12/01/2023

Ana Sofia Santander

ENG3U

Mr. Kirshner

Social Media: Depression, anxiety and no need to talk with

others?

Introduction

Through the ages many things have changed since the fact of transporting in

horses in the past and, meaning that transportation was replaced by carts in its place

nowadays. This thanks to the advanced technology that has evolved along with

humanity thus, helping us with greater comfort with each thing created. In turn making

these changes in our daily lives easier, in terms of transportation, food for the ease of

acquiring these, but in turn, this coping with this to society having the opportunity to

impose what is a good life and a bad life, who is beautiful, and who is not. Making many

people that makes part of the society feel dissatisfied with their body or life causing a

constant comparison with people lives with other people life, and in each comparison

feeling inferior to the people who idolize so much, and in turn sad for not being able to

have the body or life other people have. Causing some to fall into a great depression

when they cannot achieve something and anxiety, at the time of eating something with

the acknowledge it going to hurt to people health but they like it, and decide eating it

anyways, and for people who are afraid to talk to others or are just too shy to take the
first step and establish a conversation, do not have to, because with a cell phone in

hand they can talk online with strangers, but they have something in common, or simply

check the social networks they have, involving in a exaggerate way on it. Social media

is more harmful for teens and young adults because it makes them feel more

depressed, can caused anxiety and it makes people have no need to interact with

others.

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Otherwise, many people see how other people live ideally, with an ideal body and

in some cases people feel nothing because they really do not care what others do with

their lives, but there are also those people who constantly compare themselves life with

the life of another person, they probably do not even know. And for those people who

constantly compare themselves, they seek to do the same and all the achievements

they achieve will relate it in some way to the person that idolize by them. According to

the Anxiety and Depression Association of America it states “Many people see that

someone on Facebook who has a great job, excellent husband, and beautiful home and

they feel happy for them. But others can feel jealous, depressed, or may even feel

suicidal about their own life if it is not as “perfect” as those they see on Facebook.”

(PennState, 2019). The above shows us that many people are dissatisfied and therefore

anxious and depressed about not being able to achieve their goal although they really

are impossible to achieve because of the unreal stereotypes.

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 Another important topic to touch on, is the effects of social media that have

changed the way we communicate with other people. Something that the human being

has always had to survive, and adapt to different situations in addition to coexisting as a

community is the communication. Which was something fundamental to be able to

survive because of the fact of exchanging data, information and opinions between

people and thus subsisting. But nowadays that communication is not necessary thanks

to advances in technology, which means that if you want to go talk to someone out of

shame or for some difference, you do not need to do it because that won't change the

fact that you're going to continue living even if you do not. A study recently conducted

by the University for people indicates that 11% of adults reported would rather be at

home seeing Facebook than going out on the weekend.

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From another perspective, social networks have caused us to have a way to

pass the time when we have nothing to do, also being able to talk to people who are not

close to us so we can not see them but talk through them. But at the same time, we can

meet new people with our same interests, which makes people who are very shy can be

more open to talk. In addition to allowing us to show our day to day to many people,

making some of them feel somehow inferior for not possessing something that

apparently according to social networks everyone has like a good car a big house or

material things, making the person who looks daily social media have an unrealistic

vision, and making them believe that talking to people who comply with these things is
unattainable and not talking to them therefore. An expert from Columbia University

Mailman School of Public Health indicates that, “Although there are important benefits,

social media can also provide platforms for bullying and exclusion, unrealistic

expectations about body image and sources of popularity, normalization of risk-taking

behaviors, and can be detrimental to mental health” (Mellins, 2021). This gives us to

understand that a part of the society that sees these kind of content feel dissatisfied with

their body or life causing a constant comparison with the lives of others, and in each

comparison feeling inferior to the people who idolize so much.

Conclusion

To conclude social media is more harmful for teens and young adults because it

makes them feel more depressed, can caused anxiety and it makes people have no

need to interact with others. Which causes unhelpful effect, because it allows people to

easily compare their appearance to their friends, to celebrities, even older images of

themselves. An example of it is the fact that even adults prefer stay at home just in

Facebook or Instagram, and the percentage just goes up or duplicates with teens or

young adults. Or maybe also when you want to have the life that your idol has, causing

great dissatisfaction and false expectation, because only a very small part of society

can have that kind of life, but most of that things are just famous because a trend, and

people are driven to try to become thin, and/or overly scrutinize their own bodies. Finally

for very shy or introverted young people, it can be a way to meet others with similar
interests on the internet, but these leading other things happen like no having the need

of talk with other people.

Claude, M. (September 27 of 2021). Columbia University. Retrieved from Columbia

University Mailman School of Public Health

Smith, A., Anderson, M., Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2018, September 19). Social Media

Use 2018: Demographics and Statistics. Retrieved from

https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/