98% of adolescents ages 15 to 17 have a smartphone. 97% of all teens visit the internet daily. When you have access to the internet you have access to all social media. 58% of those people visit TikTok every day. Another 51% go on Snapchat regularly. There is also 50% that go on Instagram every single day. What some may not realize is that social media takes a huge toll on our mental and physical health and it’s even affecting our safety.
Social media is a wonderful way to connect with the world. You can know what’s happening all around you. You can look at the news on Facebook or the latest pop culture on Instagram. Say your family friend has just moved to Australia, you don’t want to be charged with long distance calling so you connect with them through Snapchat. Social media is a fantastic way to connect with the people around you. Even though you have used your phone to connect with people you have become glued, and you are starting to feel isolated as your mental health is declining and you could be inadvertently affecting your safety.
Social media is not as harmless as you may think. It has a significant impact on our mental health. Spending a lot of time on your device can cause you to become isolated. Isolation can cause increased anxiety and depression. You may even experience added aggression. When you isolate yourself and can impair your social skills; this really affects your social and emotional development. As well, your brain can be altered over time.
Researchers, such as Ashley Payton, Sherman, Leanna Hernandez, Patricia Greenfield and Shankar Vedantam wanted to learn about the brain’s reaction in teens while strolling through social media. They tested the reactions through brain scans of the teens. The interesting thing was that even if the teen had liked a photo, their opinion would completely change on what their peers thought or the amount of likes the post would have. They discovered that teenagers respond more positively to the post of themself when the post has more likes. In other words, it made them feel more positive about themself. However, if the post had a smaller amount of likes it would cause a more negative reaction. To quote Shankar Vedantam, “peer pressure matters a lot, especially when you’re 14.” Not only does social media have a massive impact on your mental health, but it also affects your physical health.
When teens are on their phones daily, they may start experiencing neck pain. Being hunched over your phone for hours at a time will most definitely affect your physical health. Not only will your neck start to hurt you may also develop terrible posture. Your hands may also start to cramp after gripping your phone for extended periods of time. Spending an increased amount of time on your phone can also be harmful to your eyes because of blue light. Although blue light is not the only thing you may be seeing online. If you are spending multiple hours on your device, you may run it to photos of super lean and skinny looking actors or models. This may cause you to start thinking about your weight or your physical features. Social media is one of the largest causes of eating disorders. Some can even end up hospitalized after limiting their own eating. Eating disorders can even be caused by cyberbullying. Harassment, negative comments, and personal attacks by cyberbullies have even been linked to teen suicide. A fourteen-year-old boy commit suicide after being bullied for being gay. That is one of many saddening stories. Social media is affecting our own safety and well-being.
Your safety is at risk every time you open social media. As there are many threats online. Social media continues to grow every day, but as social media continues to grow, so does the number of threats. Threats like hackers and trolls. You can be hacked at any time. Since sites collect all your personal data, like your email, date of birth, location, and even your financial information you are more likely to have all that information stolen by hackers. When you are spending all those hours on your phone, think to yourself “is this a safe site or app”, before giving personal information. You are also more likely to be exposed to human traffickers and sexual predators. However, these still are not all the safety issues. There can be a huge influence on young minds when they are scrolling through social media. These are not necessarily good influences. TikTok especially is known for having content involving harmful stunts. As said before, teens can feel peer pressured into doing dangerous and sometimes life-threatening activities. Some of these stunts can involve moving vehicles, like doing flips on a busy street. We need to change these outcomes with practical solutions to prevent these disadvantages.
Although there are many disadvantages towards social media, here are some solutions to create a happier relationship with social media. Try to start reducing your screen time by going on to your setting and putting screen time limits on certain or all apps. Try to remind yourself that there are much better things to do. Possibly even suggest to your family to keep areas device free. This will help you and your family. As a parent you should always try to keep your teenagers and kids outside and active. The outdoors and fresh air boost your mental health. If you are worried that your teen is being overly exposed to information, try and manage their social media and limit the number of social media apps they can use. These are all potential ways to make sure your teens are mentally and physically happy and healthy, also that they stay safe.
In conclusion, although there are many drawbacks towards social media, causing mental and physical health problems, and safety issues, action can be taken. To regain your physical health, try to substitute screen time for outdoor activities. Try to take part in social functions to help your mental health. As for your safety, be more observant towards what you are seeing and signing up for to prevent potential threats. If we start to use these different preventions towards the drawbacks, we can develop a healthier relationship with social media.
Works Cited
- “Social media.” Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Jan. 2023. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/social-media/635756#. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.
- “Technology Use and Human Well-Being.” Gale In Context Online Collection, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: Middle School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/WBEITA067328172/MSIC?u=ko_k12pr_d65&sid=bookmark-MSIC&xid=bc387070. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.
- “Researchers Study Effects Of Social Media On Young Minds.” Morning Edition, 9 Aug. 2016. Gale In Context: Middle School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A460822944/MSIC?u=ko_k12pr_d65&sid=bookmark-MSIC&xid=a1bad7e3. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.
- “Trolls and Cybermobs.” Teen Health and Wellness, Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., March 2023, teenhealthandwellness.com/article/580/trolls-and-cybermobs. Accessed 4 May 2023.
