Gonzalez 1

Bethzy E. Gonzalez1

Mrs. Ramirez

English

29 November 2023

Social Media Risk

Social media has both harmful and positive effects. This has been an issue teens have

been struggling with. Teens have encountered dreadful individuals who have had a profound

impact on some of them, it has led some people to make horrible choices like harming

themselves or committing suicide. “Teenage girls who spend two or three hours daily on social

media at the age of 13, were at a higher risk for suicide as young adults”

(socialmediavictms.org). The use of social media addiction is associated with low self-esteem,

unhappiness, sadness, and others. Continuous self-observation in comparison to others can lead

to a crucial, critical mindset. Social media such as Twitter can spread hurtful rumors, lies, and

abuse that can leave emotional scarring. Daily usage of social media can affect your mental

health. Social media is harmful for young teens and they should not use social media

unsupervised by parents or guardians.

Addiction to social media is linked to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

According to stonewaterrecovery.com, it states “The teen addicted to social media is distracted

from everyday life and real life relationships with family and friends.” It’s true due to people

getting in car accidents, being distracted when taking care of kids/toddlers, or even when

cooking. Social media can easily be a distraction. “Amongst the most widely-recognised causes

of addiction to social media are low self-confidence, personal dissatisfaction, depression, and

lack of affection” (liberdrola.com). In our community we can see this in a lot of teenagers. Teens
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are more involved in social media than other physical activities. “Studies have shown that social

media has a powerful effect on the brain, and it can create stimulating effects similar to

addiction” (jeffersonhealth.org). I also agree it pertains to mental health issues because then they

start to feel anxious about how they look or how others think they look. If we don't cut back on

social media use, mental illness among teens will worsen.

Teenagers on social media usually spend much of their time observing their lives and

images of their peers. According to the newsportacademy.com it states “Social media magnifies

the negative impact of social comparison for teens. That’s because they compare themselves to

carefully curated images of people, such as celebrities.” Teens nowadays want to look a certain

way because of the people they see on social media. I believe teens now only care about their

appearance because they fear rejection or judgment. “Social comparison is a form of sociological

self-esteem, where we derive our sense of self through comparing ourselves with others”

(nursingtimes.net). In addition to this I agree that social comparison can help, but young teens

sometimes don't understand. Teens who are on social media, attend to think the worst before

anything good happens. According to jedfountation.org, it states “Negative social comparison or

the fear of missing out (FOMO)-the worry that someone else is having a better time or is more

successful than you can impact our mental health in a variety of ways.” As for what I see, I

believe teens feel like they need to look a certain way, dress a certain way, or even talk a certain

way so they can feel accepted. To sum up, social media can cause you to over observe others'

lives and start to compare their lives with yours.

Cyber bullying on social media contains rude comments, lies, rumors, hacking, prank

calling, even pretending to be someone else. This can affect someone's mental health in a

negative way. According to aecf.org, “Teen girls and lgbtq youth are more likely to experience
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cyberbullying and online harassment which can lead to negative emotions.” These comments

posted online can often affect others' mental health believing it's wrong or strange. This can

cause them to be insecure about their sexuality. “ Social media platforms such as Twitter can be

hot spots for spreading hurtful rumors, lies, and abuse that can leave for lasting emotional scars.”

(helpguide.org) I believe parents should let their kids mature before letting them have any kind

of social media. They should also supervise their children’s social media activities to avoid any

risk on social media. According to socialmediavictims.org “Teenagers who fall victim to

cyberbullying might feel a variety of unfavorable feelings including anxiety, shame, anger, and

sadness.” In addition, Cyber bullying can leave emotional scarring to someone and in some cases

can lead to someone ending their life. It's best to ignore, report, or even block the comment.

Social media can affect mental health. “Multiple studies have found a strong link between

heavy social media and an increased risk of depression, anxiety, loneliness, self harm, and even

suicidal thoughts”(helpguide.org). Depression and anxiety are the main causes of social media. I

believe parents should put a limit on how long their kids should be on social media to any

anxiety or despair that social media may bring on. According to consumersnotice.org, "Plaintiffs

have recently filed a social media lawsuit alleging social platforms cause harm, such as mental

health disorders.” This shows how social media affects people's mentality. Restricting or

prohibiting social media could help or improve damaged mental health. “Social media can also

lead to tremendous stress, pressure to compare oneself to others, and increased sadness and

isolation. Mindful use is essential to social media consumption.”

(bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com) Kids shouldn't be able to have a phone if they're in

elementary school or incapable of having one. Kids easily get distracted and believe anything
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they see. As a result, if this continues on mental health such as depression, anxiety and sadness

will increase.

To conclude, social media as stated is not only harmful to teens and adults alike, but it is

causing major issues in our society. If we don't take action, the rate of mental illness and suicide

attempts will keep rising. Depression and anxiety rates will also continue to rise. Addictiveness

Of social media use is mainly associated with low self-esteem on happiness even lack of

affection. spending too much time observing the lives of others often affects people's mentality.

Cyberbullying on social media contains rude and false claims that teens should avoid or ignore.

But one of the biggest downsides of social media is the ill effect it has on mental health. Social

media should be restricted because most of the time it leads to addiction or mental health

problems. Overall, it's in the best interest of teens to either have restrictions, to be supervised on

social media or even avoid it.

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Work Cited

Robinson, Lawrence. “Social Media and Mental Health.” HelpGuide.Org, 29 Mar. 2023,

www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm#:~:text=However

%2C%20multiple%20studies%20have%20found,about%20your%20life%20or%20appearance.

Accessed 08 Nov. 2023.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation. “Social Media and Teen Mental Health.” The Annie E. Casey

Foundation, 10 Aug. 2023,

www.aecf.org/blog/social-medias-concerning-effect-on-teen-mental-health#:~:text=Adolescents%20who

%20use%20social%20media,per%20day%20on%20these%20platforms. Accessed 09 Nov. 2023.

“Social Media Brings Benefits and Risks to Teens. Here’s How Psychology Can Help Identify a

Path Forward.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association,

www.apa.org/monitor/2023/09/protecting-teens-on-social-media#:~:text=%E2%80%9CSocial%20media

%20provides%20a%20lot,task%20of%20the%20adolescent%20years.%E2%80%9D. Accessed 09 Nov.

2023.

“How to Help Your Teen Navigate Social Media.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical

Education and Research, 26 Feb. 2022,

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-204

74437#:~:text=However%2C%20social%20media%20use%20can,people’s%20lives%20and%20peer%2

0pressure. Accessed 09 Nov. 2023.