Society today revolves around social media. Whether it is to read the news, keep up with friends, or watch videos as a pastime, it is difficult to go a day without using social media. Social media can be very damaging to one’s mental health and anxiety. While social media is a great asset, some people do not always use it in a positive way.
No matter someone’s age, they likely have used social media at least once. When joining social media, people often use it to stay connected and up to date on what is going on in the world. That being said, it is hard to imagine how these platforms have become so cruel. Pew Center Research indicates that “69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media. This puts a large amount of the population at an increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over their social media use.” With such a large amount of the country using social media, it has become very frightening to know that it has such strong impacts.
With the way social media has rapidly taken over, these issues can only become worse. Research also demonstrates the “the connection between use of social media and its undesirable outcomes that increase the incidence of anxiety, stress, depression, body image concerns, and loneliness in teens and young adults.” While using social media, people tend to compare themselves to what they are seeing on their timelines. This comparison causes people to believe that their lives are not as good as others. It also leads to body dysmorphia, depression, and more.
Social media has captivated users to the point of no return. It is difficult to try to imagine a world without social media; people are heavily dependent on it.
Although most social media apps have an age restriction, young users often do not follow it. When a child begins to use social media at a young age, they are malleable. This can be extremely damaging to a young child’s perception of themselves. Young adults between the ages of 12-18 are trying to figure out who they are. Social media influences them to believe they need to be perfect when this is a very unrealistic goal.
Social media has also added to the overconsumption of media use. This generation has grown up around the use of technology. Since the beginning of the Pandemic, the use of technology has grown an astronomical amount. This growth contributed to the idea that people, especially children, are becoming addicted to social media and technology: “Americans love their phones, with 75% saying they are addicted to them and over 65% admitting they sleep with their phones.” The overconsumption of social media has only made teens’ anxiety worse.
Social media has consumed the lives of everyone across the world.
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