Saleem Mohammad
Nov 10, 2019
Inquiry Based Essay
What are the Negative Effects of Social Media on Adolescent’s Mental Health?
Social media is addictive. It has the same dopamine hit, you get from gambling, drinking alcohol, and doing cocaine. This topic is significant to me because I want to raise an awareness about the negative effects of social media on adolescent’s mental health. I want adolescents to use social media wisely. Adolescent’s should limit their time they spend on social media. In this essay, I will present a series of sources to defend my claim. I want adolescents to know that social media is detrimental to their mental health because it causes depression, possible self-harm and in extreme cases suicide.
In a scholarly source, “Selfie and mental health issues: An overview” by Standier Kaur and Deepika Vig, the authors talk about how a relationship has been found between selfie addiction and many mental health issues like poor self-esteem, narcissism, loneliness and depression. Furthermore, addiction with selfie in youth, especially teenagers and mental health issues are on the rise as many psychiatrists are seeing number of parents coming with the same complaint. In the article, the authors states’:
“Campbell (2014) reported that trying to take a selfie as many times as needed to get the face to look as perfect as possible could lead to serious mental health problems. He stated that Thailand government psychiatrist Panpimol Wipulakorn had warned young Thais who post their selfies on social media but do not receive enough likes and positive feedback of serious emotional problems, which consequently could affect the balance of the nation itself” (Kaur, Vig, 1151).
This quote shows us that adolescents can face emotional problems because of not receiving enough likes and positive feedback as they have hoped for. In the article, the audience are the parents, education professionals and adolescents that use social media. The speaker is concerned because he wants adolescents to know how to use social media wisely. The tone of this article is serious because the author of this article wants adolescents, parents, and teachers to be educated about the negative effects of social media.
The rhetorical situation of this article is that Satinder Kaur and Deepika Vig are both addressing the complaint that parents come to them with, the negative effects of social media on adolescents mental health, the addiction to selfies especially. Both authors perspective on this topic is that there needs to be a plan of intensive sensitization campaigns and programs to educate teachers, parents and their teenagers about the increasing addiction of social media, selfie addiction especially. The purpose of this article is to inform and to warn. Some of the feelings that both authors evoked in this article are fear and worry. This article was effective because it called for teachers, parents and their teenagers to be educated about the negative effects social media can have on adolescents mental health.
In the article called “Hearing the hidden hashtags” by authors Hugo Maximillian Metcalfe and Alex Smith, both authors talk about secret hashtags and their role in conversations about mental health. Furthermore, they talk about how social media needs to be monitored, social media can promote self- harm through the use of hashtag. Parents need to know more about what their children are doing online and understand the dangers of social media sites. In the article, the authors states’:
“Hashtags are seen as a fun way of linking specific themes or content to others around the world, however when the hashtag is #selfharm or #anorexia, this can become problematic…The pictures that come up are endless displays of self-harm or anorexia, and could be suggested as promoting mental health problems. A recent trend was #bluewhale, where teenagers were pressured into engaging in self-harm behaviours and after 50 days to end their life, which resulted in the deaths of many teenager worldwide (Upadhyaya, 2017)” (Smith, Metcalfe, 2).
This quote shows us that hashtags can be problematic when it’s not monitored. The audience in the article are the mental health practitioners, parents and their teenagers. The speaker is concerned about social media hashtags not being monitored. The tone of this article is shocking because the author just found out that there are hashtags that promote self-harm. Furthermore, the audience like the parents and mental health practitioners are just finding out about this too.
The rhetorical situation of this article is that one of the authors, Alex Smith, stumbled across some of the communities of secret hashtags when he was researching with his colleagues for a presentation on young people’s mental health conversations on social media. As he explored these hashtags, clicking link to link, image to image, he found himself being transported deeper and deeper into a hidden-in-plain-sight community of young people sharing experiences of a range of mental health issues. Both authors perspective on this topic is that hashtags can be problematic when they’re not monitored. They believe that mental health practitioners and parents need to help adolescents understand and educate them on the implications of the use of social media. The purpose of this article is to shock, inform, and to warn. Some of the feelings that the authors evoked in the article are surprise and worry. This article is effective because it sent a message to parents to educate their teenagers to use social media wisely.
In the article “IS FEAR OF MISSING OUT INSTRUMENTAL IN UNDERSTANDING HEALTH OUTCOMES RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA USE” by Lousie H. Graham, the author talks about how fear of missing out is associated with depressive signs, apprehensive attention, and physical manifestations. In the article, the author states:
“A more significant degree of FoMO is associated with an inferior level of life contentment. Individuals who plan to remain informed about what their peers are doing (Mihăilă, 2017) have an inferior level of life contentment. The need to interact with other persons and to be cognizant about the most current and accurate information (Pera, 2018) may generate cognitive and emotional anxiety reactions.” (Graham, 68).
This quote means that adolescents that want to remain inform about their friends are doing have a lower level of happiness. The audience of this article are social media users, mainly adolescents. The speaker is worried because adolescents fear of missing out, which causes them to be depressed. The tone of this article is sinister because the author is giving the impression that social media is linked with depressive signs, apprehensive attention, and physical manifestations.
The rhetorical situation of this article is that Lousie H. Graham addressing how the longer someone spends on social media, the more negative effects social media is going to have on their mental health. Graham’s perspective on this issue is that fear of missing out is related to lower dispositional mindfulness, it has many negative effects on one’s mental health like depression and anxiety. The purpose of this article is to advise and to educate. Some of the feelings that the author evoked are horrified and frightened. After this article, the readers were horrified and frightened to find out about the amount of negative effects of fear of missing out can have on social media users, mainly adolescents. This article is effective because it has a lot of evidence in a form of graphs to support what the author is saying.
In the article “The Effects of Social Media on Teenagers” by Jamison Monroe, the author talks how teen depression is linked to social media. Furthermore, additional surveys of US adolescents show that teen depressive symptoms and suicide rates increased between 2010 and 2015. In the article, the author states:
“Additional surveys of US adolescents show that teen depressive symptoms and suicide rates increased between 2010 and 2015, especially among females. Researchers noted that the increase in social media and overall screen use between those years could account for these changes. Moreover, these surveys showed that adolescents who spent more time on social media were more likely to report mental health issues. Meanwhile, teens who spent more time on non-screen activities, such as in-person social interaction, sports, exercise, homework, and print media, were less likely to report these issues.” (Monroe, 1)
This quote means that social media usage is linked to depression and suicide rates increasing. The audience of this article are parents and adolescents. The tone of this article is horrifying because the readers are horrified to find out that teen depression and suicide rates are increasing, and that social media is linked to that issue. The rhetorical situation is that Jamison Monroe, who is the CEO and founder of Newport Academy wants to tell parents to get their adolescents to attend his Academy. He’s telling the parents that Newport Academy offers a treatment of unplugging from phones and social media. The author’s perspective is that adolescents should limit their time they spend on social media. The purpose of this article is to persuade and to inform. Some of the feelings that the author evoked on parents and adolescents were surprise and worry. This article was effective because it raised an awareness about limiting one’s time on social media.
In the article “The Negative Effects of Social Media on Teenagers, Youth or Adolescents” by Vinay Prajapati, the author talks about how social media can have some very severe effects on adolescent’s well-being if not monitored or restricted. Some examples are Facebook depression, cyberbullying, sleep deprivation, lower self-esteem, social isolation, poor concentration, decreased activity, and internet addiction. The audience of this article are adolescents, the author is advising them to use social media wisely. The author is worried that social media can have serious effects on adolescents mental health if not monitored or restricted. The rhetorical situation of this article is that Vinay Prajapati is addressing to the adolescents about the issues social media can have on them. The author’s perspective is that adolescents should be educated on using social media wisely. The purpose of this article is to fear and to advise. Some of the feelings that the author evoked are fearful and stunning because the amount of information the author gave on the effects social media can have on adolescents mental health when they don’t use it wisely. This article is effective because it sent fear to adolescents to be aware of the effects social media can have if not monitored.
In the article “How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror” by Rachel Simmons, the author talks about how social media has become toxic because it has created unrealistic body expectations. For example, the author says:
“Earlier this year, Psychologists found robust cross- cultural evidence linking social media use to body image concerns, dieting, body surveillance, a drive for thinness and self- objectification in adolescents” (Simmons, 1).
The audience of this article are the parents because the author is telling the parents what actions they should take to help their teenagers. The author is concerned about the negative effects social media has on adolescents. The author is addressing the issue that social media is making adolescents compare themselves to other users on social media. The rhetorical situation of this article is that the author is addressing the issue of how social media is creating impossible body expectations. The author wants parents to take actions to help solve this issue. The author’s perspective on this topic is that social media is making adolescents feel bad about themselves. Rachel Simmons states:
“Visual platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat deliver the tools that allow teens to earn approval for their appearance and compare themselves to others. The most vulnerable users, researchers say, are the ones who spend most of their time posting, commenting on and comparing themselves to photos” (Simmons, 1).
The purpose of this article is to alert, advise, and educate. One of the feeling that the author evoked in this article was stress. This article is effective because it is raising an awareness and sending a message to the parents of the social media users to take actions to help their teens.
In the article “Social media linked to rise in mental health disorders in teens, survey finds” by Shamard Charles, M.D., the author talks about how according to a national survey, young adults that are born after 1995 are experiencing more mental health issues. In the research, that was posted by the American Psychological Association, there has been a significant increase in major depression, suicidal thoughts, psychological distress, and more attempted suicides after 2010 than the mid-2000s, which was by far the biggest increase in adolescents and young adults. In the article, the speaker says:
“And the rate of young adults with suicidal thoughts or other suicide-related outcomes increased a staggering 47 percent from 2008 to 2017.One reason for the increase may be that digital media use has had a bigger impact on teens and young adults than older adults who tend to have more stable social lives. ‘Cultural trends in the last 10 years may have had a larger effect on mood disorders and suicide-related outcomes among younger generations compared with older generations,’ said Twenge.” (Charles, 1)
The audience of this article are the parents because they’re the ones that can make a change. For example, they limit the time their teenagers spend on social media, or they can educate their teenagers about the negative effects social media can have on their mental health. The author is worried about adolescents, he wants them to be educated about the proper way of using social media. The rhetorical situation of this article is the author is addressing the issues social media can have on adolescents mental health based on recent studies. The author’s perspective on this issue is that adolescents need to have knowledge about social media and ways of using social media.
I interviewed one of the staff members at the Psychological Center about this issue, the negative effects that social media has on adolescents mental health. I asked, “how much time do you think adolescents spend on social media?” to which they responded with “8-9 hours I believe.” I asked, “do you think social media distracts adolescents when they need to be productive?” they answered “Sometimes, if they’re going to try to do homework for 2-3 hours straight, they’ll get bored and go on their phone.” I asked, “do you think when adolescents see pictures posted of a person who has the body type, they want, does it make them put themselves down or think negatively about their body image?” They answered “Yes, they’ll look at themselves in a negativeway.” I asked, “do you think adolescents care about how many likes or views they get on their posts/pictures?” They answered “Yes, human beings always want validation from others.” I asked, “do you think in this era of perfect lives on social media these kinds of posts cause adolescents to compare themselves and feel depressed?” They answered “Yes, they’ll always compare themselves to others and if they don’t have the same things, they’ll feel depressed.” The last question I asked was “do you think adolescents face cyberbullying because of social media?” They answered “Yes, many adolescents are on social media everyday interacting with other people, they’re going to come across negative people that will harass them.”
To sum up this essay, in conclusion, social Media is ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. Social media is detrimental to the mental health of adolescents. It has many negative effects, as shown in this essay. Social Media can be addictive. It provides the same kind of dopamine rush that you get from smoking, drinking alcohol, or gambling. Some examples of the negative effects of social media that I showed in this essay were depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, fear of missing out, unrealistic expectations, negative body image, unhealthy sleep patterns, general addiction, etc. Parents and adolescents should be educated about using social media. I even interviewed one of the staff members at the psychological centers at the City College of New York. I modeled my essay after “Impact of Social Media on Youth Essay” by a research guide for a student. One of the things that I liked about this essay was the introduction, the author grabbed my attention when it stated “Social media has been ingrained into our society today to such an extent that it is virtually impossible for people to take you seriously, if you are not on any social media platform.” This inspired me to create a sentence that will grab a reader’s attention in the introduction. Furthermore, the other thing that grabbed my attention was the author’s conclusion. The author states “As Albert Einstein once said, ‘I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” This was a great way to end one’s essay. That inspired me to write a conclusion that ended in a similar way.
Work Cited Page
Scholarly Sources:
- Kaur, Satinder, and Vig, Deepika, 2016, College of Home Science, PAU, Ludhiana. Print. Retrieved from
- Hugo Maximillian, Metcalfe, and Smith, Alex, December 1, 2017. Print. Retrieved from
- Graham, Louise H., January 1, 2018, Center for Health Management, CSA, Toronto. Print. Retrieved from
Popular Sources:
- Monroe, Jamison, March 8, 2019. Website Article. Retrieved from
https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/well-being/effect-of-social-media-on-teenagers/
- Prajapati, Vinay, June 10, 2019, Article. Retrieved from
https://www.techprevue.com/negative-social-media-adolescents/
- Simmons, Rachel, August 19, 2019, Smith College. Print. Retrieved from
https://time.com/4459153/social-media-body-image/
- Charles, M.D., Shamard, March 14, 2019, NBC News. New article. Print. Retrieved from
Model Essay:
https://www.aresearchguide.com/impact-of-social-media-on-youth.html
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