Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 670
Proceedings of the 2022 3rd International Conference on Mental Health, Education and Human Development (MHEHD 2022)
The Effect of Social Media Use on Adolescent’ Mental
Health
Xiwen Zheng
Red Lion Christian Academy, Bear, Delaware, America
Corresponding author. Email: audrey@poers.edu.pl
ABSTRACT
In our society today, we focus on how we look, act and think. Another way of expressing our life could be on social
media. We often use Instagram or Snapchat nowadays to find others that share the same interests as us. Both have
their advantages, but something to keep in mind is that, no matter how much you spend time on social media, at the
end of the day, human interaction would be the key to life. To reduce stress and to feel brighter each day, you need
face-to-face contact with others. Even though social media could bring support of connecting you and others,
spending too much time on it can make you feel separated from the real world. It can also increase the possibility of
getting mental health issues. Social media is an enormous part of teenage society today. Many teenagers spend
countless hours scrolling through various forms of social media. Many of them even compare their life with the
celebrities’ life on the social media platform, and they will often feel upset or feel their life is dull. With that being
said, the effects of social media on adolescents’ mental health should be one of the most crucial things when people
think of mental health issues, plus the fact that it has greatly influenced many teenagers’ lives over the past decades.
Keywords: Social Media, Comparison, Mental issues, Depression, Beneficial, Harmful.
receive a like or a compliment on a post that you post,
1. INTRODUCTION you would want to post more and to get more attention
from the outside world. The more you are post getting
As a means of interacting with friends and family, the like button, your brain would receive this message
social media was later adopted by businesses that as some type of reward.
wanted to reach out to customers through a popular new
medium. Social media dates to May 24th of 1844. This Over time, social media can change a person’s habits
is the day that the telegraph machine was created. The and behaviors. One of the positive changes that social
first message was a message from Samuel Morse to media brings to human behavior is making people more
Washington, D.C. from Baltimore. Around 1969, this open-minded to challenge stereotypes and develop
led to the rise of social media. There are many effects of mutual respect. Sometimes social media could make
social media; they could either bring satisfaction or you want to change your habit or make you want to
health problems. People have different intentions when learn more. Additionally, in the long term, it might
using social media. It could be promoting a business, make that person pursue the field that they enjoy.
communicating with others, or simply wanting to make However, there are also drawbacks. These can include
one’s voice heard. not being happy about their current life when you look
at other people’s highlights of the day, you might get
Social media platforms are designed to grab your upset with the environment around you, and people
attention, keep you busy with the online world, looking would become more depressed mentally and physically
at what’s happening in other people’s life. Most of the because their anxiety level went up every time they look
time, we will often check one of our social media on our at others pleasing life.
phone to see if one of our friends has posted a new post
in their profile. It is also how most of the company
make their money by making commercials and
promoting ads online. Gambling compulsion or an
addiction to alcohol, or drugs, social media usage could
lead to serious problems. Most of the time when you
Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 796
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 670
2. LITERATURE REVIEW There are several data shows that ninety percent of
teenagers between the age of thirteen to seventeen have
2.1. The Use of Social Media by Teenagers used social media on their devices. Teenagers have
access to the internet through their mobile devices two-
2.1.1. Connotation thirds of the time. Most teens spend almost nine-hour
online a day, not including homework time. This data
According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2018, shave effectively showed us how much social media
Facebook used to be the most popular social media means to children all around the world today.
platform among teens, but it has fallen in popularity.
The impact that has had on teenagers is incredibly
Nearly half of American teenagers say they use some
significant. Because everyone grew up in different
type of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, or
environments, they interpret social media posts
Snapchat. As data shows by the increase in teen social
differently. Social media holds various kinds of issues
media usage, the usage of technology for young people
right now, and most of the problems right now are not
has changed since 2014-2015. Significantly, the number
something we can control. Social media could be
of people who own a smartphone has become almost
disturbing for people. The addiction appeal of the
universal among teens nowadays. This study also
technologies can help people stay in touch with their
discovered that nearly the whole adolescent population
family and friends. People get disturbed by their
now has direct access to a phone. Furthermore,
electronic devices at least six to eight times a day, which
researchers gathered information across 27 nations, the
is equivalent to 28 percent of their time [2].
result was that Americans over the last decade show a
significant spread of technology among the population. About 75 percent of teenagers ages 12 to 17 owns
Although the number of users of social networking sites their phone. Since the year o 2004, age has been the
has leveled off since 2013. However, older Americans, most crucial factor in predicting cell phone use.
who were not among the early adopters, continue to use Furthermore, as of September 2009, 58% of 12-year-
social media [1]. olds have a cell phone, much lower than the 73% of 13-
year-olds and the 83% of 17-year-olds who own a
There are many positive ways in which online
mobile device [3]. Since television reshaped the way,
interactions with others can help you stay connected and
we get information and spend our time, there may be no
support your emotional needs. Even if it does not have
other technology that has had such an impact [4]. Adults
the same benefits as face-to-face communication with
use their cell phone in different ways, so does the kids.
your friends or family. It often could help people
There are also races or ethnicity in phone ownership by
communicate and stay in touch with family and friends
teens. Today, there are around 95 percent of the young
around the world. Finding new friends and communities
teams have a device that could access any kind of
that shares the same interest as you, social media should
website and social media. Comparing the data from 13
be a good tool in some cases. Sometimes it could be
years ago, the number has increased from 58 percent to
hard to find someone to talk to around you, but if you
95 percent, this is a drastic jump. Many researchers have
want to talk to strangers online to seek some help, it
done many examines on does social media lower a
could also be a good place to gain some emotional
person’s self-esteem by collecting data from people all
support there.
over the world to get the most precise results [5].
Furthermore, according to some data, one tenth of
teens report that they have been constantly insulted by 2.2. Adolescent Mental Health: Emotional
others on the internet. Social media platforms can be a Stage, Well-being, Satisfaction in Life
target for spreading hurtful messages, unknown factors,
and abusive messages that can leave lasting emotional When scrolling through all the images online, most
pain. There is also a lot of mental health treatment that people know the images they are looking through that
could be used towards these kinds of problems, however, could be fake or manipulated, but people could still feel
the lasting bad memories will stay with them forever. insecure about themselves. As we know different age
groups are using social media, so, there should be many
2.1.2. Statistics on How Many Teenagers Use restrictions on how and when they could use it. The
Social Media online world contains many dangerous sites for teens to
be looking at. Moreover, young people must be aware of
Social media has become a part of someone’s life. what they are doing on social media, because something
Each day, they would spend countless hours on it. Not they might think is fun for them, might be harmful in
only do teenagers use social media, but adults around others’ eyes. As humans, we know very clearly that
the world also use it in their daily life. Nearly two-thirds those pictures on the internet are just people sharing to
of American adults (65%) use social networking sites, share the highlights of their lives, but that still does not
up from 7% when Pew Research Center began reduce the feelings of jealousy and dissatisfaction when
systematically tracking social media usage in 2005 [1]. you are scrolling through others’ profiles.
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Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 670
As time passes, you could become disconnected Snapchat, and Instagram usage make people feel
from reality. People nowadays are fear missing a single lonelier rather than less lonely [7].
part of their life, when time passes by, they even started
to be scared to miss out on other’s life as well. While 3. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE
FOMO (Fear to Miss Out) has been around far longer IMPLICATIONS
than social media, sites such as Instagram and Snapchat
seem to create the feelings that others are living a much In the study of the impact of social media on
more fun and suitable life than you are. Looking at teenagers, data are collected from experiments and self-
FOMO, this could have a vital impact on your self- reports, which means the accuracy of the articles is
esteem, anxiety, mental problems [6]. Many teenagers trustworthy. Social media are just some apps that you
would even have the habit to check their phone every 5 download on your phone. Whether in school or the
minutes even if they are doing something. This is also workplace you need to make friends, talk in front of
due to FOMO, it can compel you to pick up your phone people, speaks in presentations, or even have a normal
every few minutes to check for messages, or conversation with others. In the long term, electronic
compulsively respond to each alert. Some even would devices will show that they harm someone’s face-to-
check when they are driving, showering, or sleeping. face conversation by making it uncomfortable to hear or
These factors could cause physical health problems or to respond. People would become more introverted, and
even death. more of them would choose just to stay online for the
entire day instead of being more interacted with, they
2.3 Adolescnet’s Social Media Use and would become withdrawn.
Adolescent’s Health Since Social Networking Sites are critical spaces for
young people's personal and social development, some
People often compare themselves with others, and
more suggestions are needed to explore their full
they can never be satisfied enough with their own life.
potentialities and eliminate their drawbacks. There is
Social networking sites, such as Instagram and Snapchat,
research suggesting ways to improve the service of
all provide a variety of social comparison opportunities.
Social Networking Sites and to use them more
First, studies examined the effects of chronic and
effectively [8]. There are many ways you could have to
temporary exposure to social media-based social
use social media, if you use it in the right way, it can be
comparison information on self-esteem considering the
a highly effective tool when it comes to making new
widespread use of social media. Results show that
friends and developing new habits. However, young
participants who use social media would start feeling
people must be aware of what they are doing on social
less confident about themselves, and this result’s
media, because something they might think is fun for
percentage will increase in the future.
them, might be harmful in others’ eyes [8]. Many
Second, another examination in 2017 looked at 18- suggestions that could be helpful when using social
to 22-year-olds and how social media impacted their media will include knowing who your audience is,
anxiety levels. The experiment focuses on in total how having a personality, and maintaining a singular voice.
much time they spend on social media per day. The Most of the time, you are going to have a challenging
results are not that shocking, the more time they spent time connecting with your followers or the strangers
on it per day, “the greater the association with anxiety that are just scrolling through your profile. So, it means
symptoms and the greater likelihood of an anxiety you don’t understand what or who your audience is. In
disorder” [6]. From this experience, it is clear that as this case, they might not have an interest in your content,
increasingly you spend on scrolling through social made, or they might not understand you. Maintaining a good
your mental strength will become weaker and weaker personality is also especially important. Do not be afraid
because you see other’s successes. to share your voice with others, some people or
businesses that are successful on social media are
All those researches could provide us a grasp of
known for their unique character and willingness to take
everything about social media usage and how a teenager
risks. The more special your content is, the more you
would be affected by it. When you use online sources or
will get more followers [9].
social media for too long, people can lose the ability
they have from before. Also, most teenager is still in Beneficial suggestions for further use of social
their puberty level, many teenagers during this time media include making a schedule of when and how you
could be affected by a lot of things, and most of the time should use social media each day. Knowing who you
these things will stay with them for the rest of their life. are communicating with, because, may affect you in
In the other words, it is easier to increase their anxiety some ways. Realizing that social media is nothing
level, eating disorder, conduct disorder, and self-harm compared to reality because things on social media
during this period. In addition, according to a might be fake, but the thing in real life and the people
University of Pennsylvania study, high Facebook, around you are going to be real. Social media itself do
not have any emotions, the more you use social media
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Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 670
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Social Media as a Medical Eeducator, Medical
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Further research should be run in the future, but with
the information that we already discovered, it is
confirmed online sources and social media could be
people's harmful habits and mental health problems in
the long term. This means, in our modern society today,
the impact on teenagers' mental health is also beyond
doubt.
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