Influences of Social Media on Mental Health (Youth)
Let’s be honest, social media isn’t going anywhere, and for teens today, it’s a huge part of life. But as fun and expressive as platforms like TikTok and Instagram can be, they’re also bringing some serious challenges to the table. The more time teens spend scrolling through their feeds, the more likely they are to experience things like anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Why? Because social media sets teens up for constant comparisons, especially when they're faced with perfect, filtered versions of other people’s lives. A recent WHO report revealed that 11% of adolescents showed signs of problematic social media behavior, struggling to control their use and experiencing negative consequences . It’s not surprising when everything online looks picture-perfect, it’s hard not to feel like you're falling short.
For the longest time, I would compare myself to other girls on social media. I didn’t even want to take pictures without a filter because I felt insecure about how my skin looked compared to theirs; due to acne. Everyone online seemed to have perfect skin and an amazing lifestyle, and I convinced myself that I didn’t measure up. Now, I know that most of what we see online isn’t real, it’s edited, filtered, or staged. But this experience helps me understand why it’s so important to teach teens about the truth behind social media. The pressure to look a certain way or live a “perfect” life can be overwhelming, and it can have a big impact on their mental health.
This connects perfectly with Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, which explains how we model the behaviors we see around us. When teens see influencers or peers getting validation for certain looks, behaviors, or lifestyles, they’re likely to imitate them, hoping for the same rewards. But the issue is, much of what we see on social media is constructed, the filters, the perfect angles, the curated lives. That’s why it's so crucial to teach teens about how these platforms often distort reality. Instead of banning social media (which, let’s be real, won’t work lol), we should focus on educating teens about digital literacy. Helping them recognize the difference between what's real and what's edited can go a long way in building their self-esteem and mental resilience.
Source:
World Health Organization. (2024, September 25). Teens, screens and mental health. https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/25-09-2024-teens--screens-and-mental-health
This article is very good to relate to! There is so much stigma on everyday things on social media. A lot of the time when I'm scrolling on social media, I tend to scroll across videos of what are called "What I eat in a day." These videos could be harmful to anyone because everyone has different daily needs for their bodies. This is going to result in affecting the way people see themselves, as well as possibly creating a disorder.
ReplyDeleteI definitely resonate with this. I find myself constantly comparing myself to girls on social media, but it's super important to remember that most of what they post is a highlight reel of their life and doesn't show the struggles they're dealing with. I agree that it's more important to focus on educating adolescents instead of trying to get rid of social media as a whole.
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