In this day and age social media plays an important role in the lives of not only teenagers, but a significant amount of the adult population as well. Social media is a place where all people have equal opportunities to voice their opinions, keep in touch with world news, and much more. Although most agree that social media can have a positive impact, it also has the power to send negative messages, specifically to teenagers who are still cultivating their identities. These messages can surround topics like false self images, shaming, bullying, but much more that that, it can encourage young boys and girls to lose themselves in the light of social media. Seeing constant negativity on social media platforms such as, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and many others can affect anyone’s mental health.
Social media can have drastic consequences about one’s own body image and push some to compare themselves with others. When being on apps such as Instagram it’s hard not to compare yourself to others when you see things you wish you had. Instagram is a very prime example of what social media can be like, with the neverending pictures of models and their luxurious lives with constant travels to exotic places, expensive cars, and this idea of unrealistic perfection. This causes young adults to reexamine themselves and feel less important or valued. All too often teenagers create an image of false beauty and worth that influences them to change themselves so that they may fit in. With social media being a necessity in today’s fast paced, technological world, it becomes normal to fall into the rabbit hole of social media and endless comparisons. People begin to measure their worth by the amount of likes they get or the views they recieve. This way of looking at oneself can lead many people to depression, resentment, jealousy, anger, or wanting to be the falsely painted picture of ‘perfect’ that social media can exhibit. In a survey given by The Independent (a national British news source) to 1,000 individuals it was reported that 41% of these people were quitting social media based on the fact that social media platforms were either making them nervous and causing causing anxiety, or making people sad or depressed.
Seeing as teenagers are easily influenced and happen to be growing up with social media, it’s only fitting that teenagers share their input on how they feel it affects them. Sophomore Angela Dimanno, an avid user of Instagram added, “In a sense it’s good and bad. It distracts me from homework but it’s good because I need a break sometimes.”. Thanasis Papakostas, another sophomore at Mills described his experience with social media platforms, “To be frank, social media has a negative impact on my life. Sure, it may allow me to have some fun for a couple of hours, but the after effects outweigh any of its probative value. It leads me to spend my entire night, which should be spent sleeping on all of my assignments. In turn, I feel exhausted, and it’s even harder for me to pay attention at school, and to do anything on that matter.”
Personally, as a teenager with social media accounts on Snapchat and Instagram, it’s understandable how social media causes a state of turmoil for those who spend a considerable amount of time on these platforms. I too have had days where I’ve spent hours looking through the endless posts and felt myself compare my life to others. I desperately wanted to have the lives of these people for just a day and in a way, it gave me motivation to do better, but it also had a way of making me feel envious of others’ lifestyles. Social media can be both positive and negative, so it’s important for people to realize both sides and decide their own personal limits for themselves.
