Social media refers to interactive online applications and tools through which users interact socially.. Social media may include social networking applications such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok, and social gaming applications etc. In the last several years, social media have become an integral part of the lives of adolescents on a day-to-day basis, serving as a means to share various types of user-curated or user-generated content. However, there have been concerns about the implications of adolescent social media use and possible negative impacts on adolescent mental health.
Adolescence is a period of increased risk for developing mental illness (nearly 1 in 5 teenagers have a diagnosable mental disorder). Calls for concern as rates of all mental health issues, especially depression and suicide, have sharply escalated over the last several years, according to a study at the University of California at San Francisco.
Different studies have shown that the alarming negative impacts of social media on adolescents’ mental health are grave. Spending more time on electronic media each week negatively affected self-reported happiness, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. Heavy use of social media has been associated with many mental health problems, including depression, social anxiety, body image problems, disordered eating, and externalizing problems.
One of the most alarming and serious problems linked to social media use is cybervictimization, where peers bully others online, leading to higher rates of self-injury and suicidal behavior
Another significant concern is that easy access to content related to self-injury and suicide can potentially increase suicide risk in already vulnerable youth.
Other ways of interacting with peers in social media, such as social exclusion and online conflict or drama, also put youth in potentially risky situations. Social comparison, less time sleeping, poorer sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness are issues regarding adolescents’ use of social media.
