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Social Media and The Mental Health Crisis Among Young Adults

Currently, social media is used as a tool for most people, however, for most young adults,

it is their primary source of communication. This research study will summarize various effects

of social media and the relationship and influences on this segment of society.

“Young adulthood, frequently defined as the period from the late teens through the 20s, is

a critical time for self-identity construction. Social media contributes to identity formation by

facilitating reflexivity, or the process of reflecting on how we see ourselves and how others see

us. In 2015, 90% of US young adults with Internet access used social media. Social media plays

an important role in shaping self-beliefs and perceived social norms by inviting other people’s

feedback and shaping further modification of self-representations.” “Social media allows users to

control their public personae and to experiment with more desirable versions of themselves. This

can be done through several aspects of social media, including text, images, video, music,

affinities (“likes”), visual customization of social media, use of profanity or slang, and group

membership or affiliation, to name just a few (Villanti, Andrea, et al, 2017). Arnett’s theory of

emerging adulthood, identity exploration centers on love, work, and worldviews. Through

experimentation with various life possibilities, young people move toward enduring decisions

and values during this developmental period. (Arnett, J.J., 2000).”

In recent years many parents, advocates, and policymakers have expressed concerns

regarding the potential negative impact of social media use. “Some studies have indicated that

social media use may be tied to negative mental health outcomes, including suicidality,

loneliness, and decreased empathy. Other studies have not found evidence for harm or have
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indicated that social media use may be beneficial for some individuals (Berryman, C., Ferguson,

C.J. & Negy, 2018).”

“In general, findings from these studies have been mixed, with many revealing a small

but significant negative effect of social media use on mental health. A growing body of work

now seeks to build on these studies with more nuanced investigations of how, why, and for whom

social media use may have positive or negative effects on youth development (Nesi, 2020).” This

study will look at the evidence of negative and positive outcomes based on studies and reviews

regarding the impact of mental health and social media communication.

Literature Review

Social Media and the Mental Health Crisis Among Young Adults

Many studies have suggested that the prolonged use of social networking sites could be

related to signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health issues such as low self-

esteem. Other data indicates that social media use did not seem to be a significant risk factor for

development in depression and anxiety.

According to Nesi (2020), the technology landscape has rapidly evolved in recent years,

with social media now playing a central role in the lives of youth. “Social media has created both

significant new challenges and exciting opportunities. Research is beginning to uncover how

specific social media experiences may influence youth mental health. By the time youth reach

adolescence, most are fully immersed in a world of smartphones, computers, and social media.

Recent nationally representative statistics suggest that 95% of adolescents aged 13-18 have
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access to a smartphone and 88% have access to a desktop or laptop at home. In 2018, 45% of

US adolescents reported that they were online “almost constantly,” up from 24% only three years

prior. The pervasiveness of new media has created an increasingly complex environment for

youth, parents, health care providers, and policymakers to navigate. Indeed, while this media

environment has introduced numerous new challenges and risks for youth mental health, so too

has it presented considerable benefits and opportunities (Nesi, et al, 2020).”

“Social media use has increased substantially in recent years, and for the college-aged

population, social media is often the leading method of communication. Research indicates this

reliance on digital connections could harm the health of young adults. The college years are a

time of personal growth and defining actions yet can also be burdened by mental health issues

related to stress, anxiety, and depression. Acknowledging these trends, the current study explores

how college students’ specific frequency and intentionality while interacting on social media

relates to their psychological well-being (DiAntonio, 2020).”

“The imbalance created by the excessive usage of social media is a great concern for

parents, researchers, and society regarding the mental health of individuals. One of the most

common activities of the present generation is the excessive use of social media websites. Social

media can be considered as those websites which allow interaction through web 2.0 & 3.0 sites

including applications like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, online gaming, virtual worlds like

Second Life, Sims, YouTube, Blogs, and so on. These sites of the present era are growing

exponentially and act as easily available portals for communication and entertainment for the

younger generation (Bhat, Bashir (2017).” According to Bhat, further “social media users have

speedily adopted online social communication as an essential part of daily life, as evidenced by
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the increasing figure of daily users. In fact, Facebook alone reported an estimated 1 billion active

users in August 2015. It means one in seven people on earth used Facebook in a single day to

stay connected with their friends and family, which was posted by Mark Zuckerberg on

Thursday, August 27, 2015.”

Rideout’s surmised, “many young people say social media helps them find connection,

support, and inspiration during times of depression, stress, or anxiety. Among those with

moderate to severe symptoms of depression, 30 percent say social media is “very” important to

them for feeling less alone, compared to 7 percent of those without depression; and 27 percent

say it is “very” important for getting inspiration from others, compared to 13 percent for those

without depression.” Accordingly, “these young people are slightly more likely to say that when

they are feeling depressed, stressed, or anxious, using social media makes them feel better (30

percent) than they are to say it makes them feel worse (22 percent). About half (47 percent) say

that it doesn’t affect them one way or the other (Rideout, Victoria, 2018).” While the survey

highlights the potential of online tools for positively engaging young people, it also raises some

important concerns regarding respondents’ mixed experiences with social media. For example,

young people with moderate to severe depressive symptoms are more likely than other youth to

say that when they use social media, they often feel left out (18 percent compared with 1 percent

of those without depression) or that others are doing better than they are (32 percent compared

with 7 percent) (Rideout p.33)”

In another study, McCrory stated, “users of highly visual social media (HVSM), such as

Snapchat and Instagram, share their messages through images, rather than relying on words. A

significant proportion of people that use these platforms are adolescents. Previous research
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reveals mixed evidence regarding the impact of online social technologies on this age group’s

mental wellbeing, but it is uncertain whether the psychological effects of visual content alone

differ from text-driven social media (McCrory, Alanna, 2020).”

According to a study by Rasmussen, et al, “social media use can negatively influence

emerging adults' mental well-being. His study explored the relationship between social media

use and mental well-being through difficulties with emotion regulation and perceived stress

among a sample of U.S. college-student emerging adults and revealed that social media is

indirectly related to mental health problems when emerging adults have difficulty with emotion

regulation and perceived stress.” The study also found that “emerging adults’ social media use is

an outcome of difficulties with emotion regulation through the effect of these difficulties on

perceived stress and mental well-being. Findings suggest that social media use may be a risk

factor for mental health struggles among emerging adults and that social media use may be an

activity to which emerging adults’ resort when dealing with difficult emotions (Rasmussen,

2020).”

In summary, most data reviewed showed the strength of the positive and negative

associations of routine social media use and emotional connection. One finding suggests that the

“link between social media use and health may not only be captured by and explained in terms of

conventional approaches but may require a more sophisticated conceptualization and

measurement of the social media use behavior (Schonning, 2020).

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References

Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the
twenties. Journal of Am Psychol 2000 May;55(5):469-480. [Medline]

Bashir H, Bhat S A (2017), Effects of Social Media on Mental

Health: A Review, International Journal of Indian Psychology, Volume 4, (3),
DIP:18.01.134/20170403, DOI:10.25215/0403.134

Berryman, C., Ferguson, C.J. & Negy, C. Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young
Adults. Psychiatr Q 89, 307–314 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-017-9535-6

D'Antonio, Emily G., "The Relationship Between Social Media Engagement and
Psychological Well-Being in College Students at The University of New Hampshire"
(2020). Honors Theses and Capstones. 515.https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/515

McCrory, Alanna, Paul Best, Alan Maddock.The relationship between highly visual social
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Nesi, Jacqueline. The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health

Challenges and OpportunitiesNorth Carolina Medical Journal March 2020, 81 (2) 116-
121; DOI: https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.81.2.116

Rasmussen,Eric E., Narissra Punyanunt-Cartera, Jenna R. LaFrenierea, Mary S.

Normana, Thomas G.Kimballba, College of Media & Communic Box 43082, Lubbock,
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Rideout, Victoria; Fox, Susannah; and Well Being Trust, "Digital Health Practices, Social
Media Use, and Mental Well-Being Among Teens and Young Adults in the U.S." (2018).
Articles, Abstracts, and Reports. 1093.
https://digitalcommons.psjhealth.org/publications/1093
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Schonning V, Hjetland GJ, Aarø LE and Skogen JC (2020) Social Media Use and Mental Health and
Well-Being Among Adolescents – A Scoping Review. Front. Psychol. 11:1949. doi:
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Villanti, Andrea C. Amanda L Johnson, Vinu Ilakkuvan, Megan A Jacobs, Amanda L.

Graham, Jessica M Rath. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet
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