Social media affect teenager’s mental health

Tiktok, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. are social media ubiquitously present in the lives of teenagers, who spend on average more than 3 hours a day on these platforms. Several negative effects on mental health are associated with these habits.

Certain platforms can provide 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 for teenagers experiencing exclusion in various ways, helping them to create an online identity, interact with others, and 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬. Adolescents can enhance their knowledge on numerous topics, be entertained, and express themselves. Some experts even claim that that social media can help teens 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, especially during the lockdown of the COVID pandemic. However, various studies have shown that 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 of teens.

The latter can be subject to 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬. They may also develop a negative self-image and 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐦 due to comparison with media influencers and fashion trends. Research have shown that adolescents spending more than 3 h daily on social media are likely 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲. Social media platforms can expose adolescents to 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.

How adolescents use social media may determine the impact on their health. It is necessary to 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 around which social media can be explored and limit the time spent on them.