How Social Media Affects Mental Health and Leads to Anxiety

Social media's unrealistic expectations can cause adolescents to have feelings of self-awareness, low self-esteem, and the desire of perfectionism that can arise as anxiety disorders. How social media affects mental health? In this essay the is defined that the use of social media and the running of more than one social media account continuously, is shown to be related to social anxiety symptoms. Teens who spend more time on social media are more likely to suffer from anxiety and or depression. However, social media can also help form important connections. Therefore, today's youth need to learn how to form healthy habits when dealing with online communication platforms as well as the impact it can have on their mental health. 

Now a very common question asked is if social media is tied to mental health? Many teens seem to feel the need to post only their best version of themselves rather than the raw version of themselves, simply to seek validation from their peers and those around them or even strangers online. Social media creates many harsh stigmas such as body image and how one should look. Anxiety because of worries about being inadequately connected is also another outcome seeing as the use of social media has become a primary method of communication for a majority of young adults, and interrupting the use of these technologies can lead to increased levels of anxiety.

When asked if social media is tied to mental health, the answer is yes because many try to live up to these unrealistic expectations feeling the need for approval rather than being their true self and end up developing anxiety as a result of fear of missing out or not being what they think they should be online. Fear of missing out (FOMO), plays a role in having a constant desire to constantly stay in the mix of what is going on online and in the lives of those around them. Many with high FOMO might feel a dire need to check up on social media in order to feel a sense of connection with others. There are many factors that add to this, the most significant ones being the rise and widespread use of smartphones and social media. Not only does the use of social media and smartphones play a role but so does the amount of time along with the way they are being used. Internalising was one of the two types of behaviours that could indicate any mental health problems. This could involve having a hard time managing anxiety and or depression along with being socially withdrawn. Externalising was another type of the two behaviours that could indicate mental health problems. This can include the growth of new born aggression and or not following rules and instructions in school, at home and or just about anywhere.

Experts see the rise in depression as evidence that the connection social media users have, can be less emotionally satisfying and leave users socially isolated. Studies suggest that social media platforms like facebook and how the excessive use of it correlated with depression like for example people who reported low quality friendships and interactive use of social media which could be either texting or just interacting with others online had shown to likely be depressed and those with low quality friendships yet used social media as a way to simply pass time were reported to be depressed and socially anxious. Studies say that social media is linked to compulsive behavior and anxiety. The youth were rated as consistently more anxious than the older generation when they weren't able to check their social media and messages.

Teens absorb social media affects them in ways such as depression and anxiety, and externally such as aggressive or antisocial behavior, this was mostly not an issue for teens who didn't use social media. These mental illness start impacting their social life and their levels of productivity and raises the risk of drug abuse and suicide. Studies have reported that some people favor alternatives for text, instant messaging and emailing over face-to-face experiences in certain forms of communication.

An upside that social media has for teens is that for those who struggle with social skills, and or just don't have much access to socializing with other teens face to face, is that it can be beneficial to them because you form connections with other people kind of like you. Also criticized groups like LGBTQ+ teens and teens struggling with mental health issues can find many sources and groups of people in similar situations as them. Now like every topic, there is a polar opposite of it and in this case it's the downside of social media use by teens. Many focus on the likes along with the desire for them. Another outcome can be cyberbullying which has a heavier effect on teen girls in particular but boys aren't exempt from it as well. Many teens may feel the need to compare themselves to what they see online which is where they mess up because you cannot base yourself off of other things you see. Lack of privacy is another factor that comes into play, you can literally be anyone online and anyone can be you online, regardless of how hard you try to keep your life private online, anyone can generally have access to you. Your privacy is not a guarantee at all online. Due to a lack of privacy, a scenario like someone using your pictures and acting like you online could lead to very serious mental health complications in your life.

There is a major sense of disconnection tied to the excessive use of smartphones and social media. It seems to alter their sense of reality and how to form basic human connections in person rather than online. This results in affecting engagement in the classroom amongst other things. There is less face time since teens are so consumed into social media. They are not practicing the daily skills of social interaction. These skills are needed to also help build compassion and empathy which are great to counterattack qualities towards bullying and negative scenarios. Without these skills, our youth is in a very grey area most of the time because of not knowing what to do in person. The rise in decreased social skills is a major problem nowadays. Many online interactions and communications have no feelings behind them, only what you make out of them whereas in person you build the skills of knowing how to read and understand body language and tone along with learning how to interact with others throughout your life regardless of how it may be. Social relationships affect mental health because correspondingly, intimacy is a vital component to preserve our mental wellbeing, according to the Mental Health Foundation. Between the quantity and quality of social relationships there is a major influence upon mental health, actions of employment, physical health and risk of mortality. Studies indicate that social support can impede hopelessness, fulfill loneliness, help stop avoidable coping and improve positive mental states

There are a couple of theories when talking about how social media affects mental health. Sedentary behaviors, like the use of a mobile device while sitting, laying down, in the car etc. have been influenced by social media use, and have been linked to physical health risks like an Increased risk of type II diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome.Phantom vibration syndrome (which is associated with the sedentary behavior of using your mobile device while sitting, laying down in the car, etc.) is a perceived vibration from a non-vibrating cell phone, and this was documented to exist in large numbers of people. Younger generations were rated as far more anxious than previous generations when they were unable to check in on social media networking sites and as a result of this constant need of communication, Phantom vibration (has become more occurring in teens and therefore has) earned its place in the medical field (as an actual mental illness).

Although this is such a major crisis in adolescence in today's day of age, the reasoning behind this growing threat is still being solved. One thing for sure is that over the last two decades, many mental health professionals can agree that the rise and spread of technology is one key factor but overall it is still a puzzle to be solved. Many adolescents don't even know a world without technology and social media, it's taken over their lives to a point of almost no return. Many studies conducted have struggled to grasp how social media, screen time and other factors of teens' personal technology seem to affect or hinder their brain development. A part of this has to do with just how fast the tech/online world is developing faster than these studies are being conducted and researchers not agreeing on similar conclusions just does not help the case either yet in fact it complicates it even more, so with the excessive use of social media, there comes this cycle of bad outcomes. It starts with the lack of sleep due to being on a smart phone more which leads to tiredness and then you begin to have difficulty with coping with your daily life which then leads to a low self esteem and feelings of worry and or stress and this will continue to happen unless healthier coping mechanisms are set in place.

The effects of time spent online vary, seeing as children who used social media three to six hours a day had 2.5 times the chance, and almost three times as likely to have internalizing mental health issues at more than six hours. The rise in the number of suicidal thoughts, plans &, attempts, was another outcome seeing as the rates of psychological distress were high and was described as a feeling of “nervous, hopeless or that everything in life is an effort” had grown by 71 percent and that's just amongst people between between the ages of 18 to 25 but the number of suicidal thoughts, plans and, attempts had also surged alongside that. Death bye suicide amongsts 18 to 19 year olds had seen an increase of 56 percent alone between 2008 and 2017.

A survey from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health was analyzed by Twenge and her colleagues. The survey received responses from more than 200,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 and almost 400,000 young adults ages 18 and over between 2005 and 2017 and found out that the rate of people reporting their symptoms was “consistent with major depression over the past year increased 52 percent in teens and 63 percent in young adults over a decade. Girls were more vulnerable than boys. By 2017 one out of every five teenage girls had experienced major depression in the last year”

There is a belief on depression being the loss of self-esteem, particularly in teenage girls, when they compare themselves poorly with over edited photos of those who seem to be prettier, thinner, more famous and wealthier. Body image is an issue for many young people but it is an issue especially for females in their teenage years, seeing as though as many as 9/10 females say that they don't like or are unhappy with their body for a list of reasons.

Recognizing the signs and knowing what is not common & how it’s crucial, & identifying habits that might indicate a possibly severe mental health issue. Behaviors that could be a sign are:

• Continuous separation from friends & family, & isolation;
• Irritability, secretiveness, as well as extreme fatigue along with lack of interest in tasks they usually enjoy;
• Shift in their appetite & sleep pattern change;
• Falling scores along with school involvement;
• Mood instability is also another sign which can vary from anger, depression & apathy.

What should you do? The answer is never really clear when it comes to what the solution should be, but there are many things one can do in order to help get out of these traps. Try putting your phone on, not disturbing it more often or getting rid of apps that bring more negativity rather than happiness. Limit your use of these apps and also create healthier habits and coping mechanisms for times when you know your mind isn't so strong. Other recommendations for patients suffering from high levels of anxiety, insomnia, and other symptoms should be screened for their media exposure seeing as these are well known signs of exposure to troubled media.

An online questionnaire was answered by 1,319 young people and adults and the results are not so surprising. Young people were far more likely to show signs of addictive behavior rather than adults and there were also significant differences within sexes, seeing as males had more addictive tendencies than females did. To wrap up the results of the questionnaire, it was concluded that the rise of internet addiction is indeed something that must be taken in a serious manner and that it is connected to depression especially in high levels from those who are more dependent on it.

In conclusion, ultimately teens who develop these illnesses should be taught the good that comes from social media when it is used responsibly. Teens among everyone should be allowed access to the internet and its various platforms of social media.Depending on age and maturity one should monitor a child's internet use so it does not end up developing into an addiction. “The concept of internet addiction (IA) is emerging as a construct that must be taken seriously. Moreover, it is linked to depression, such that those who regard themselves as dependent on the Internet report high levels of depressive symptoms. Those who show symptoms of IA are likely to engage proportionately more than the normal population in sites that serve as a replacement for real-life socialising. Further work needs to be done on validating this relationship.” as stated by Catriona M. Morrison and Helen Gore from the Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, UK. If not monitored, teens who spend more time on social media tend to result more likely to suffer from anxiety and/or depression.