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Emily Peck

Dr. Cassel

English Composition 2

April 28, 2021

The Effect of Social Media on Teen Mental Health

Have you ever spent way longer than you should have scrolling endlessly through your

phone just to be left feeling defeated and unfilled? Are you a Millennial or Gen-Z that feels

paralyzed at the grips of big social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, or TikTok to scroll

“just five more minutes”? If so, you may want to hear the following information.

         I have recognized that many of my peers have developed mental illnesses that significantly

affect their lives. Meanwhile, apps such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube take up

most of my time as I endlessly scroll through my curated feeds, all the while maintaining being

sad. I personally often find myself somewhat addicted to social media and my devices and

become frustrated at myself, but that led me to wonder if there is more psychology involved in

these sites than just my own lack of self-control, and how the content I am consuming really

affects my mental health? It turns out that social media has a mixed bag of effects on teens that

range from increased depression to eating disorders, but it can provide a safe space for

marginalized communities to express their true identities. 

According to Dr. Igor Pantic MD PhD, professor at the University of Belgrade in

Belgrade Serbia Department of medical physiology, there is a positive correlation between

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spending time on social media and depression symptoms in teens (Pantic). In Pantic’s article he

says that the correlation of rising social networking site usage and the rise in people with mental

health disorders has been prevalent since social media’s inception (Pantic). Even in 1998

scientists found evidence that when internet users increased usage their relationships with family

and friends lessened in quality and social circles got smaller which led to increased symptoms of

loneliness and depression (Pantic).

This is not just a fluke of the early internet days. The relationship between depression and

social media have only maintained a correlation together. Major Depressive Disorder, also

known as simply depression, is the most common mental disorder in the U.S. in 13.1% of 18–24-

year-olds in the U.S. (“Major Depression”). 

Simultaneously as depression in the U.S. is increasing, Pew Research reports that social

media usage has increased 67% since 2006 in the U.S. (“Demographics of Social…”). Pantic

claims that this increase of screen time is not a coincidence and has led to a reduction of

meaningful interpersonal connection. Pantic suggests that “Although social networks enable an

individual to interact with a large number of people, these interactions are shallow and cannot

adequately replace everyday face-to-face communication” (Pantic). 

According to Jennifer Karas Montez and Debra Umberson interpersonal social

relationship have immediate as well as persisting influences on the wellbeing of individuals

(Umberson and Montez). Pantic asserts that social media decreases meaningful relationships, and

Umberson and Montez proves that there is a link between interpersonal social relationships and
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mental well-being.  This is significant information because it supports the hypothesis that social

media can increase depression.

         The cycle of depression is not easy to get out of. Dr. Pantic’s study has concluded that

individuals who spend time social networking are more likely to get depression. But also, Pantic

notes that one who was already depressed is more likely to spend more time social networking,

further exacerbating these symptoms. Depression often can be dangerous as well. According to

the CDC, 11.2% of emergency room visits are related to depression (“FastStats - Depression.”)

and depression has become increasingly more fatal as suicide rates have risen 24% from 1999 to

2014 (“Products - Data Briefs - Number 241 - April 2016.”). 

      However, it is worth mentioning that the rise in depression rates is not exclusive to social

media. In the Speaking of Psychology podcast in the episode titled “Why Gen Z is feeling so

stressed”, stress specialist and developmental psychologist at Northwestern University, Emma

Adam, argues that stress levels in adolescents and young adults may have risen for many other

reasons, some of which some of which include environmental concerns, poverty, racial

discrimination, and lack of sleep.

Life can be stressful for young people today, and Adams says, more than a third of

college age adults have self-reported that their mental well-being has decreased in the last year in

2020 (Adam). However, Adam attributes social media's influence as a ‘mixed bag’ saying,

“there's evidence that for some teens social media is a very positive influence and for others, it

can be more harmful. But it tends to be that the online experience of teens mirrors the offline

experiences” (Adam).  
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         The discourse surrounding the effects of social media interfering with mental health is not

limited to just stress and depression. In the past, when discussing the influence of social media

on teens’ mental health, there tended to be an emphasis on how social media disturbs teenage

self-esteem and body image. This discourse was popularized by discussions about the effects of

Photoshop and the “body positivity” movement in the 2010s and focuses on how it may tamper

with teen body image and development.

         Jacqueline V. Hogue and Jennifer S. Mills dissected a study on the influence of social

platforming apps such as Instagram on adolescents’ perception of their body.

This study consists of a sample of 118 undergraduate women who were asked to look at

various categories of bodies to answer questions gauging how they felt about them, and it gave

evidence that suggested that appearance comparisons within internet communities may promote

an increase of body image issues among young students who identify as female (Hogue and

Mills).

         The evidence shows that young adult women use social media to present their idealized

selves and compare themselves to one another. This warping their own body image and

relationship with one’s own body. This information was found by studying the relationship

between active social media engagement (or ASME) on content (specifically photos) and

negative thoughts about their own bodies that leads to comparisons.

         Hogue and Mills determined that young women who were exposed to social media

platforms with more attractive peers were showing signs of worse body image than they did

before they were exposed to said social media platforms (Hogue and Mills). Hogue and Mills
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add to the discourse supporting the hypothesis that “showing young adult women’s body image

is negatively affected by viewing attractive women’s photos on social media” (Hogue and Mills).

         This is among the many studies that support that social media can negatively affect self-

esteem and body image. Negative body image and comparing oneself to another is known to

perpetuate eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors, as supported by the figure below

from the 2014 article from the Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.

The figure depicts the relationship between “upwards body comparisons,” (Pinksavage et. al) or

comparing oneself to attractive peers, and eating disorder like behaviors measured by the Eating

Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) score and separated between lower and higher

tertiles (see fig.1).

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Fig.1. Relationship between young women comparing themselves to their peers and disordered eating (Pinksavage

et. al).

         These two pieces of evidence together support the hypothesis that there is a link between

social media and eating disorders. Eating disorders is a blanket term for multiple specific mental

disorders such as binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, orthopedic, bulimia nervosa, as well as

many more, (“Eating Disorders.”). This is significant because eating disorders can be dangerous.

According to the NIMH anorexia nervosa causes the greatest deaths of any psychiatric disorder

(“Eating Disorders.”).

Although there is strong evidence that online social engagements can be dangerous, there

are some potential benefits of social media on teens’ mental health. According to Italian authors

Abrina Cipolletta, Cleila Malighetti, Chiara Cendese, and Andrea Spoto, social media sites like

Instagram can actually be beneficial to the development of teens’ social skills. 

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This article says that social media sites were made with the intention of building

communities and sharing cultures that an individual may have not otherwise seen, and that 94%

of Italian teenagers use their social media applications to talk to friends and only 54% use it to

check their social profiles (Cipolletta et. al).

As previously mentioned, the comparison of teens to their peers can be very dangerous

and can result in negative body image and eating disorders, but Cipolletta and their team say that

there are positive outcomes of social media such as increased freedom to explore different social

relationships, forms self-expression as well as freedom try on new identities (Cipolletta et. al). 

These new opportunities may be representative of inspiration and encouragement to be

oneself after feeling represented in the media. This article discusses this kind of community

building as the biggest asset social media gives to mental health, saying, teens are rewarded by

“likes” for their self-expression which gives them more incentive to present their ‘ideal selves’

(Cipolletta et. al).

       This kind of representation can be life-changing to marginalized groups who do not often

feel heard or are struggling with being themselves. Specifically, vulnerable groups such as the

LGBT community can benefit by having a safe, accepting community while coming out and

accepting themselves. As reported by the Pew Research Center in 2013, 39% of members

belonging to the LGBT community were rejected by their friends and family when they came out

(“A Survey of LGBT Americans.”). According to The Trevor Project, a non-profit suicide

prevention resource for LGBT people, 48% of LGBT teens and young adults have reported self-

harming in the past year, and 29% of LGBT youth have been homeless in the last year, (Paley).
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These facts are especially concerning given what Emma Adams said about poverty affecting

mental health and creating chronic stress. 

For LGBT teens lacking a safe space to be themselves, social media can provide a

welcoming community and an environment to experiment with one’s identity that is well needed.

The Trevor Project also said that the percentage of Transgender and Non-Binary teens who had

their pronouns supported by their friends and family attempted to take their own lives at half the

rate of Transgender or Non-Binary teens who did not have their pronouns respected (Paley) as

demonstrated by the chart below (see fig.2).

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Fig.2. Suicide attempt rate of Transgender and Non-binary teens compared by number of family and close family

members respect their pronouns (Paley).

         Evidence from The Trevor Project in conjunction with evidence from Cipolletta et. al, it

can be concluded that social media can be beneficial for LGBT teens and helps paint a picture of

the positive effects social media can have on those marginalized groups.

Additionally, Cipolletta and her colleagues also says that teens on Instagram use the

platform to gain validation in ‘likes’ from their peers, or in some cases, strangers. However,

though this is a rather known idea, Cipolletta et. al decides to focus on the idea that Instagram

can create a community to exchange ideas, raising self-esteem, and can reduce loneliness. 

        It seems social media can be both beneficial and detrimental to teens’ mental health, and

that is puzzling to psychologists as well. In the BBC’s Science Focus Magazine, Professor

Andrew Przybylski, experimental psychologist at the Oxford Internet Institute says that it is not

known if social media is good for teens or not because the systems of science that surround

mental health and social media are broken, (Przybylski).

         Przybylski says that, because the tech companies hoard all the data, it makes the studies on

social media and mental health nearly impossible to maintain unbiased, (Przybylski). This gives

a more nuanced perspective on the discussion of whether social media is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Przybylski compares the panic over social media being dangerous to the panic over violent video

games in the early 2000’s, (Przybylski). Concluding, that in order to craft an accurate, well-

informed opinion on social media’s effect on mental health, there needs to be more unbiased

evidence.
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So, is social media good for mental health? Or is it bad ? Well, social media is not

exclusively good or bad for mental health, but rather the discussion is more intricate than just

‘yes’ or ‘no’. Social media has been proven to negatively affect body image and self-esteem

issues within young girls, which can lead to eating disorders, but there is also the argument that

the same apps that negatively affect some may positively benefit others. There is strong evidence

that links rising social media usage to increasing rates of depression, but there are also arguments

that the increase in mental illnesses in teens are attributed to more than just one factor.  It may be

a different case for everyone involved, with no clear black or white answer. All are worth

considering when making personal decisions relating to social media usage.

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Work Cited

Adam, Emma. “Speaking of Psychology: Why Gen Z Is Feeling So Stressed, with Emma Adam,

PhD.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2020,

www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/gen-z-stress. 

“A Survey of LGBT Americans.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project,

Pew Research Center, 13 June 2013, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/06/13/a-

survey-of-lgbt-americans/. 

Cipolletta, Sabrina et al. “How Can Adolescents Benefit from the Use of Social Networks? The 

iGeneration on Instagram.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health 17.19 (2020): 6952. Crossref. Web.

“Demographics of Social Media Users and Adoption in the United States.” Pew Research

Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 14 Apr. 2021,

www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/#social-media-use-over-time. 

“Eating Disorders.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders/index.shtml. 

“FastStats - Depression.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 9 Apr. 2021, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/depression.htm. 

Hogue, Jacqueline V., and Jennifer S. Mills. “The Effects of Active Social Media Engagement 

with Peers on Body Image in Young Women.” Body Image, Elsevier, 12 Nov. 2018,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S174014451730517X#! 
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“Major Depression.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, 2017, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression.shtml. 

“Pantic, Igor. “Online social networking and mental health.” Cyberpsychology, behavior

and  social networking vol. 17,10 (2014): 652-7. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0070

Paley, Amit. “The Trevor Project National Survey 2020.” The Trevor Project - Saving Young

LGBTQ Lives, 2020, www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/. 

Pinkasavage, Emilie, et al. “Social Comparison, Negative Body Image, and Disordered Eating

Behavior: The Moderating Role of Coping Style.” Eating Behaviors, vol. 16, Nov. 2015,

pp. 72–77., doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.10.014. 

“Products - Data Briefs - Number 241 - April 2016.” Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Apr. 2016,

www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db241.htm. 

Przybylski, Prof Andrew. “Why Scientists Don't Actually Know If Social Media Is Bad for

You.” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 14 Apr. 2021, www.sciencefocus.com/future-

technology/why-scientists-dont-actually-know-if-social-media-is-bad-for-you/. 

Umberson, Debra, and Jennifer Karas Montez. “Social relationships and health: a flashpoint for

health policy.” Journal of health and social behavior vol. 51 Suppl,Suppl (2010): S54-66.

doi:10.1177/0022146510383501