Social Media and Mental Health Essay
Social media is one of the most common ways for people to communicate anywhere and at any time in modern society. Some people think that it is beneficial to have in society. Although, many people are starting to see negative effects arise from the use of social media as well. These negative effects are increasing and becoming more problematic every day. The disadvantages of social media far outweigh the advantages. Social media effects everyone in society, especially teenagers by negatively impacting their lives, face-to-face interactions, and mental health.
In conclusion, this study shows a significant relationship between social media use and mental health issues among young individuals. Young women are found to be more affected by these adverse mental health issues. Use of social media affects mental health issues by inducing depressive symptoms, an increase in negative mood, and feelings of loneliness. The quality of online interactions did not seem to play a significant role in determining these mental health issues. Moreover, the use of social networking sites close to bedtime is more likely to produce self-reported higher levels of tiredness in the morning after. This is an important result, especially for young individuals involved in demanding activities. The potential detrimental effects of social media use put more emphasis on informing adolescents and parents regarding their use and the potential detrimental effects of social media. To provide specific recommendations for social policies, future research should focus more on mechanisms and the underlying causes of the negative effects of social media use. Activities conducted on social networking sites negatively affect sleep if the use takes place near bedtime. These negative impacts can be shown by examining the use of social networking sites explicitly for communicating with offline friends, looking at what kind of content is posted by individuals and exploring how often they browse for interesting and relevant information or just "hang out". Although a detrimental effect of nightly use is present, it does not mean that users should apply a curfew on the time of the evening on which SNS can be used. find evidence that satisfying the need for belongingness through social connections online has indeed beneficial effects on sleep quality and subjective sleep complaints, decreasing the risk of reporting sleep disturbances.
The second publication is “Does time spent using social media impact mental health?: An eight year longitudinal study” by Coyne, Rogers, Zurcher, Stockdale, & Booth. (2020). The authors of this study have noted the abundance of cross-sectional research and its main limitation – the absence of time-based observations. This paper is the response to such inconsistency in the form of an eight-year-long longitudinal study that focuses on 500 adolescents. Once a year, all participants were required to complete a questionnaire, the results of which would be used as research data.
. (2022) 'The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health'. 14 August.
The demographic of the study participants were primarily comprised of young people aged 13 at the start of the study. As teenagers grew, so did their use of social media. All the more surprising was the major finding of the study that “increased time spent on social media was not associated with increased mental health issues across development when examined at the individual level” (Coyne et al., 2020, p. 1). The authors of the research used two theories as to the theoretical framework of the entire paper – the displacement hypothesis and the uses and gratifications theory. The first one posits that “time spent engaging with social media might displace other more important activities that might be protective for mental health” (Coyne et al., 2020, p. 3). The second one suggests that mental health issues may precipitate social media overuse. Nevertheless, both theories were proven to be inaccurate by the results of this study.
The first publication is “Social media insights into US mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal analysis of Twitter data” by Valdez, Ten Thij, Bathina, Rutter, and Bollen (2020). The authors of the study noted the plummeting mental health during the pandemic and intended to explore the agenda of publicly available social media. Specifically, Twitter was chosen as the most appropriate platform for screening the attitudes and behaviors of people. The research design was a longitudinal study which analyzed tweets published between January 22 and April 9, 2020. After compiling collecting data, the researchers used a “sentiment analysis,” which allowed them to evaluate the changes in people’s psychological well-being (Valdez et al., 2020, p. 2). The selected timeframe starts with the period before lockdowns had been widely implemented and end when the quarantine measure was in full force.
Social media is defined by Merriam Webster as forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content. (Merriam-Webster, 2011). The recent popularity of social media and related technologies has had a negative effect on the mental well being of adolescent users due to the addictions and unrealistic expectations that social media creates. The “like” system panders to users’ needs for validation, which reinforces self -centered thoughts and behaviors. Sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, add more complications and expectations to the lives of users because they compare themselves to others, which can fuel feelings of inadequacy.…
Human mind and world itself changed from ten or even five years ago. The growth of technology has been increasable high, which will make lives easier, and social media is one of the most important technological items nowadays, especially when it comes to the ubiquitous communication factor. The use of social media is very effective in all suspects and this makes it hard to decide, is social media also our digital computers and smartphones, helping or it is distracting human mind. Kimberly Leonard uses Jamison Monroe ’s quote in his essay, “Is Social Media Making Self-Harm Worse For Teens”, that, “There are so many great things about it…
Essay 1 The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
From researching topics one would like to forget like the war in Ukraine to national topics like the ban of social media in Florida to fun topics like sports media and the debate on pickleball, the Article of the Week has sparked my interest in news from different perspectives. However, out of all the interesting topics from the articles, the most thought-provoking article is one by David French, who wrote the article, “Florida Has Banned Kids Using Social Media, but It Won’t Be That Simple.” The topic is very relevant as in recent years, there is a trend of mental health issues for teenagers, which was not as present in older generations. The author highlights a main reason for these issues: social media. French presents evidence from the research of Jonathan Haidt, explaining how social media’s rise has caused increased anxiety, loneliness, and less real-world interactions.…
Social Media and Mental Health Essay
In today’s digital world, social media is an integral part of everyday life. From sharing updates with friends to staying informed about current events, it serves multiple purposes. However, while social media connects people globally, concerns are growing regarding its potential negative effects on mental health. Studies show that while social media can foster a sense of community and belonging, it also exacerbates issues such as anxiety and depression. This essay will argue that although social media has benefits, its harmful impacts on mental health outweigh its positive effects, particularly among young people.
The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health
However, despite these benefits, a growing body of research highlights the negative mental health effects linked to social media use. The American Psychological Association (APA) has pointed out that teenagers who spend significant amounts of time on social media are at a higher risk of developing anxiety and depression. In particular, the constant exposure to idealized representations of others’ lives can foster feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. When users compare their lives to the often curated and polished images they see online, it can result in a negative self-image.