A report to tech

industrialists regarding
social media such as
Facebook and how these
tools are damaging our
social and mental health.

PREPARED BY

PREPARED FOR | [Company address]

 Table of Contents
Table of Illustrations.....................................................................................................................ii
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
Research Methods:........................................................................................................................4
1. Qualitative research and analysis of journal articles and review papers to understand the
severity of the problem................................................................................................................4
2. Understanding the use of Facebook and its effect on mental health based on demographics
based on survey data....................................................................................................................4
3. Research into how social media can be turned into a force for good by recommending
various steps for these platforms.................................................................................................5
Results.............................................................................................................................................5
.........................................................................................................................................................6
Conclusions.....................................................................................................................................6
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................7
References.......................................................................................................................................8
 Table of Illustrations

Y
Figure 1 Facebook: number of monthly active users worldwide 2008-2020 (Statista)...................1
Figure 2 Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health (CDC 2018)..........................................2
Figure 3 Percentage of U.S teens and young adults social media usage.........................................5
Figure 4 Survey data on social media impact on adolescents and young adults.............................6
Figure 5 Matters of mind survey, American University 2015.........................................................7

YTable 1Means and Standard Deviation Standard deviations in parentheses. ***p < 0.001. ITT,
Intention To Treat.
 Introduction

The aim of this report is to provide the impact of tech tools such as Facebook and Instagram to
the tech leaders in these fields. Since the past decade, the rapid development of social
networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Instagram and so on has caused
several extreme changes in the way people communicate and interact. [CITATION Cyb14 \l
1033 ] According to Statista current projections, there are more than 2.7 billion users of
Facebook around the globe making it the most famous social media platform with active number
of users.

Figure 1 Facebook: number of monthly active users worldwide 2008-2020 (Statista)

Besides having the most users worldwide, Facebook now holds the key to reach out to billions of
people across the globe instantly thus holding the invisible key to shape reality, build
perspectives and alter the way we think and perceive the world.
There is no single doubt about the fact that Facebook has revolutionized the way we
communicate with people and our loved ones living far from us. But on the downside, it has led
numerous problems in the social fabric of the society. Fake news, anxiety and depression, the
race to get more likes and followers, scam practices etc. are few of the major problems that we
are witnessing today. Bur here, we will discuss how Facebook has led to an epidemic of mental
health issues.
According to a report by CDC published in 2018, in U.S alone, the mental health issue and
associated disorders such as ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) have reached an
epidemic proportion.

Figure 2 Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health (CDC 2018)

John Richter, director of Public

Policy at the Mental Health Association, believes social media is exacerbating this trend. CDC
has also claimed that Teens are more lonely, anxious, and depressed than ever. About a third of
teens surveyed by the CDC said they had felt persistent sadness or hopelessness.[ CITATION
Bar18 \l 1033 ] The data further indicates that teenagers are more prone to health issues such as
depression and anxiety and it not only creates a problem in their early adolescence age but also
hampers their class participation, engaging in verbal and face-to-face communications, low self-
esteem etc. to name a few.
A study done in 2013 showed quite definitively that the more time young adults spent on
Facebook, the worse off they felt. Subjects were texted five times daily for two weeks to answer
questions about well-being, direct social contact, and Facebook use.  Those who spent more time
on Facebook felt significantly worse later, supporting a causal connection. The effect was small
but significant, even after controlling for factors such as depression and loneliness. [ CITATION
Eth13 \l 1033 ]
A report by two authors (Holly Shakya and Nicholas Christakis) in American Journal of
Epidemiology investigated 5,208 adults over the span of two years after finding conflicting
evidence of social media use by different authors. They used the longitudinal survey/study
method to understand the use of Facebook with four basic domains of well-being.
 self-reported mental health condition
 self-reported physical health
 self-reported life satisfaction
 Body Mass Index (BMI)
Using data available with Gallup panel (which is the representative entire U.S adult population)
and statistical analysis tools such as cross-sectional linear regression analysis of the above four
domains, the authors concluded that a person self-reported physical health decreased by 8%, self-
reported mental health decreased by 7%, life satisfaction turned out to be lower following the
similar trend in the past conducted studies whereas the association of Facebook with BMI turned
out to be higher when compared with real life friends interaction. In other words, people who
have more real-life interactions as compared to online had lower BMI.[ CITATION Hol17 \l
1033 ] All these patterns reinvigorate the commonly held notion which suggests that overall,
Facebook use does not promote well-being and that individual social media users might do well
to curtail their use of social media and focus instead on real-world relationships. The researchers
concluded “exposure to the carefully curated images from others’ lives leads to negative self-
comparison, and the sheer quantity of social media interaction may detract from more
meaningful real-life experiences.”[ CITATION Rav18 \l 1033 ]
From these studies, I have concluded that the users of Facebook must discipline themselves to
become the Master of Technology rather than becoming its slaves. One way that I think can be
beneficial at personal level is to apply the “hard break”. Researcher Morton Tromholt of
Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen have concluded in his research that after
just one week of Facebook break, an experimental group had higher life satisfaction and positive
emotions. It was also demonstrated that taking a break from Facebook had positive developments
on the two dimensions of well-being: life satisfaction increased, and emotions became more
positive.[ CITATION Mor16 \l 1033 ]
Table 1Means and Standard Deviation Standard deviations in parentheses. ***p < 0.001. ITT, Intention to Treat.

Treatment Control ITT Effect

(n = 516) (n = 372)
Life satisfaction 8.11 (1.23) 7.74 (1.43) 0.37***
(range: 1–10)
Emotions 36.21 (6.09) 33.99 (6.81) 1.22***
(range: 9–45)
"force for good."  Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, these were the words that you said recently about what
do you want from Facebook. Facebook has become an undeniable reality and not a single soul in
this world who has a smartphone can escape from its tempting services and its ingenuity.
Therefore, as being the owner of Facebook, it is your responsibility that Facebook does become a
force for good. In the following sections of my report, I would highlight more on how Facebook
has become a source of mental health issues and what are the ways we can pursue to become
more self-aware as well as the responsibilities of tech giants in order to ensure that the future
generations don’t become social media addicts.

Research Methods:

My method of research is based on the qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of the research
work done by various national, governmental, and non-governmental institutes who are related to
health, statistical analysis as well as creation of social impact. Following steps were undertaken
to ensure the research quality is up to the standard and no biases were promoted.
1. Qualitative research and analysis of journal articles and review papers to understand the
severity of the problem
2. Understanding the use of Facebook and its effect on mental health based on
demographics based on survey data
3. Research into how social media can be turned into a force for good by recommending
various steps for these platforms.

1. Qualitative research and analysis of journal articles and review papers to

understand the severity of the problem

This aspect involved the review of the already present data. Various authors and researchers have
conducted their own research based on various parameters such as age, race, region, culture etc.
using different types of techniques such as statistical modelling, analyzing of survey data,
random interviews etc. The important feature of this research is the amalgamation of different
studies to provide a definitive result for all the stakeholders that would serve as a guideline for
future policy making by corporations, tech industry giants, social media executives as well as the
government regulators.
2. Understanding the use of Facebook and its effect on mental health based on
demographics based on survey data

In this step, the surveys were conducted using Google forms and in-person surveys to reach a
tangible conclusion. Past data by different authors was also used to determine the trends and
to have a broader sense and understanding of the issue.
 100%

Users Percentage on Social media platforms

90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
3.
40%
% of 13-17 year olds using 3.
% of 18-24 year olds using 3.
30%
3.
20%
3.
10%
3.
0%
Snapchat Instagaram Facebook Twitter Youtube 3.
Social Media Platforms 3.
3.
3.
Research into how social media can be turned into a force for good by recommending
various steps for these platforms.

Finally, based on the research material available and using different surveys, a pattern was
generated based on which recommendations were made. The recommendations had different
implementations level that can be done either on a personal level, governmental level as well
as on the corporate level.

Results

Building up on the previously highlighted points, it can be observed that the future
generations are most prone to falling into crisis of mental health problems. The prime
instigator of these problems has been clearly shown to be the result of spending much time
on Facebook, comparison of one’s own personality, looks and the envy that develops after
seeing some celebrity or an influencer. Not only the adolescents, the young adults are also
prone to the negative impact of social media platforms. Below statistics that are available
with National Center for Health Research shows an astonishing image of how much
teenagers and young adults use social media.

According to U.S department of Health reports, with 13% of 12-17 years old reporting
depression and 32% reporting anxiety, mental illness is a concern for adolescent health. Social
Media has caused plethora of
Figure 3 Percentage of U.S teens and young adults social media usage
problems such FoMO (Fear of
Missing Out), Body
surveillance (monitoring one’s own body and becoming judgmental of it), cyber bullying etc. In
fact, surveys conducted by researchers among teenagers suggest that more than 72% of them
have experienced cyber bullying at some point. [ CITATION Sel16 \l 1033 ]Some authors have
also investigated the co-relation of cyber bullying with suicide attempts and found some
astonishing results with some stating that cyber bullying is more dangerous than face-to-face
 Survey Data
Cyber bullying 57%

Nuetral 28%
bullying as it
Mental Health Issue occurs out of sight
Positive implications 38%
of teachers and
parents.
Loneliness 43%
[ CITATION
Kue15 \l 1033 ]
Depression 28% In my second
research method,
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
where I used
Percentage of participants
google forms to
develop an
understanding of
the problem, a huge number of participants agreed that social media has led to some sort of
behavioral changes such as loneliness, depression, feeling envious of others, cyber bullying etc.
28 % of the participants neither agreed or disagreed with the social media related health issues
whereas 38% stated that social media has brought positive developments in them such as peer to
peer support. The results are summarized in the below figure.

Figure 4 Survey data on social media impact on adolescents and young adults

The third part of this report concerned with the identification of various ways by which a positive
impact can be created by the platforms such as Facebook to promote the awareness around
mental health issues and how to counter the negative implications of social media through
various techniques and methods. On a personal level, as discussed in this report previously, the
use of “hard break” technique had proved itself to be effective in mitigating the effect of social
media on a personal level as well as provide a de-toxifying effect to its users.
 Conclusions

Social Media has immense applications. Its ability to reach anywhere in any part of the world is
surreal. It has the power to turn around the election results, to deliver information the second it is
reported in any part of the world to every part of the world. It has changed the way people of
different communities, backgrounds, cultures, race etc. communicate in a positive manner. But
on the other hand, it has brought itself a new conundrum. Different studies by different
researchers and scholars have pointed to a similar conclusion that social media which includes
Facebook, do cause and results in mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. However,
the answer to this problem from my perspective lies within the problem. We need to use it to
counter its effect by engaging in positive dialogues with the adolescents and young adults.

Recommendations

Mr. Mark, according to a survey by themillennialminds.com, more than 80% respondents in the
survey who belonged to millennial age group, were more prone to engaging in discussion about
mental health issues. So, in this way, the social media can serve as an effective platform to
address this issue.
 Figure 5 Matters of mind survey, American University 2015

Another way of supporting this cause is by enabling the people and entrepreneurs working to
bring in mental health advice and counseling to already affected people. By giving grants to seed
funding, Facebook can further this noble cause by giving people the resources they need to fight
this epidemic. In its mental health Atlas report of 2017, WHO has stated that Functional
prevention and promotion programmes managed jointly between the government and other
partners represent 20% of total functioning programmes reported. 12% of reported functional
programmes are managed by NGOs, while those managed by private sector represent only 2% of
programmes reported. So, the Facebook should make it a policy under CSR to work jointly with
governments, NPTs as well as entrepreneurs to solve this crisis. The likes of Ananya Jain (a
young entrepreneur and recipient of Diana award of this year) who are playing a very important
role to face this issue need this vital help from Facebook. So, Mr. Mark, you should make this
one of your company’s priority to help such great individuals who are the asset of this whole
world.

References
Barrett, K. (2018). Social Media's Impact on Students' Mental Health Comes Into Focus.
National Education Association.
Ethan Kross, P. V. (2013). Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young
Adults. PLOS ONE.
Holly B. Shakya, N. A. (2017). Association of Facebook Use With Compromised Well-Being: A
Longitudinal Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 203-211.
Kuehn KS, W. A. (2015). Estimating the magnitude of the relation between bullying, e-bullying,
and suicidal behaviors among United States youth. The Journal of Crisis Intervention
and Suicide Prevention 2018.
Morten Tromholt, M. (2016). The Facebook Experiment: Quitting Facebook Leads to Higher
Levels of Well-Being. Mary Ann Liebert, 661-666.
Pantic, I. (2014). Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking. PMC U.S library of
National Medicine, NIH, 652–657.
Ravi Chandra M.D., D. (2018). Is Facebook Destroying Society and Your Mental Health?
Psychology today.
Selkie EM, F. J. (2016). Cyberbullying prevalence among US middle and high school–aged
adolescents: A systematic review and quality assessment . Journal of Adolescent Health,
125-33.