The Effect of Social Media on Teenagers

Last Updated on October 12, 2024 by Joshua Isibor

Nowadays, so many parents tend to complain about the effect technology may affect teenagers. I’ve seen a year-old child operating an iPad, but you won’t compare when a teenager is operating an iPad and when a 2year-old is operating too. When a teen is using an iPad for instance, he does that more intensely and intimates.

An expert quoted that “kids are growing up with more anxiety and less self-esteem”. This happens when social media becomes an integral part of their life.
Recently, teens aged 12-24years of age were interviewed in the UK, about how social media (I.e. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram) platform has impacted their health and wellbeing. This survey was conducted by the Royal Society for Public health. From the answer gotten, they learned from the survey that social media platforms increase the feeling of depression, poor body image, and loneliness.
Furthermore, social media is a world on its own having so many pros and cons. Also, social media can be a lifesaver to a teen, especially to those who feel isolated or those having metals issues an example is LGBTQ teens.

Ways Social Media Affects Teen Mental Health

Research has shown that the rate a which a teen uses social media affects their mental health.
According to a study in 2018, A Teen of 14-17years years who uses enters social media 7hrs daily will suffer from depression more than those who stay on the screen for an hour.

1. Depression

So many great researchers have been trying to find out the relationship between social media and depression. Though they have not brought up a concert reason they were able to find out that most depression that teens experience is due to a decrease in social media usage and an increase in loneliness.
Also, research has shown that people who have multiple accounts will suffer from more depression than those who operate on a single account.
In recent times, one of the best ways to avoid depression is by constantly visiting social media. Also, the same social media has caused a lot of depression in children.

ALSO, READ The Dangers of Overscheduling Your Child

2. Anxiety

Teens are always anxious when it comes to social media, they don’t joke about it. They are always anxious when it comes to uploading the best photos, giving the best caption, replying to text quickly, or even waiting for a reply, all of these can cause anxiety.
Some studies have also shown that people who have more social media accounts are prone to face anxiety than those having a single account. Sources causing anxiety for many kids may be due to slut-shaming, cyberbullying, and other online behaviors.

3. Envy/Jealousy

Envy is one of the major adverse effects of social media on teens’ health. This happens when their mates have what they don’t have, enjoying what they have never benefited from. This could cause them to be jealous.

In social media today, nobody tends to post something negative, literally right now there is no poor man on Instagram!! If only teenagers could know that the social media we have nowadays is full of fake life, the rate at which they envy would be mitigated.

A person’s life on social media may be different in reality, that’s why social media is a world on its own and you don’t have to please anyone. When envy is not properly managed it could lead to bullying or stealing.

4. Communication Issue

Social media is one of the ways to keep the communication going with friends and loved ones. It has helped so many relationships escape breakups. Social media is easy, fast, safe, and reliable.

Also, communicating with someone in real life is quite different from social chatting. This Is because, on social media, you don’t get to hear the person’s voice, countenance, and all that.

So, many teens have experienced more time using social media than using chatting in real life. This usually affects their relationship with other people because they would not be able to keep deep friendships with people.
There are so many people now that if you don’t have them on social media, the relationship may never work, so this has made them to prioritized social media over real-life communication.

5. Addiction

Many TEENS today no longer say their morning prayers or do mindful medication when they wake up. When they wake up the first person they say good morning to is their phone. They’ll log in to their various accounts to get newsfeeds or reply messages which are not good for someone who’s still trying to grow up.
Addiction to social media can make them lazy, and stubborn, and even make them lose creativity in life.

6. Sleep Deprivation

Social media can deprive you of a good sleep especially when you start chatting with someone who’s so irresistible. When you spend more hours on social media you tend to lose valuable sleep that’s needed for your health. Lack of sleep can lead to a drop in grades, or moodiness.

According to one British study published in the journal of youth. The studies surveyed 900 teenagers between the ages of 12 & 15 about the use of social media and their sleep. After the survey, the result that got was that one-fifth of the teens say they “almost always” wake up at night to log in to social media.
Research has also shown that girls tend to wake up more at night to check their phones than guys.

A Word from Relationshipseeds

Due to the negative effects of social media on teens, it is advised to follow the guidelines for social media Use to avoid those effects.
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ALSO, READ How to keep your emotions in check

Originally posted 2021-02-02 06:20:39.