The effect of social media on teenagers

Social media is a big part of many teens' lives and when it comes
to the social media effects on this community, those pros and cons
are particularly significant.

On the plus side, platforms like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and

Snapchat can be lifesavers for teens who feel isolated or
marginalized. In addition, social media helped teens feel more
connected and not as lonely during the pandemic.

But the impact of social media on youth can also be significantly

detrimental to mental health. In particular, social media and teen
depression are closely linked. Furthermore, overuse of the apps
exposes teens to cyberbullying, body image issues, and tech
addiction, and results in less time spent doing healthy, real-world
activities.

Then, are teens and social media a good mix, or does social
media use lower teen well-being? This has become one of the
more controversial questions regarding social media’s effects on
teens; social media is very important for them in order to get support
and advice, feel less alone, and express themselves creatively, as
well as for staying in touch friends and family while social distancing.
But, there is a strong association between social media and
adolescent depression. For teens with depression, the more severe
their symptoms, the more anxious, lonely, and depressed they felt
after using social media. Clearly, social media doesn't help teens
who are already feeling depressed and seem to contribute to their
negative outlook.
Then, is social media part of the reason that teen depression
has drastically increased over the last decade?

Over the last decade, this theory has been borne out by a large
body of research linking teenagers’ use of social media with
increased teen depression. These studies show that the frequency
of a teen’s use of social media has a clear correlation to their
mental health. For example, 14- to 17-year-olds who used social
media seven hours per day were more than twice as likely to have
been diagnosed with depression, treated by a mental health
professional, or taken medication for a psychological or behavioral
issue.

Many experts believe that the constant overstimulation of social

networking shifts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode. As a
result, this makes disorders such as ADHD, teen depression,
oppositional defiant disorder, and teen anxiety worse. However,
some research on social media and teen depression shows that the
causality goes the other way—i.e., when teens are depressed, they
look at social media more often. In one study of 600 teens,
researchers found that social media use did not predict depressive
symptoms, but greater depressive symptoms predicted more social
media use over time.

On the other hand, one way in which social media undermines teen
mental health is through negative social comparison. Teenagers on
social media spend much of their time observing the lives and
images of their peers. This leads to constant comparisons, which can
damage self-esteem and body image, exacerbating
depression and anxiety among adolescents.
Actually, as social networks affect teenagers, it covers many topics,
there is a lot to talk about, there are many reasons that can affect
them both positively and negatively, although to a greater extent
negatively. The solution for all these problems is to have a good
use of social networks, it is very important that parents teach their
children to have a correct use of their technological devices and
that they are aware of everything that happens in their
technological world, clearly without evading their privacy.