Allison Bauman

END 1201

Professor Hughes

11 March 2020

Does social media have an effect on teens mental health?

There are several people around the world that struggle with mental health, and the main problem being

that those people find themselves struggling to deal with it. Doctors can prescribe pills and you can even go to

therapy, but have you thought about the bigger picture? Social media is a powerful source in today's world and

it just might have a bigger impact on people than you think.

For the past twenty years there has been a steep decline in mental health with teens and young adults.

Between 2009 and 2017, rates of depression among kids ages 14 to 17 increased by more than 60%, the study

found (Times magazine). Social media has become a major outlet for communication for around 7 years now.

One of the biggest differences in the lives of current teenagers and young adults, compared to earlier

generations, is that they spend much less time connecting with their peers in person and more time connecting

electronically, principally through social media (Child Mind). Although mental health has been around for

many years, it has rapidly gotten worse since the induction of social media.

There are various debates that go on in daily life that depict social media. With parents wondering if

kids are on their phones for too long, or it just being a teen having social media. A main debate that goes on

with social media and mental health has a lot to do with young girls. With in-your-face friends' tallies, status

updates, and photos of happy-looking people having great times, social media pages can make some kids feel

even worse if they think they don't measure up (Gale). On the other hand, many people believe social media can

really help you build your platform as an individual. Others can utilize your social media pages to determine

more information about you as an individual. This helps to reassure others the story you are telling about

yourself is genuine, and as a result, the connections you make are as meaningful as face-to-face relationships.

Also, social media can be used as a beneficial relationship building tool. Social networks present great

opportunities for professionals to publicly recognize successes of parties in the relationship (Michigan State).

For the Michigan State study, Schultz’s purpose was to prove that social media does have positive effects and

can even build stronger relationships among all people. For the article that appeared in Gale’s Global Issues,

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Bulletin’s point was to prove that most teens use social media for the status with the amount of likes or

followers they have.

Another main take away with teens mental health and social media is that the main form of negative

health is depression. Some experts see the rise in depression as evidence that the connections social media users

form electronically are less emotionally satisfying, leaving them feeling socially isolated (Child Mind).

Depression rates steadily increased the most since the early 2000’s. With teens mainly only worrying about

their image, it can sometimes get out of hand. You find kids more upset if they don't get the amount of likes

they want on a post, don't have enough followers, or even just as little as not looking good enough in a picture.

Believe it or not, teens actually look for times other teens are on their phone most frequently so that they can get

as many likes as possible.

The amount of time teens have spent social networking and on their screen has greatly increased. This

has changed their attitudes and behavior because they are so self involved in their phone. 99% of teens go

online for around 20.5 hours a week (Smart Insights). The time as little as three hours on a social networking

site can make you susceptible to gaining a mental illness. Teens spend more time on their phone and on social

media than with their friends. Some say social media is today's new way of communicating, which is partially

true, but there are still other non-screen ways to communicate with other people.

Maybe social media does have a large effect on teen mental health, but there are many other factors that

could come into play in a teens life as well. Social media has become the major form of communication among

all people around the world. Although there is no “real” cure to a mental illness, perhaps the reduction of social

media and screen time may be the treatment teens need.

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 Works Cited:

Carter, Joanna, and Dave Chaffey. “Global Social Media Research Summary 2019.” Smart Insights,

https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social

-media-research/​.

"Docs warn on teen depression." Manila Bulletin, 29 Mar. 2011. Gale In Context: Global Issues,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A252650534/GIC?u=kett65873&sid=GIC&xid=e6332749.​

Heid, Markham. “Depression and Suicide Rates Are Rising Sharply in Young Americans, New Report

Says.” Time, Time Magazine , 14 Mar. 2019, time.com/5550803/depression-suicide-rates-youth/.

Miller, Caroline, and Child Mind Institute. “Does Social Media Cause Depression?” Child Mind

Institute, childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/

Shultz, Makena, and Michigan State University. “Why Is Social Media a Beneficial Relationship

Building Tool?” MSU Extension, 12 June 2014,

www.canr.msu.edu/news/why_is_social_media_a_beneficial_relationship_building_tool.

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