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The Problem Social Media Poses to Our Mental Health
Depression and anxiety have been around for a long time, but recently the number of
people with depression and anxiety has skyrocketed no thanks to social media. Social media is a
place where people share the content of their lives and let people communicate better with
others, but using social media for extended periods leads to depression and anxiety. This
extended usage also leads to all sorts of negative emotions such as jealousy or loneliness.
Depression and anxiety are both mental health issues that are common in people of all ages. A
major cause of this is that social media is being used more often and for longer periods, leading
to these mental health problems. Depression, anxiety, and isolation are all in the shadows of
social media waiting to attack social media users.
Elijah Daniel
1 May 2023
English 102 The Research Paper
Section 107
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Bzzzt! There is a notification on my phone. I check my phone, and I would have
notifications from all the social media apps I frequently use. I would go through the short-form
videos that my friends would send. I would get stuck in an endless loop where I would scroll and
find a funny video. Then I would send it to my friend, and they would send one back after a little
while. I would scroll and scroll for hours on end. Whenever I had even the slightest chance, I
would scroll for so long that I would waste an entire day. This seriously affected my life because
I would lose sleep and become very tired throughout the day. Also, it led me to do none of my
work until the very last minute, and I would be very anxious throughout the day for no reason.
All of these problems are problems that I already had. However, due to social media, it has
gotten much worse. The reason why these problems became worse is because of the posts that
people post on their socials. For example, I would see people going out and doing fun things.
Some people would post about their achievements and their success in life. Seeing all the posts
made me compare myself to them and think I am less of a person than they are. I compared
myself to those on social media posting pictures because I felt that I was doing nothing with my
life and that I had to do something successful or fun to think that I deserved to be a human. This
envy grew and grew to be so large that I just gave up. I was reduced to a pile of mush and did
nothing with my life. Now and then, I will scroll through social media, and these feelings will
still arise no matter how hard I try to avoid them.
Since social media is a broad term, you might ask yourself, “What is social media?”
Well, social media are websites and apps that allow people to communicate and update others on
life with an online presence. There are other ways to use social media such as to create content to
entertain others or as a means to network with others around the world for a successful business.
The first social media platform was created in 1997, called Six Degrees. It was a platform for
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people to text, email, and do many other things. (Ash Read 11/10/15). This allowed people to
become more social and talk to others quicker and easier. After the reign of Six Degrees, more
social media, such as Myspace and Friendster, started popping up. After these social media
platforms died out more came up. Facebook is an example of a social media platform that has
skyrocketed in growth. It has become one of the most used social media platforms. The
popularity of social media growth has led to social media integrating into society and becoming a
large part of people. Nowadays, there are hundreds of millions of people on social media
platforms. Many of the popular social media now are Tiktok, Instagram, and Twitter. To think
that all of these people use social media to communicate and talk with one another is crazy.
However, there have been some issues that appear with social media. A big issue that arose when
social media became very popular is the safety of a person’s information while using a website.
This became a large problem because people began to see connections between what they
searched and what ads they received. This worried people because they thought the information
was used for more than just ads. They thought that their data and information were being sold to
other companies so that they could take advantage of them and send subliminal messages.
Another severe problem that came up with social media was about freedom of speech and if
freedom of speech meant being free from consequences. People thought that they could say
whatever they wanted because of freedom of speech. However, there will always be
consequences for discriminating against another person. A final problem that came up was a
large number of people being bullied online. This bullying led to a major decrease in the mental
health of people. Social media is used to harm one’s mental health and lead to depression,
anxiety, and isolation.
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Depression and anxiety have been around for a long time, but recently the number of
people with depression and anxiety has skyrocketed no thanks to social media. Social media is a
place where people share the content of their lives and let people communicate better with
others, but using social media for extended periods leads to depression and anxiety. This
extended usage also leads to all sorts of negative emotions such as jealousy or loneliness.
Depression and anxiety are both mental health issues that are common in people of all ages. A
major cause of this is that social media is being used more often and for longer periods, leading
to these mental health problems. Depression, anxiety, and isolation are all in the shadows of
social media waiting to attack social media users.
However, social media has also aided in helping those who have mental health issues.
Many people do not have good connections with others. Also, they might not be comfortable
sharing their feelings and thoughts with others. They can feel this because of embarrassment or
they do not want to be a burden to those around them. However, they can use social media to talk
to others in the same situation. They can also talk to medical professionals through social media
if making appointments is difficult. “The ability to raise awareness, connect with people across
the world, and share moments of beauty can be empowering and uplifting for some”
(https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ 12/15/17). Just like being able to connect with others that are in
the same situation as them. Also, it can be used to lift others when they are at their lowest. This
also helps those in deteriorating mental states feel seen and cared for. There are many forums for
people on social media platforms to express themselves and pour their hearts out. These
platforms are not just a place where someone can pour their heart out, but the person will also be
heard and understood by someone on the other side of the screen. Social media does all sorts of
good for those who need it. On the other hand, many people are damaged by social media.
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Maybe we as people need to become kinder and more aware of those in bad mental states and
help them instead of putting them down.
Depression is a serious mental health issue arising from spending too much time on social
media. Depression is a mental health illness that leads to the person having their mood change to
become unhappy. It can also lead to a lack of interest in hobbies and activities that they used to
enjoy. The ones who are most affected by this mental health issue are adolescents and young
adults. A study that was done on depression and social media says, “The rate of individuals
reporting symptoms consistent with major depression in the last 12 months increased 52 percent
in adolescents from 2005 to 2017 and 63 percent in young adults age 18 to 25 from 2009 to
2017, the researchers found” (https://www.nbcnews.com/ 3/14/19). This study proves that
adolescents and young adults are the ones most affected and that social media is the cause behind
it because around the years mentioned in the study social study became very popular around
these times. These people born in these years are using social media very often. The average
screen time for those aged 13-18 is 8-9 hours daily. (A. Guttman 1/9/23). Using social media 8-9
hours a day can lead to a person being unable to focus on specific tasks leading to depression.
This is because the person will not complete responsibilities like schoolwork and work around
the house, and this failure and incompletion will lead to being saddened and becoming
depressed. Another reason why extensive use of social media is not good for a person’s mental
health and can lead to depression is that a person will scroll for a long time and compare
themselves to others. Students who spend long periods on social media are more likely to
compare themselves to the influencers on social media. This comparison negatively affects their
mental health (Luca Braghieri et.al. 2-4). When using social media a person will compare
themself to the people they see on social media. These people are called influencers. All
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influencers do is they will post videos and pictures of themselves and the various riches and
fancy items they own. The person who scrolls will see all of this and think that what they have is
not enough, damaging their self-esteem. When their self-esteem is brought down it can lead to all
sorts of mental health issues such as depression. Even though this can lead to depression this is
not what causes depression. Even though it is not just social media that causes mental health
issues it is a big factor (https://www.psychologytoday.com/ 2/3/20). Social media is the gateway
that worsens someone’s mental health situation. The person’s mental health becomes worse
because of many factors such as comparison or spending too much time on social media. They
will use these social media platforms more when their mental health worsens. Social media is
used as a means of escape from their deteriorating mental health (Viktor Schønning et.al. 9,10).
The repetitive social media cycle will lead to more mental health issues and other problems.
Anxiety is another major mental health issue that is affected by social media and its
extended use. Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues. “An estimated 31.1% of
U.S. adults experience any anxiety disorder at some time in their lives”
(https://www.nimh.nih.gov/). That is one-third of the population of around 100 million people.
All these people are suffering due to a mental health issue that is on a rampage worldwide.
Everybody experiences anxiety, for example, when speaking in front of a large group of people
or when taking a test for a class that is difficult. However, these are not signs of an anxiety
disorder. An anxiety disorder is when a person gets anxious excessively or very commonly over
small things. Social media deeply affects whether a person will develop anxiety because it relates
to comparing themselves to the influencers or regular people they see on the internet. The person
will become more and more concerned about what they post on social media. They will start to
think that others around them are judging them because they are not posting what others are
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posting. So, the person who is becoming anxious about what others think of them will start
picking up bad habits. The mental health issues caused by social media can cause an individual
to post about bad life choices on their socials. For example, vaping, smoking, or drinking. Social
media users with mental health issues will post this to fit in. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/
2/3/20). These terrible life choices will lead to many other mental health issues or cause current
mental health issues to become much worse than they already are. Many studies prove that
drinking, smoking, and vaping all lead to mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.
Although this is not common there are much simpler ways for a person who uses social media
too much to develop an anxiety disorder. For example, being on social media for too long can
lead to a specific case of anxiety called FOMO. FOMO is an acronym for “fear of missing out.”
Fear occurs when a person is on social media for too long. They will always need to want to
know what is happening around them. They have this feeling because they are anxious that they
are missing out on something important or fun when they are not on their phones. Similar to
FOMO there is nomophobia, nomophobia is the fear of losing your phone. (Crystal Raypole
8/27/2019). Another way is that the person will get cyberbullied and develop anxiety.
“Importantly, cyberbullying on social media consistently shows harmful impact on mental health
in the form of increased depressive symptoms as well as worsening of anxiety symptoms, as
evidenced in a review of 36 studies among children and young people” (John A. Naslund et al.
2020). Cyberbullying is just as harmful as bullying. Cyberbullies hide behind a screen and will
say mean things to a person on social media. The cyber bullies will be harsher because they
speak through a screen and can be anonymous. What the bullies say will decrease the amount of
self-love they give themselves. Also, it can severely damage self-esteem. This lack of selfesteem can lead to a person isolating.
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Even though social media and isolation are oxymorons, isolation is a result of what
happens when a person uses social media to an extreme extent. Even though you are posting on
social media to show your friends or followers what is happening in your life, a sense of isolation
follows. This is because social media is mainly used when a person is alone. Most of the time
isolating yourself when using social media is not on purpose, but an accident. However, some
people will purposely isolate themselves. They will purposely isolate themselves because they
are using social media as a way to escape from reality. Social media is used as an escape because
it is very addicting and can let the person not worry about everything around them. A person will
try to escape from reality and life because they are having trouble in their life. For example,
schoolwork might be too stressful or they have a bad home situation. Also, there are people
around them who will cause them to want to escape. There are also some instances where the
person is being cyberbullied and they will choose to go to parts of the internet where they feel
safe. As previously mentioned cyberbullying will cause the person to have a bad mental state and
low self-esteem. When a person’s self-esteem is low they will think that they do not deserve to
be loved and avoid all people. Isolation is not good for the body or health because this can lead
to all sorts of mental and physical issues. For example, it can lead to premature death and
dementia. (https://www.cdc.gov/ 4/29/21). Humans are creatures that need to interact with others
and will struggle in life when left alone. They will struggle in life because they do not have
people to confide with about their feelings or help them out when going through hard times. A
person can become engrossed in social media for many reasons, leading to the person isolating.
It is very important not to isolate yourself from others because this can lead to other mental
health issues. “The more you prioritize social media interaction over in-person relationships, the
more you’re at risk for developing or exacerbating mood disorders such as anxiety and
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depression” (Lawrence Robinson et.al. par. 2). Isolation can lead to other mental health issues
because isolation is a sign that a person might be depressed. One of the major reasons a person
will isolate themselves is because they find social media addictive.
Social media is addictive. Everybody knows this. Social media is addictive for many
reasons. For example, it will use algorithms to show you posts that you will enjoy. The way an
algorithm works is that if you like a certain post it will show posts just like that post, or some
social media sites will have it so that if you are lingering on a post it will show more posts like
that. This usage of an algorithm will keep you entertained for hours, and it will cause you to
forget the time. This might happen once, but it will keep happening because the algorithm will
keep advancing to a point where it will only show you posts you enjoy. Another way that social
media becomes addictive is true the use of dopamine. “We get a dopamine release in our brain
when we pick up our phone or log into social media” (https://healthcare.utah.edu/ 1/20/23).
Dopamine is the hormone in your body that lets you feel happy or pleased with something. It
might seem like this is hard to take advantage of through a cell phone, but it is very possible.
This happens when a person posts something on one of their socials, and when they get a
notification that their post has received a like it will activate the dopamine to make them feel
happy. If the person feels happy they are more likely to go back to what makes them happy,
causing them to become addicted. However, the person can also become desensitized to
dopamine if they are addicted enough, and this leads to them continuing to use social media
because they think they will find something to make them feel that happiness again. However, it
becomes difficult, and they will become addicted. So that they can get that little rush of
dopamine. As previously mentioned people can become addicted to social media if they are
having a difficult time in life. “These data show that, while many people who use social media a
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great deal are anxious, when they are not using social media they turn to social media to reduce
this ‘withdrawal’ anxiety and end up with another form of anxiety produced by engaging with
their digital platforms” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/ 2/3/20). The person will use social
media because it completely distracts them from what is going on around them. Also, the person
can self-insert themselves into what they see on social media. For example, a person might see a
post about getting a good grade or being successful in life and they will put themselves in the
mind of the person who made the post. They will do this because they are unsatisfied with their
current situation. Even though social media is addictive, a person must regulate how often they
use it. As stated throughout the paper, a person has to regulate their social media intake because
it will severely affect their mental health. A person with a mental health issue is more likely to
spend long hours on social media and use social media at night and late into the night.
(Munmun De Choudhury et.al. 6). This is a reason to regulate social media usage because it can
cause the person to lose sleep and develop bad habits such as staying up late even though a
person needs around 6-8 hours of sleep. Another reason to regulate social media usage is that
using social media can lead to mental health issues. These mental health issues can become
worse leading to more mental health issues. All of these mental health issues can lead to the
person falling into a pit and a never-ending cycle of not feeling in the right headspace. In serious
situations, it can even lead to the person having suicidal thoughts.
Suicide is a very serious topic that emerges when talking about mental health. Mental
health and suicide go hand in hand because one is the result of the other. “In the last six or seven
years, the depression rates have increased by about 30 to 40% in teenagers. Suicide rates have
gone up 30% among boys, and it literally doubled, 100% increase in teenage girls” (Ghaemi
2/25/20). Social media has become more popular in the last six or seven years. With the increase
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in social media, it has also increased the suicide rates. This is because more and more people
spend too much time on social media and do not know they are addicted. This extended use leads
to the mental health issues talked about above. If these mental health issues are left unattended
and not taken care of it can cause the person to have suicidal thoughts. There are many ways that
this can be avoided. For example, limiting your time on social media to an hour or two a day can
help. This is better than completely cutting out social media because social media is not the only
cause of mental health issues. So, it is better to limit it than to cut it out entirely since social
media still is helpful and useful. Another way to avoid going into a bad mental state is by getting
a therapist. Therapy is not something that only people who have mental health issues should do
but everybody. Therapy is very helpful because they are like your guide on how to have better
mental health. Also, a person can take everything they see on social media with a grain of salt, so
that they do not compare themselves to the influencers on social media. These are some ways to
stop letting mental health become a major problem.
I have surveyed social media and mental health. Around 40 people have taken this
survey. I asked around 20 questions. They are: How long has a person been using social media
daily? If they are showing signs of depression or anxiety? And many more. What I have learned
from the data is that the more hours that people are using social media the more likely they are to
show signs of depression or anxiety. Age is also a big factor because the majority of the people
who took the test were adolescents. However, some older people took the survey. The data
showed that younger people were more likely to have more hours of social media than older
people. Also, there were a few instances where people felt that social media led them to a bad
mental state. The people who were comfortable sharing said that they became suicidal. Also,
around 95% of people said that they have compared themselves to others on social media. I
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asked if the person was experiencing any of the symptoms of depression or anxiety. After that, I
asked if they felt that social media was why they felt that around 86% felt that social media was
the cause behind the symptoms. However, around 14% said they did not think social media was
the cause. Some of these people said in a previous question that they had depression or anxiety as
a result of some trauma they had. Also, many of the people who said they experienced a
symptom of depression said that they started using social media early on. Overall from this
survey I have learned that social media plays a huge role in a person’s mental health.
Even though social media is a prevalent part of every one of our lives. Social media is a
double-edged sword because of its advantages and disadvantages. For example, It connects
people and helps with many things. However, it also can lead to many negative effects and can
even cause a downward spiral in one’s mental health. These negative effects appear when a
person uses social media for extended periods and when they let what they see on social media
affect them personally. This negative thinking leads them to be uncomfortable with what they
have. Social media is the catalyst for one’s mental health and can cause a person to have
depression, anxiety, and become lonely.
Throughout this research paper, it talked about how social media has serious effects on a
person’s mental health. Some of the mental health problems that we talked about were
depression, anxiety, and loneliness. A major part of how social media can lead to all three of the
mental health issues talked about was through comparison. Comparison is when a person
compares themselves to the influencers on social media. The person sees that the influencer has
lots of money, a nice car, a nice house, or just anything that the influencer has is better than what
they have. The person will think of themselves less and become upset with themselves and it can
lead to a bad mental state. Another part of how social media can lead to bad mental states is that
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the person will use social media too much. Using social media too much can lead to mental
health problems because they will not complete tasks. This might not seem like a big problem,
but if the person fails to do too many tasks they will become upset with themselves. Over time
this will lead to developing mental health issues. These problems are common for people who
are born when social media became popular. People use social media too much because they are
most likely to be using social media and spending a lot of time on social media. This occurs
because social media is addictive and a person will spend too much time on it. Finally, the
mental health issues if left unattended can fester and become a much bigger problem and can
eventually lead to more mental health issues or a suicidal state of mind. The survey I have
conducted also proves all of the information talked about in this research paper. Overall, social
media use should be monitored to stabilize a person’s mental health.
To conclude I would like to talk about how I overcame what I went through because of
social media. Social media made my mental state ten times worse than it was, but I overcame
and worked through it. I did this by slowly taking time and effort and trying to reduce the
amount of social media I used. Also, I drilled into my mind that social media and what I see on
social media are either edited or fake. I learned that it was not easy to quit the addiction to social
media. I overcame all of the problems that came along with it such as scrolling for too long, or
not completing any schoolwork. I stopped comparing myself to others on social media.
Ultimately, it was a terrible thing to experience; however, I believe that I learned and grew from
it. I became more aware of social media and its dangers. I also learned that if something
inherently good is used too much it can be a bad thing for a person. I took this opportunity to let
others around me know what I went through. This convinced them that they should also cut
down on social media. There was so much I benefited from after experiencing a mental state that
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if I write it down I could write for pages. Ultimately, I would never want anyone to experience a
mental state. But if anyone is going through this, I want them to use this opportunity to grow as a
person and become the best version of themselves.
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