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Emma Patzek

Professor Echols

English Composition ll

26 October 2021

Social Media is Really to Blame

I am going to share something that I have never told anyone, in hopes that maybe

you might relate and that you will find relief in what I have to say. I spent a good year

and a half constantly criticizing myself in all aspects of my life, but especially the way I

look. It may sound superficial or vain, but it was a real problem that I couldn't seem to

shake or even manage. I spent a lot of my time comparing myself to models and

influencers online. I would try so hard to look like them by putting on makeup or

working out two times a day. I did this in hopes that I would feel worthy and self love for

myself. It got so terrible that I couldn´t stand to look at my own reflection because I

knew I would just pick out all my insecurities. I would even tell my friends that I would

not be able to go out with them because I felt so embarrassed about the way I looked. I

found that no matter how many compliments I got, I would never accept them. I´d always

think to myself ¨they are just trying to be nice, they don't actually think I have pretty

hair.¨ The problem with this story is that I had never felt so much shame before all these

thoughts had started. In fact, I was the most confident person. The question is why, all of

a sudden, did I start hating myself so much? I slowly began to realize that I would spend

hours upon hours scrolling through Tik Tok or Instagram, and all I found myself doing
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was comparing my life and myself to everyone else. I realized that I was not the problem,

social media was the problem. Social media tore me down mentally, but why was social

media doing this to me? I was fighting everyday to just feel good in my own skin. This is

why I want to share information on how social media negatively impacts the mental

health of teens by causing anxiety and depression, and even some basic aspects of their

lives like sleep and academics, and how thankfully, there are actions that can be taken to

prevent these, sometimes life altering issues.

Social Media is a new phenomenon in our society, many older generations look at

social media as a foreign idea. Typically older generations tend to have a little bit of

trouble when it comes to understanding the ins and outs of Facebook or Instagram.

However, to teenagers it is a walk in the park and it is essentially all they know because

many grew up with it. Social media is a big part of many teens' lives, ¨ A 2018 Pew

Research Center survey of nearly 750 13- to -17 year olds found that 45% are online

almost constantly and 97% use social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook,

Instagram, or Snapchat¨(1). Social media is always evolving, this keeps people

entertained and satisfied. New platforms are created often and social media platforms like

Instagram and Snapchat have routine updates. Social media is a place that allows teens to

create online profiles that represent their identity, build social networks, and

communicate with others that have similar interests. These qualities can be good for teens

but do the negative consequences outweigh the good?

Today, social media is known as a place where people typically post highlight

reels, meaning they only post the good. In an Interview conducted by Saint Luke´s
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Hospital of Kansas City´s Critten Children's Center, Amanda Davis explains what a

teenager does as soon as they open their Instagram. She states, ¨ The very first moment a

teen opens up their social media platforms, they are comparing themselves to curated

lives¨ (7). People tend to post when they are on vacation, at a fun event, or when they are

wearing their best clothes. These photos are also usually heavily edited with filters,

cropping, and sadly photoshop as well. The ironic part is that most of these heavily edited

photos are posted by social media influencers. A social media influencer is someone who

has credibility in an industry, has access to an audience and can persuade others based on

their recommendations. Since the influencers have a large following, a lot of people view

their heavily, edited content and think that it is real-life. This misconception can make the

viewer feel like something is wrong with them and make them feel dissatisfied with their

life, ¨studies have shown just viewing content posted by an influencer, reported declines

in life satisfaction¨ (5). People feel this way since they do not look or live a life that is

like an influencer´s and can essentially cause self doubt and depression.

Comparing looks and lifestyles are not the only ways that teens are being

negatively impacted mentally by social media. The way in which teens use social media

might determine its effect on mental health. Teens are posting for validation, meaning

they are posting for the likes, comments, and shares. They are searching for validation on

social media platforms. When they search for this validation, it replaces meaningful and

long-lasting friendships they might make in a real life situation. McLean Hospital, Dr.

Lisa W. Coyne states that if a teenager does not receive enough validation, it may deplete

their self worth and esteem. She explains, “a study performed in 2015 found that when
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teens use social media for comparison and feedback seeking, that social media was linked

with anxiety and depressive symptoms¨ (4). Posting a selfie is usually for the person who

posts it, so they can boost their self-esteem, they post it with the hope of receiving

positive feedback from other users. If the person who posts the content doesn't get as

many likes or comments as someone else who posted the same content they may think

that there is something wrong with them. Instagram made an effort to try and better the

mental health of teens by taking away likes, ¨ social media platform Instagram made

headlines last year for suppressing likes in an effort to curb the comparisons and hurt

feelings associated with attaching popularity to sharing content¨ (10). Although

Instagram took away likes there are still other ways people can get validation on social

media and there are other ways that it can impact mental health.

The fear of missing out, plays a role in the disruption of teens mental health

because it makes teens feel the need to download the latest, trending app and also expose

them to feeling left out by friends. Tik Tok is a great example of teens experiencing

FOMO. Since Tik Tok is a newer platform, many people have recently downloaded it in

the past two years. The reason so many people have felt the need to do this is the fear

they will miss out on the latest trend, ¨if everyone else is using social media sites, and if

someone doesn't join in, there's a concern that they'll miss jokes, connections, or

invitations¨(8). Missing out on experiences that are created by the platforms can create

anxiety and depression. Social media can also cause FOMO because people see that their

friends are posting pictures having fun without them because they were not invited. When
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people look on a platform and see that they are excluded, it can affect feelings, moods,

and thoughts, resulting in depression.

Social media is designed to be addicting which keeps teens feeling anxious and

depressed because they begin to rely on constant positive feedback. Many teens are on

social media for many hours at a time, ¨ 87% spend an average of seven hours a day

staring at screens¨ ( 7). A social media addiction often looks similar to other substance

abuse disorders and can include mood modification. Social media addiction can be linked

to dopamine. This includes social environments that social media platforms can provide.

Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Tik Tok all produce the same neural stimulation that

is caused by drugs, gambling, and alcohol that keep consumers hooked on their products.

Recent studies have shown that the positive feedback such as likes, comments, and

reshares from these sites cause the brain's reward region to trigger the same reaction seen

with heavy drugs like heroin. Social media becomes a problem when someone views

social media as a coping mechanism to relieve stress, depression, or loneliness. When

social media is used as a coping mechanism it can leave a teen in an uncontrolled cycle of

depression, mood swings, and anxiety.

The last way that social media can negatively impact mental health is giving

bullies a platform to harass their targets. Social media platforms are an easy place for

bullies to harass others because it is much easier for them to make fun of someone behind

a screen, than in person. An online bully can be a person who specifically has something

against someone they know personally or this can also apply to the trolls on social media

who call out influencers or people who are typically well known. An internet troll is
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someone who leaves comments on a post that is insincere, digressive, extraneous, and

made to bring down people who post the content. These comments are intended to

provoke the readers into displaying emotional responses, or to manipulate their

responses. Bullying online in any form can cause lasting emotional damage and cause

mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This is because bullying can leave

the target feeling no sense of self worth and oftentimes they struggle to ignore what the

bully says about them.

There are other ways that social media can negatively impact a teens life other

than mental health. Social media can also disrupt a teens ability to sleep by keeping them

up all night. Checking their social media, sending text messages, or looking at the latest

posts before bed can keep people up at night. Many people tend to get on their phones

before bed which means many struggle to get adequate sleep because of the use of social

media, ¨a poll of hospital employees and university students found that a staggering 70%

of people report using social media after getting into bed, with almost 15% spending an

hour or more doing so each night¨ (18). The more time that teens spend on social media

the more trouble they have being able to fall asleep, and the less sleep they get during the

night. These sleep problems are linked with depression, insomnia, and even how they

perform academically.

Social media can affect teens in a negative way by preventing them from

performing well in school. Social media diverts the concentration and attention of

students towards activities that are not educational and even time wasting such as texting

friends or watching Tik Tok videos. When studying for a big test teens are more likely to
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get distracted, compared to when social media was not around. A study found that

students who spend the most time on social media had less academic behavior and

performed poorer than those who didn’t use social media as frequently. In a study,

performed on students found that out of 97% of students who used social media

platforms, only 1% of them used platforms for academic purposes. This proves that the

main focus of social media is strictly just for social interactions and not academic

purposes. Meaning, that when teens use social media while studying, it is most likely

distracting them from learning and retaining the information they are trying to remember

for a test. Overall these habitual behaviors are distracting students from their academic

work and affecting their academic performance, which can negatively impact a teens life.

Even though there is evidence that social media can negatively impact the lives of

teens, some argue that it can be beneficial for teens. Using social media allows teens to

create identities online, build social networks, and communicate with others. Social

media platforms provide teens with undeniable support, and it can also help those who

experience being left out. Social media is also a place where teens find entertainment. It

is also a place where they feel comfortable expressing themselves, especially on

platforms like Tik Tok. Social media keeps teens informed with the latest news and also

allows them to know what is going on in the world around them. Even though these are

great arguments to why social media is a good resource for teens, teens do not know how

to use it in a way that will not negatively affect their lives. The constant overuse and not

knowing how to stop comparing themselves to a false reality can cause serious, lasting

mental health conditions, and can result in poor sleep and poor academic performance.
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What can be done to prevent the negative impacts that social media has on the

mental health, sleep, and academic performance of teens? The first step a teen can take to

better themselves is setting a reasonable limit for themselves. They can go to their phones

settings and set time limits for each of their social media apps. This will allow them to

monitor their usage and also prevent themselves from spending a whole day scrolling

through their phones. They should also try to limit the use of their phones while studying,

and bedtime. A strategy that is useful for teens while studying is putting the phone in a

different room, so they are not tempted to check it for notifications. A strategy that is

useful for teens so that they can get adequate sleep, is giving themselves an hour before

bed where they are prevented from using their phone. Instead of using their phone in that

hour before bed they should read or find another relaxing activity, such as meditating.

Another way teens can help themselves is by setting time aside to spend time with their

offline friends. It is very important for teens to have face to face interactions with friends

without the use of social media. The best way teens can keep social media from

negatively affecting them, is them realizing how it affects them personally. If they know

social media is causing them anxiety, depression, and making them feel a sense of self

doubt, then they need to set boundaries from the apps and find other things to do such as

a hobby. There are plenty of ways teens can help better themselves and ways that social

media itself can better itself so teens are less likely to be negatively impacted.

What are some ways that social media is bettering itself and what can still be done

by these platforms to prevent teens from being negatively impacted? Social media

platforms are starting to realize the trouble that they have been creating for teens, with the
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constant comparisons, anxiety, depression, lack of sleep, and even poor classroom

performance. Instagram has done many things to help its users. Instagram regulates

online bullying and continues to make updates so that less trolls will be able to harass

their targets. Instagram has also gotten rid of likes, in the hopes of lessening the amount

of people who compare themselves to others. Another way instagram has made an effort

to help its users is by introducing wellbeing guides. This feature focuses on allowing

select creators to work with mental health and wellbeing organisations to produce guides

containing, supportive and positive content for users. Tik Tok is also making an effort to

help its users by its screen time prompt. This feature on Tik Tok shows up when the user

has spent too much time scrolling through the app and reminds them to take a break from

their screen. Though social media apps are coming up with ways to help with teens'

wellbeing, there are still things that need to be done, ¨Sperling suggests social media

platforms consider decreasing mass sharing altogether¨(9). It would be beneficial if social

media platforms focused more on messaging services. There are ways that social media is

trying to help and there are still ways that they can better themselves for users, but at the

end of the day, users are responsible for their own actions on social media and have the

ability to control how it affects their lives.

I decided to take control of my life and not let social media define who I was

anymore. After months of being my own hater, I decided it was time for a change. I

decided to limit my social media usage. I set up time limits for each of my social media

platforms. I only allow myself to use Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, and VSCO for an

hour a day. I have also allowed myself to realize that a lot of the content you see on these
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platforms is curated and not real. I have also been strict with myself by making sure my

phone is off while studying and off an hour before I go to bed. After making these

changes to my social media usage, I have realized a significant difference. I notice that I

no longer struggle with looking in the mirror, in fact, I am more confident than I have

ever been. I have also noticed a significant difference in my grades. I have been doing a

lot better in school because I am no longer allowing social media to be a distraction while

studying. I noticed that I have been able to sleep longer because I have been turning my

phone off as well. There is no doubt that social media is bad for teens. It negatively

impacts their mental health by causing anxiety and depression from the constant self

comparison, and also is a huge distraction from sleep and academics.

This image provides evidence that the rate in which people are using their phones is

increasing over time. This increase in use can explain why mental health in teens is

deteriorating.

Works Cited

Davis, Amanda. ¨ KCTV: Teen´s Mental Health Affected by Social Media.¨ Saint Luke’s Health

System, 10 April. 2019,

https://www.saintlukeskc.org/about/news/kctv-teens-mental-health-affected-social-media.

Accessed 16 October 2021.

Granic, Isabella, et al. ¨Young People´s Digital Interactions from a Narrative Identity

Perspective: Implications for Mental Health and Wellbeing.¨ Psychology Inquiry, vol.31,

Apr. 2020, pp. 258-270,

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

ue&db=slh&AN=146865996&site=eds-live. Accessed 17 October 2021.

Jain, Vaibhav, et al. ¨Depression and Impaired Mental Health Analysis from Social Media

Platforms Using Predictive Modeling Techniques.¨ 2020 Fourth International

Conference, Oct. 2020, pp. 855-860,

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

ue&db=edseee&AN=edseee.9243334&site=eds-live. Accessed 17 October 2021.

Mayo Clinic Staff,¨Teens and Social Media Use: What's the Impact?¨ Mayo Clinic, 2019,

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-s

ocial -media-use/art-20474437. Accessed 17 October 2021.

McLean. ¨Here’s How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health.¨ The Social Dilemma: Social

Media and Your Mental Health, Feb. 9, 2021,

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-h

ealth. Accessed 17 October 2021.

Robinson, Lawrence. ¨Social Media and Mental Health.¨ HelpGuide.Org, 7 Oct. 2021,

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm.

Accessed 15 October 2021.