Allison Porter

Prof. Reynolds

ENG 1201.509

1 May 2022

How Does Social Media Negatively Impact The Mental Health of Children?

Ring, ring. Another notification. Thirteen year old Ella rolls out of bed for the third time

after attempting to get some sleep. She notices another notification from her new Instagram post.

Praying for this one to be kind, she unlocks her phone just to find one more harsh comment on

her profile page. Now, the words “ugly” and “fat” scramble her mind every time she looks at the

selfie she took at the beach. “I thought my smile was pretty,” she pondered to herself. Now,

every time she stares in the mirror, those words are all she can think about. Now, she only wears

sweatshirts that are two sizes too large, in order to disguise the natural shape of her body. She

begins skipping meals, excessively exercising, and confining in her room for most hours of the

day. Her parents begin to notice, but are not sure how to approach her, because they do not know

what could be wrong. The most upsetting part however, Ella was only a size medium. Could this

situation have been avoided? A report conducted in 2007 discovered that one in five American

children have experienced a mental disorder (What Is Children’s Mental Health?). While it is

obvious that mental health issues stem from numerous factors - genetics, trauma, and stress -

some factors of mental health issues can often be unexpected. Lately, society has noticed a spike

in mental health awareness. However, this awareness is not only targeted to our adults. Many

children around the world have fallen victim to mental health issues. From depression and
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anxiety, to more severe cases such as schizophrenia, almost every adolescent in today's society is

able to acknowledge the signs of bad mental health. Is there any possible correlation between

children and mental health issues? Social media is a platform that almost all children have access

to. In America alone, approximately 95% of teenagers own a smartphone (Paulich). Along with

these smartphones, 70% of adolescents are on Instagram and Snapchat, while 85% are on

YouTube (Barrett). These statistics are represented in the graphic pictured below:

Fig. 1 - The figure above represents the most popular social media apps accessed according to
adolescents (Pew Research Center).

Many children decide to use social media applications in order to communicate with friends and

family, as well as share little tidbits of their own lives through pictures, stories, and videos.

Others follow their favorite celebrities, or comment on their favorite creator’s posts. While social

media seems to be the perfect way of existing online, the platforms pose dangers to users,

specifically children, for multiple reasons. From hate comments to inappropriate pictures, social
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media exposes children to content that can possibly harm their wellbeing, especially regarding

their mental health. While social media does have certain benefits, children’s social media

presence should be highly monitored and limited due to the exposure of inappropriate content,

unrealistic physical expectations, as well as distracting from reality; all in which likely correlate

with unhealthy mental health issues found within children.

Social media is an entity that is almost globally accessible. Even areas that do not have

direct access to social media, usually have access to some sort of internet platform. Over the

years, social media has evolved from sharing posts and chatting with friends, to trading currency

and discovering marketing skills. Beginning with sites such as blogs for people to chat and share

opinions, to applications such as Facebook and Twitter, it is safe to say that social media has

rapidly changed over the last twenty or more years (The Evolution of Social Media). Nowadays,

the importance of social media has been impacted more than ever. During the COVID-19

pandemic, people around the entire world had little to no face to face contact for months on end.

This is when social media truly came into play. The platforms allowed families and friends to

communicate with one another, users to share how they survived quarantine, and even provided

news and information from country to country. Understandably, this period of time is also when

many parents allowed their children to have unsupervised access to social media as sort of a

distraction from the ever-changing world. While children have always been present on social

media, this specific period of time is when many children gained the social applications which

are still used today.

What can be considered as inappropriate? Usually, this determination is based on age.

Therefore, when children who are still in elementary and middle school have access to social

media, there is a very high chance that many children come in contact with inappropriate
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content. Since multiple social media applications do not restrict children and adults from

communicating, children are at risk of receiving and viewing a large degree of mature content.

Receiving nude pictures, for instance, is a very likely possibility that many children face while

entertaining an online presence. For some, this occurrence can even be traumatic and considered

to be a sort of sexual harrasment, possibly effecting the way said child will view and value sex

further in the future. Self-harm and suicide posts are also very common for children to discover.

Whether posted as “jokes'', or seriously, it is important to limit the amount of contact children

have with this inappropriate content. In fact, according to The New York Times, studies of the

pipeline between social media and suicide rates have shown that many adolescents learn and gain

an idea of suicide and self-harm from social media (Klass). Another source explains that,"We

found that teens who spent five or more hours a day online were 71 percent more likely than

those who spent less than an hour a day to have at least one suicide risk factor (depression,

thinking about suicide, making a suicide plan or attempting suicide)” (Barrett). Self-harm

practices such as disordered eating are also very prevalent online these days. The idea of body

image is one factor that affects many people, especially younger girls. Children are often very

gullible when it comes to information, so if an online persona tells children to commit an

unhealthy practice, there is a very high chance these children will give in. A study from the

University of Haifa in 2011 found that out of a sample of two-hundred and forty-eight girls

ranging from ages twelve to nineteen, the higher exposure the girls had to social media, the

greater chance these girls were to develop an eating disorder (Howard). This sample group is

extremely small compared to the amount of teenage girls around the world who actually use

social media regularly. Therefore, it is horrifying to imagine this prediction on a much more

extreme level.
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Fig. 2 - This chart represents the increase of diagnosed eating disorders among adolescents
during the COVID-19 Pandemic (BBC).

As seen in the chart above, childhood eating disorder diagnoses have almost doubled from 2015

to 2020. Although, anorexia-nervosa is not the only eating disorder promoted on social media

platforms. Children can also be promoted ideas of binge eating disorder, as well as bulimia.

“Mukbang'' eating videos are relevant all over video applications such as YouTube. These

extreme eating videos can encourage children to consume insane amounts of calories within one

sitting, which is obviously very unhealthy. Even if no eating disorder occurs, the body image

idea on social media can lead to many children developing body dysmorphia at a very young

age. This can be just as unhealthy for the mental health of children than any other disorder. The

greater exposure that children have to these unrealistic behaviors leads to the higher chance that

many children will begin to participate and possibly harm themselves, whether that is physically

or mentally.
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Another result that relates to children interacting with others through social media is

cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is often any form of bullying, but particularly practiced within an

online setting. Cyberbullying can be any situation such as hate comments to more severe cases

such as stalking. The cyberbullying epidemic is not only prevalent in America however. A 2018

study in Italy discovered that many of the students who had previously been active on social

media had also admitted to falling victim to a type of cyber-harassment. The study also disclosed

that female students were more prone to bullying than males (Marengo). Children who

unfortunately experience this online harassment can possibly fall into an ongoing loop between

social media and bad mental health. As previously stated, many young girls develop eating

disorders from false body images presented online (Howard). This same situation could occur

where a young girl receives harsh comments on a picture of her body. This could cause the girl

to begin skipping meals, exercising excessively, wearing loose clothes, and eventually worsening

a mental illness, such as an eating disorder. Cyberbullying is also closely linked with suicide

rates. Many adolescents who have attempted suicide or thought of the act have admitted to facing

some sort of online bullying. While cyberbullying is terrible enough as it is, providing more

terrible results like an eating disorder or any self harm is a very likely reality when children

spend mass amounts of time on social media. (Klass). The graphic pictured below represents

reasons given by adolescents on why social media has a negative impact:

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Fig. 3 - In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 24% of adolescents claimed that
social media resulted in a negative effect on their mental health. Reasons such as bullying,
unrealistic views, and distractions are all mentioned (Pew Research Center).

Rather than just affecting a child's internal life, social media can control factors of a

child’s external life as well. Social media has the dangerous ability of physically distracting

children from reality, enabling close-mindedness behaviors on multiple occasions. One of the

main arguments within schools is whether or not children should be allowed to have cellphones

in the classroom. Supporters of this claim believe that children become distracted with their

phones too easily, more importantly with social media applications. Even users of many

applications find this to be true based on the many posts and texts that are made within the

classroom or school grounds. These behaviors encourage students to not complete work, listen to

the teacher, or simply care about the aspect of education at all. Many teachers have first-

handedly witnessed how social media affects the student-body behavior. “Social media has

crippled my students when it comes to interacting with one another in person. Their very ability

to communicate is deteriorating,” North Carolina teacher Cori McAbee states (Barrett). Rather

than encouraging children to socialize with one another, social media is enabling children to
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become more reserved and isolated. Spending multiple hours of the day on social media

applications convinces children that they are socializing with peers and being productive with

their social skills. However, this is not the case. The mass amount of time spent on social media

does not improve social skills at all, only skills such as texting and posting. In fact, necessary

social skills are actually decreased resulting from the amount of time social media is used within

young children's lives. While children learn how to text, they lose the ability to hold a real

conversation with another person. The lack of this necessity of survival that many children do

not possess leaves children feeling anxious and isolated when it comes to equipping social skills

(Barrett).

Almost every person who uses social media can agree that the platforms have certain

benefits. Not only regarding adults, social media also provides children with many benefits when

it comes to the world of media. For instance, social media allows children to broaden their

understanding of the world around them (Social Media Benefits). Even from apps such as

TikTok, watching videos from creators around the world can educate children about different

cultures and ways of life. Through social media, children can also gain skills regarding digital

and technological knowledge. From features such as photoshop to online marketing, social media

can influence and teach children the new ways of future technological-based life. Social media

inspires children to leave a good digital footprint (Social Media Benefits). If children find

themselves posting inappropriate content on social media, like images of drugs and alcohol, they

may be faced with a potentially damaged future reputation. Employers, schools, and other

important entities can possibly come in contact with a user's profile. Depending on the types of

content the user is associated with could possibly determine whether or not that user gets

accepted to said job or school. Social media does a proficient job at managing what can and
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should be posted from children. This is done through approving certain posts, as well as

guideline rules that users must uphold. Likely the most beneficial part of social media is that the

platform allows children to communicate with one another (Social Media Benefits). In today’s

busy society, it can be hard for adolescents to meet in person to hang out and converse with one

another. Therefore social media is a savior for many who just have time to make a quick text.

While social media seems to provide many benefits for users, the negative impacts that it dually

shares outweigh the good regarding the state of the user’s wellbeing, specifically regarding

children.

Fig. 4 - The graphic pictured above represents ways that teens claim social media is positive in

their own experiences (Statista).

So, what type of negative impacts does social media pose to the mental health of

children? This question can be answered with many supporting examples. Inappropriate content

that is widely accessible on social media can traumatize children, potentially making them
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anxious about those factors in the future. Nude pictures, self-harm, and suicidal content are not

healthy for developing adolescent minds. In fact, this type of exposure can potentially traumatize

children, creating a harsh stigma around sex and suicide that may be too mature for young minds.

Social media also presents children with false expectations, such as body image. These types of

false messages can hinder the way many children view themselves, both physically as well as

internally. This body image trend does not only apply to losing weight, but gaining it as well.

Encouraging these types of behavior to children rather than encouraging a healthy lifestyle is

very harmful and dangerous to adolescent well beings. Social media also poses as a distraction

from reality. When children spend most of their waking hours on the phone, they will eventually

begin to lack the real-life necessity of social skills. Without these skills, children can begin to

feel lonely and isolated, as well as anxiety when it comes to actually having a conversation with

another person. In short, social media is accompanied with many factors that can seriously harm

the wellbeing of a child’s mind and body. Therefore, it is important for adults to carefully

monitor and control what children are doing on social media. While some may believe that this is

an invasion of privacy, in the end it is just one more protective measure in keeping children safe.

Due to her guardian's new knowledge regarding the internet and social media, thirteen year old

Ella takes careful precautions when it comes to social media. She only follows close friends to

ensure no dangerous interactions. She turns off her comments in order to filter out jealous and

harsh comments. Most importantly, she has fun using a platform that is so prevalent in so many

lives today. Ella no longer becomes self-conscious and anxious when posting on social media,

she is now just focused on being a kid. Although social media will never truly be removed from

the lives of children, it is important for adults to monitor the access that children have to social

media in order to create more positive memories rather than upsetting statistics.
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Works Cited

Barrett, Kira. “Social Media's Impact on Students' Mental Health Comes into Focus.” NEA,

National Education Association, 27 Sept. 2018, https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-

change/new-from-nea/social-medias-impact-students-mental-health-comes-focus.

Accessed 18 March 2022

CDC. “What Is Children's Mental Health?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 Sept. 2021,

https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/basics.html. Accessed 20 March 2022.

Eating Disorder graph by NHS Digital - www.bbc.com

Klass, Perri. “When Social Media Is Really Problematic for Adolescents.” The New York Times,

The New York Times, 3 June 2019,

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/well/family/when-social-media-is-really-

problematic-for-adolescents.html. Accessed 20 March 2022.

Marengo, N., et al. “Cyberbullying and Problematic Social Media Use: An Insight into the

Positive Role of Social Support in Adolescents-Data from the Health Behaviour in

School-Aged Children Study in Italy.” Public Health, W.B. Saunders, 17 September

2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033350621003371.

Accessed 19 March 2022.

McGuire, Jane. “Does Social Media Cause Eating Disorders in Children?” Eating Disorder

Hope, 3 Oct. 2016, https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/social-media-cause-eating-

disorders-children. Accessed 26 March 2022.

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Mostly Negative Effect graph by Pew Research Center -www.pewresearch.org

Paulich, Katie N., et al. “Screen Time and Early Adolescent Mental Health, Academic, and

Social Outcomes in 9- and 10- Year Old Children: Utilizing the Adolescent Brain

Cognitive Development ℠ (ABCD) Study.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, 8

September 2021, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?

id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0256591. Accessed 18 March 2022.

Popular Social Media Platform graph by Pew Research Center - www.pewresearch.org

Positive Social Media Effect graph by Statista - www.statista.com

“Social Media Benefits.” Internet Matters, 7 June 2021,

https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/social-media-advice-hub/social-media-

benefits/. Accessed 27 March 2022.

“The Evolution of Social Media: How Did It Begin and Where Could It Go next?” Maryville

Online, 3 Mar. 2021, https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/. Accessed

27 March 2022.
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