Day 1

Aaron Day

Professor Barnes

English Comp. II

April 30th, 2022

Research Essay

Depression has been a major topic in the world for many years recently. There have been

many studies on depression and the toll it can take on a society, most importantly an individual.

Although mental illness has been seen only as an effect on soldiers returning from war,

traumatizing events taking place in one's life and the people who have lived through war or a

recession. Newly found information has shown adolescents being affected by an illness that will

affect them for a lifetime. The question is, why are teenagers affected by depression if they have

not lived through something so terrible to show them the way to this illness? Young children

have been exposed to social media which has started to attract a negative audience. Social media

started to stage a persona to show children a wrong way of life which is a root for depression.

During adolescence, one might find themselves at the center of a negative world online. The

growing cases in teenage mental illness has skyrocketed due to the constant torture of social

media which will forever affect a child and a lifelong depression.

The term depression has always been around from soldiers in World War II, parents

during the great depression and after math of the horrific 9/11 attack but not many studies on

children with depression. Clinic depression can be dated all the way back to Mesopotamian

times. With the earliest cases of depression being seen as a spiritual problem, let alone a mental

problem was also dated back to B.C.E times. Going back to more recent generations, depression
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still wasn’t seen as mental illness, but much connected to religion. (Schimelpfening) In more

moderate times, social media began to platform in late 2000s, gaining traction in teenagers like

Facebook, later in early 2010s such as Instagram and Snapchat. Even though these platforms

were born to allow one to post and interact with friends online, they have not always been used

that way. “Haters” have always been around but not your usual bully at school but on your

Instagram page. Teenagers have been more prone to depression due to their use of social media

which started to bring a more negative light onto the world of technology.

I feel as though the prevalence of depression in adolescents has been rising since the birth

of social media. Since teenagers have the world at their fingertips, this opens an assortment of

problems for people to tear one another down for either amusement or their own personal gain.

Adolescents have been having heavy screen time because of their attraction to social media

platforms. “Adolescents nowadays spend more time on gaming and social media than previous

generations.” (Kleppang et al.) From a study in Norway, children in this generation have been

more attracted to the internet demographic than any other generation before. But why is social

media becoming so popular but so negative towards our children? People can easily contact

others online which is great access for defamation of teens using social media. The capability of

kids being able to reach a world of hatred produced by these platforms and the lack of censorship

these bullies have is a major result in depression. As someone is bullied in real life, this is just

the same if not worse as being bullied online. A kid dives into their thoughts, constantly feeling

attacked and ridiculed by an online presence which adults may not be aware of. It is a problem

because then this will affect their everyday lives in how they go about things. This could cause

eating problems, social isolation and most importantly suicide. “Social media use, video gaming

and computer use are more likely to be associated with depressive symptoms compared to
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television viewing, indicated in a recent systematic review of moderating variables, that screen-

type influences that strength of association between screen based sedentary behavior and

symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescence.” (Kleppang et al.) The isolation of a

teenager is a major issue when growing up, developing social skills and learning to cope.

One might say that social media has no influence on someone’s life but when a child has

the internet at the tip of their fingers, it’s a whole different story. Social media is not always

helpful but harmful to the youth from online bullies to classmates picking on them then

translating to real life, in example, school situations. I think that this is the most impactful wave

in a child and their years before adulthood. It is experimental for letting a child use electronics,

mainly social media platforms because this can lead to developmental problems resulting from

depression. Depressive symptoms have been proven to relate to technology use amongst teens.

Social media brings cyberbullies which can lead to depression but in real life, that factor does not

go away. A study in Denmark was taken to understand the children who were being bullied and

its affects that come from the mean remarks or physical attacks from their peers. “Bullying is

associated with several adverse outcomes later in life, such as reduced self-esteem, reduced

desire to engage in social relations, and health problems such as anxiety, depression and

psychosomatic disorders.” (Winding et al.) Someone is less likely to connect and grow mentally

if they are faced with the fact they are suffering from a mental illness. “A few longitudinal

studies identify a link between childhood bullying and mental health problems in adult life.”

(Winding et al.) The relation between a troubled childhood and troubled adulthood connects

from depression and systematic oppression faced as a child.

The change in a teenager may not be detectable because they will go through many

phases in their adolescent years. Phases can result in social media and the thoughts it can put into
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a child’s mind. Teenagers can be some of the best people to hide stuff as I know, I am one. A

child does not always turn to social media and get their mental illness from it. Depression is also

able to move in patterns, while a teenager might have people around them depressed, they are

likely to be depressed themself too. Depression does not always come from the internet but from

the household. “Children who have one or more close relatives with depression, especially a

parent, are more likely to have depression themselves.” (Krans.) Problems such as isolation from

family and friends, lack of energy and motivation and suicidal thoughts. The help which teens

can receive is huge, no matter if it’s a hug or a therapist or medicine. The early catch of

depression is a big factor in long term effects. The halt of bullying someone may be receiving

online or in school is super important. Again, the catch of early signs of adolescent depression is

one of the most important steps.

Before the age of social media, when a child was found to have depressive symptoms, it

was questioned by parents, their teachers and doctors on where this came from. Did these

troubles stem from the at home environment? During school hours? Most of the time, their

bullies were someone who they saw as a peer, classmate, a friend. Bullying has been a problem

all the way back 100 years, 500 years and many more dating back. Kids and who they are

surrounded by have a major impact on their mental illness. Environments have a huge impact on

how a child may react to a situation and their mental health problems. Children are extremely

impressionable, and their minds can be swayed easily. Taunting, torturing, and bullying of a still

developing brain can be detrimental to a child. No matter where the child goes, the environment

will have an impact on them. This can and will be a long-term problem affecting their mental

health and growth as a person. In this next article, the author explains how the surrounding area

of a child will have issues affecting their mental health. “Common genetic and environmental
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vulnerability to these conditions have previously been demonstrated, however, the manner in

which common versus disorder-specific etiological influences operate across development and

maintain symptom cooccurrence is unclear.” (Waszczuk et al.) The vulnerability of adolescence

is surreal because the minds of young adults are still developing, growing and learning to cope

with society and adapt to it. Depressive disorder can also be aligned with ADHD in teenagers. I

believe that many different mental illnesses cross the spectrum. Bullying can stem from a simple

disorder and people get taken advantage of it. “Adolescent depression is highly prevalent and

commonly co-occurs with externalizing psychopathology, including conduct disorder and

ADHD.” (Waszczuk et al.)

The developmental teen brains are still growing and developing all the way until they are

25 at least. Having different trauma put onto a young brain can lead to difficulties later in life.

The issues of not being able to socialize with others, comprehend certain subjects and having

triggering moments and the ability to be unable to work. This is very difficult because the

protection of children is extremely important. Parents want to protect their children from

traumatizing events that can lead to depressive symptoms and are later diagnosed with

depression. Preventing depression in children is extremely important because it will majorly

affect them for their adulthood. It is crucial for the prevention of bullies to be able to

communicate and get their attacks across to their victims. In this next article, the main focuses

are on prevention in childhood trauma leading to depression. I think that if we are working

together to provide safety and cautiousness in our community, the prevalence of depression in

our teens and adults from generations before. “Given the clinical importance of persistent

psychiatric comorbidity, understanding of transdiagnostic risk and maintenance factors common

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across different symptoms and across development is crucial for informing successful prevention

and intervention strategies in young people.” (Waszczuk et al.)

Teenagers have been affected by school troubles for years and it is a problem that doesn’t

seem to be going away. The issues with schools providing the right mental health services to

help teens in need, punishing bullies for their actions and gathering the community for overall

beneficial help. Children may be bullied for other reasons which could result in depression. Kids

with ADHD, Tourette's and skin diseases are often looked at as out-casts, targets, different than

other children. This is an opportunity to take out one's hatred for another kid. “Adolescent

depression is highly prevalent and commonly co-occurs with externalizing psychopathology,

including conduct disorder and ADHD. The co-occurrence of these three disorders and their

symptoms is consistent with hierarchical models of psychopathology, which pose a substantial

correlation between higher-order internalizing and externalizing factors.” (Waszczuk et al.)

Occurrences where children already suffer from an illness rather be physical, mental or

psychological is one where they can easily be insulted, ridiculed and put down for. This leads to

major signs of depression for a young child in a place of vulnerability, too afraid to speak up

because of classmates.

One major topic with children and depression is their schooling. Education can take a toll

on one's mental health, rather it be a middle schooler not being able to pass their math class or a

high schooler having difficulty in their college-readiness class. In Bangladesh, a study has shown

the growing cases from education is more prevalent in recent years than any before. The

education system has been shown to fail children and inadequately deal with their issues

pertaining to mental health. Mental health and schooling are an issue that does not combine so

well and is a much-needed conversation when it is children's lives, happiness, future and
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education at stake. In the study, results were found that adolescents are the future of the nation,

becoming future politicians, entrepreneurs and community leaders. This can all be a result of

their time spent in school and the treatment of their mental health. “In the present study, the

findings indicated that nearly one-third of respondents (26.5%) experienced moderate to severe

depression”y (Islam et al.)

More information on the prevalence of teenage depression is extremely helpful when

researching the topic. It is very important to note that this topic is extremely sensitive to some

people but beneficial to others. Depression was one of the earliest mental illnesses detected and

still being studied to this day. I feel as though it is a very important topic to continue to talk

about, research, study, understand and have sympathy for. So many teenagers are struggling right

now and feel helpless but asking for help does not make you weak. When asking for help, it

shows strength, courage, the ability to face something so detrimental and painful to experience at

such a young age. Since the birth of technology, thanking Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook,

Kevin Systrom, founder of Instagram and many other tech giants, they have been influencing

young teens. It is very cautious that we hold those accountable for the accessibility bullies have

to children who are vulnerable and eager to seek validation in this world. Depression is a very

important illness to speak upon and seek the answer to help adolescents being tortured from

social media, school and at-home bullies.

Works Cited

Islam, Md. Saiful, et al. “Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Associated Factors among
School Going Adolescents in Bangladesh: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Study.” PLOS
ONE, vol. 16, no. 4, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247898.
Kleppang, Annette Løvheim, et al. “Electronic Media Use and Symptoms of Depression among
Adolescents in Norway.” PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 7, 2021,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254197.
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Krans, Brian. “All You Need to Know about Teen Depression, from Causes to Coping.”
Healthline, Healthline Media, 18 Feb. 2021, https://www.healthline.com/health/adolescent-
depression.
Schimelpfening, Nancy. “When Were the Earliest Accounts of Depression?” Verywell Mind,
https://www.verywellmind.com/who-discovered-depression-1066770.
Waszczuk, Monika A., et al. “Why Do Depression, Conduct, and Hyperactivity Symptoms Co-
Occur across Adolescence? the Role of Stable and Dynamic Genetic and Environmental
Influences.” European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 30, no. 7, 2020, pp. 1013–
1025., https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01515-6.
Winding, Trine Nøhr, et al. “Is Bullying in Adolescence Associated with the Development of
Depressive Symptoms in Adulthood?: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.” BMC Psychology,
vol. 8, no. 1, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00491-5.