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Savannah Rogers  

English 102, Section 6

Professor Sumstad

Commentary Essay  

11/15/2020

The Impact Social Media has on Mental Health  

(Call to Action)  

While many of us enjoy connecting with people through social media, we often fail to notice the impacts it has on our mental health. In the past decade, we have seen many social networking sites have come and gone such as Facebook, Myspace, Instagram, etc. We see these sites as a way to share ideas and connect with friends. Researchers have recently said that these networking sites lead to several mental disorders including low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Because social media is newer, many questions people have about future impacts are left unanswered. The World Economic Forum explains that studies show people between the ages 14-24 are the most vulnerable to mental health disorders. Social media and the Internet are only getting stronger and more addicting to people in today’s society. Many teens can’t even imagine a world without technology, and it is only deteriorating their minds more and more. Social media is deteriorating mental health in people of all ages because of reoccurrences of cyberbullying, self-image issues, and the ideas of online vs reality. Furthermore, society needs to find alternatives to social networking sites, self-monitor the use of technology, and connect with people through social media that bring you positivity.  

Cyberbullying is when the use of electronic communication is used to bully a person, usually by sending intimidating or hurtful messages. In an article titled, “51 Critical Cyberbullying Statistics in 2020” by Broadband Search, 73% of teens said they have been cyberbullied before and 44% of them said they were cyberbullied in the last 30 days. Bullying through a screen has become a world problem in more recent years. Social media allows kids to say what they want to people without getting the repercussions as if they were in person. The US Library of Medicine stated that “In general, researchers have examined the relationship between involvement with cyberbullying and adolescents’ tendency to internalize issues. For example, the development of negative affective disorders, loneliness, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and somatic symptoms. Many victims described themselves as feeling powerless, sad, and hopeless.” The few ways we can help stop cyberbullying are to take action if we see it happening, save the evidence, and use the app’s tools such as blocking the user. By not attempting to put a stop to cyberbullying, we are setting a failed example for future generations.  

As the want for social media increases so does the ideas of self-body images. Today, we see celebrities and models setting a certain “body type” for social media users to look at. With the direction the media is heading in, body types are getting talked about in songs, television shows, and especially on social media. There is a stigma around what the “ideal” body is whether it be comparing yourself to a Victoria Secret model or one of the Kardashians. According to Boston College Professor Amanda Doria, “Approximately 40% of 9- and 10-year-old girls are already trying to lose weight. This is largely a consequence of how the media, in general, has painted a picture of the “ideal” body type: tall, stick-thin women who have very few curves.” Setting an ideal body shape in your mind can lead to lower self-esteem, depression, and even eating disorders. Furthermore, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states that “Hospital stays due to eating disorders in the United States increased 18% from 2000-2006, with 28,155 patients being treated. This increase coincides with the initial emergence of social media in the early 2000s.” There are several solutions to stop the thought of a negative body image. The most important solutions to follow are to stop judging other people’s bodies on social media, cleanse your feed from any accounts that are creating these thoughts, and follow accounts that show a body image like yours. We are starting to see more “body positive” and “love your self-image" posts across social media which is spreading awareness to men and women that suffer from the negativity of self-image issues due to social media.    

The social media persona we present is often different from who we are in real life. The unclear difference between online vs reality harms our mental health. We often see posts on numerous social networking sites of people living happy and getting out and doing things but what we don’t see are their hard and low moments of life. Chicago’s School of Psychology, Dr. Ali Jazayeri states, “Social media is showing the dangers of slipping too far into a virtual world and losing a sense of real life, the real self, and real priorities.” This results in social media users finding themselves comparing their lives to a “fantasy” life they are seeing on a screen. Jazayeri also wrote, “Some people use this social media to create something that they are not,” he says, explaining that the virtual world can distract people so much from their real lives that they either forget who they are or become so involved in the reality they’ve created that they don’t want to work on their own issues.” It is noted by The School of Chicago, that comparing your daily experiences and life to someone else’s what is shown to be “happy” life can lead to anxiety and depression. To avoid mental health issues due to the idea of online vs reality, you simply should limit your time on social media and avoid certain accounts that create the negative feeling. It is important that we stop comparing our lives to other people’s to try and find happiness amongst ourselves.  

Social media has both benefits and detriments when it comes to our mental health. In the last 10 years, the way we communicate has changed significantly because of social media. However, it is still unclear how this different form of communication affects normal human behavior and mental health. It is important to remember that these apps can’t replace our human-to-human connection. By finding alternatives to social networking sites, self-monitoring the use of technology, and connecting with people through social media that bring you positivity, we can lessen the number of people that are victims of the mental health problems social media brings.  

Annotated Bibliography  

“51 Critical Cyberbullying Statistics in 2020.” Mar. 2020. The article explains how bullying has been around since the start of mankind but in more recent years we have seen a shift in the way bullying is occurring because of technology. The authors of the blog go in depth with facts and statistics on how cyberbullying is affecting young adults and adolescent’s mental health. The statistics in the article are all pulled from researchers from universities and mental health research centers. The authors educate the readers on several different aspects that revolve around cyberbullying and mental health such as, the impacts cyberbullying has, what victims should do, and how it is a persistent problem here in the United States.  

Doria, Amanda. “The Effects Social Media on Body Image and Mental Health.” Nov. 2019. In the article, Doria explains how in the last decade scientists and parents are worrying more about the repercussions social media has on the mental health of future generations. The author states, “Many studies have shown that this accessibility can have serious effects on the mental health of children, and body image in young girls especially. When scrolling through various social media platforms such as Instagram, young girls and teens are subconsciously comparing themselves to the seemingly perfect bodies and lives of influencers and other celebrities.” With photoshop and filters becoming a new normal across all social media, not only depression and anxiety but eating disorder cases are getting worse. Amanda Doria concludes her article saying that society should start disconnecting themselves from their phones and social media to have a better quality of life.  

Hutchinson, Andrew. “Who Are You IRL? Social Media vs Reality.” Aug. 2020. Hutchinson explains how people make their lives look “perfect” through a social media profile, but in reality, it is the opposite. The author tells how 87.73% of women compare their own body to images they see online. People disregard whether Kylie Jenner or Kim Kardashian’s body is photoshopped in their pictures and compare themselves to the pictures. He wraps up the article with a small conclusion saying how comparing our realistic and everyday lives to someone who only shows off only their happy moments is worsening our mental health and increasing anxiety and depression.

Mir, Elina. “Social Media and Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health. Jan. 2020. In the article, Mir explains both the negative and positives that social media has on young adults’ and adolescents’ mental health. She notes that a positive to social media is that kids can stay connected with friends while a negative is that it can cause severe anxiety. The author states, “32% of 12-17 year old's report having anxiety and the percentage is only increasing.” Mir goes on to say that the increasing numbers are due to the constant need for social media and idea known as “FOMO.” Parents also get informed on what they can do to help if their child is experiencing one of the numbers of mental illnesses caused by social media.  

Sperling, Jacqueline. “Like It or Not, Social Media Is Affecting Your Mental Health.” Feb. 2020. A psychologist specializing in anxiety at McLean Hospital goes in depth about social media feedback and what it does to your mental health. The big debate she addresses is if social media should take away “likes” or reactions. For example, Instagram was said to take away the “likes” feature on the app. Sperling states, “Even if you remove the likes, there continue to be opportunities for comparisons and feedback. People still can compare themselves to others, and people still can post comments.” The author concludes her article explaining that social media is here to stay but society and the social media apps have to work together to find a middle ground to keep the platforms safe for the future.