Is social media the reason why teenagers are faced with more mental health problems today?

Over the years, a lot of social media apps, such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat have been created. Millions of teenagers all over the world use different social media apps for different reasons. Although many of these social media apps started out as a way to help entertain people and pass information along, they have grown more damaging over the years.

There is no denying that social media has a lot of benefits especially for teenagers nowadays. Many teenagers find comfort in social media (even more now, because of the Covid-19 pandemic and online learning). Many teenagers use social media to entertain themselves, and many use it to express themselves. Also, many teenagers use social media to catch up on the latest news, and they use it to communicate with other people and build social networks. 

While social media can be very helpful, it has really taken a huge toll on the mental health of teenagers today. It has definitely led to the growth of different mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. In addition, teenagers have taken their own lives because of social media.

On social media, we see different kinds of things, and people are free to post whatever they want. Therefore, it is so easy to believe anything and everything on there. Teenagers go on social media and they see a lot of things, both the good and bad. The way the content is taken and understood really determines what impact it has on them. Unfortunately, many teenagers take in the content in a negative way and this has led to the growth of several mental health issues in teenagers today.

Cyberbullying is one of the major negative impacts of social media. Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over the use of phones, computers, and other electronic devices. Unfortunately, cyberbullying has grown more dangerous over the years, with people having the freedom to say whatever they want to people over the internet. People are very ignorant about their actions, so they would say the meanest things to people on different social media apps. This has led to more teenagers becoming very depressed and teenagers taking their own lives. It really is so sad that social media, where teenagers are supposed to feel safe and welcomed, is where teenagers feel the most unsafe. 

Due to everyone posting different kinds of content and pictures on social media, a lot of teenagers compare themselves to other people. With social media, the only thing you see is what people want to show you and this is what a lot of teenagers have failed to realize, sadly. Therefore, they compare their bodies, life, accomplishments, and many more to other people, mostly celebrities, on social media. This has definitely led to more teenagers being depressed, because when they compare themselves to others on social media, they feel like they are not good enough or that they are “ugly and weird”- which definitely is not the case. A lot of teenagers have also developed different eating disorders because of this and it has led to major health problems, and sometimes death. To be honest, most teenagers fail to understand that we cannot all be the same and look the same, and that our differences and uniqueness are very beautiful.  

Aside from social media really negatively impacting the mental health of teenagers, it can lead to very low self-esteem. Due to the way a lot of teenagers perceive the things that they see on the internet, low self-esteem is very common; a lot of teenagers think very badly and negatively of themselves. Also, many teenagers all over the world are very unhappy with themselves and with their lives in general, and this is greatly caused by social media; they just don’t feel okay with themselves because of something they have seen on social media. It is devastating!

To be honest, social media is probably not going anywhere, so I will advise teenagers to try to take a break from social media once in a while. This is just to help you to BREATHE and get away from some of the negativity that is all over social media. Take a break, and do something you love doing, or even learn a new, healthy habit. As addicting as social media can be, try to take a break sometimes for your mental health and well-being—you’ll thank yourself for it!