. ​It can cause you to be less

enthusiastic, more irritable and even give you symptoms of clinical depression such as feeling

sad and feeling empty​. ​When you sleep, your brain processes and engrains all the info that you

learned the previous day. If you don’t get enough sleep, you cannot properly absorb information.

Teens and young adults with sleep deprivation are 10 times as likely to have clinical depression

and 17 times as likely to have clinical anxiety​.​ It’s also been said that chronic sleep deprivation

leads to early onset Alzheimers.

The risks of social media, including depression, can be prevented​.​ One way is to make

sure that you are engaging in social interactions in real life and not just online​.​ Another way to

decrease your use of social media is to turn of your notifications so that you are less distracted

and less tempted to look at your phone​.​ Next, not using your phone near and around bedtime can

help the risk of depression because it well help you go to sleep easier which will give you more

energy and make you much happier if you get more sleep​.​ Lastly you can track how much you

use social media everyday and attempt to decrease it every day​.

 Bernard 10

Just as social media can be harmful, it can also be beneficial in some ways​.​ One way is

because it can help spread and expand businesses with advertising and serves as a great avenue

of communication​.​ Social media can also benefit mental health by sometimes relieving social

isolation​.​ Like most things, it’s good in moderation. Some studies show that online connections

between small groups of people can be beneficial to teens because it gives them some people to

talk to about their problems​. ​When people can hide behind a screen, they are willing to be more

open about their true selves because without showing their faces, they feel they can avoid

judgement. Social media can save lives by just reassuring people that they are not alone and

social media giving them motivation to keep on going​. ​Social media can be used as a platform

for positive outreach and motivation. Seeing small inspirational messages through the day can

give people a little morale boost or allow them to come to an epiphany. The use of social media

and its effects are simply based on the way that we use it​. ​The problems really start to occur

when we abuse it, just like everything else in life.

Cyberbullying is a main factor in the cause of depression in young teens and young

adults​.​ Anxiety and depression stem from the need for constant comparison to others online.

Except, the pictures teens are using as comparison standards are more often than not distorted

images​. ​Sleep deprivation is also a main factor in the correlation between social media and teen

depression​. ​Teens feel like they are missing out when they don’t fill their time by staying

connected online. This keeps them up at night. All in all, social media can have some dangerous

and scary side effects if used the wrong way, but if used correctly it can be beneficia​l.
 Bernard 11

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

Neighmond, Patti. “A Rise In Depression Among Teens And Young Adults Could Be
Linked To Social Media Use.” ​NPR,​ NPR, 14 Mar. 2019,
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/14/703170892/a-rise-in-depression-among-te
ens-and-young-adults-could-be-linked-to-social-medi​.

Waldemar. “Does Social Media Cause Depression?” ​World of Psychology​, 8 July 2018,
https://psychcentral.com/blog/does-social-media-cause-depression/​.

Howard, Jacqueline. “Social Media and Depression: Link Might Be Stronger in Girls.”
CNN​, Cable News Network, 4 Jan. 2019,
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/health/social-media-depression-girls-study/index.html​.

Hurley, Katie. “Is Social Media Affecting Your Teens' Mental Health?” ​Psycom.net -
Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986​,
https://www.psycom.net/depression-teens-social-media​.

Nalin, Jeff, et al. “Social Media and Teen Depression: The Two Go Hand-In-Hand.”
Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA,​
https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/social-media-and-teen-depr
ession-two-go-hand​.

Hurley, Katie. “Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental
Health?” ​Psycom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986,​
https://www.psycom.net/social-media-teen-mental-health​.