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Lily Warren

Eng 1201

Dr. Cassel

1 November 2021

Why Does The Constant Use of Social Media Increase Teenage Suicide Rates and Damage

Mental Health?

Like, share, comment, tweet, and post, these are all things that people do as an everyday

normal thing. Social media has become a very important part of many people’s lives and affects

how we interact with each other. People are able to stay connected to people far away and learn

new information at the click of a button. Not only can people find out new information, they can

also find new safe spaces to express themselves freely. There are definitely some upsides to

social media if it is used in moderation. According to Forbes, the average American last year

spent over 1300 hours on social media. The constant use of social media is a major issue, and can

cause people to feel more isolated, perpetuate negative body image standards, and damage

overall mental health.

Social media is a relatively new concept, having only been around for 20 years. Some of

the first forms of social media were email and live chatting, these applications led the way for the

popular apps: Myspace and LinkedIn (“The Evolution”). The use of social media has increased

tremendously since it was first introduced, for example Facebook which was launched in 2006

had around 7.3 million users, fastword and it now has over 2.3 billion users (Sherrell). Social

media was meant to bring people together, and after the launch of the Iphone in 2007 social

evolved once again now that it was able to go mobile (“The Evolution”). From starting off as a
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simple way to bring people together, social media has grown into something that people use

everyday, and can affect people’s lives drastically without them even knowing it.

Today the number of people who use social media in the United States and the world is

astounding. For example, Instagram, which was launched in 2010 by Stanford graduate, Kevin

Systrom, has over 1 billion users worldwide (“The Evolution”). The newest and fastest growing

social media platform at the moment is Tik Tok, “a video sharing social media platform founded

in 2016 with over 800 million users,” (“The Evolution”). With the ability to reach millions of

people with the clicks of a few buttons social media campaigns have been a great way for

companies to gain exposure fast. The most commonly used social media app by teens is

Snapchat. Online relationships and real life relationships are two different things and social

media has affected how we communicate as a whole.

Not only does social media allow brands to make money, but it also offers the

opportunity for people known as influencers, to partner with brands and make money as well.

The role of influencers is to spend time “building trust with their audiences” (“The Evolution”).

Sadly, some influencers can abuse their power and the trust they have built with their followers

and promote faulty products of false messages. These false messages can encourage negative

behavior and often glamorize using drugs and promote negative body images through their

platforms.

People often forget that what is posted on social media is mostly the highlights and the

stuff people want them to see. What is shown on social media is not reality and what happens off

the screen could be a complete 180 from what the user is promoting. Being shown people who

appear to have perfect lives and all the bells and whistles can cause someone to become

materialistic and self obsessed. Constantly wanting more and more can cause people to feel
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inadequate when compared to those on social media, “leading to feelings of envy and

dissatisfaction” (Sherrell). These feelings of greed and dissatisfaction can strain relationships and

tear people apart. People on social media tend to live above their means and go into debt to be

able to buy flashy stuff, this is a bad habit to get into when in reality it does not matter what or

how much someone has. There are many things people can do to not get caught up in the whole

flash lifestyle promoted on social media. One thing people can do is reflect on what they are

grateful for and show more appreciation. Society focuses way too much on material goods

instead of focusing on building new relationships.

Social media allows us to have the world at our fingertips and access new information

with a few taps on a screen. The accessibility and convenience of social media are why so many

people use it today. Over 70% of Americans use some form of social media, which has

skyrocketed past the number since Facebook first launched publicly (Sherrell). The number of

people in the world that use social media is over 5 billion, which is a crazy number to

comprehend. The ability to connect and keep in touch with friends as well as find new creative

outlets are just some of the many benefits to social media. People all over the world are

connected through social media, this helps people learn about and appreciate other cultures, as

well as bring people together.

One of the most heartbreaking things a parent can experience is losing a child. Losing a

child is extremely traumatic, especially to suicide. The increased use of social media has lead to

an increase suicide rate. Teen suicide has increased dramatically over the past decade. A study

done by the CDC discovered that teen suicide rate increased “56% from 2007 to 2017”

(“Parents”). In an interview conducted by CNN on parents who have had teens who have, sadly,

killed themselves due to social media pressures, many parents and other loved ones who have
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missed the warning signs. Camika Shelby, a parent who lost her 15-year-old son Nigel after he

came out as gay, knew that her son had debated suicide, but dismissed the warning signs since he

was “seeing a therapist” (“Parents”). Nigel received a tremendous amount of online bullying and

felt like he was all alone. There are many subtle warning signs, those of which include,

“isolation, anxiety, substance use, mood swings, and erratic sleep patterns” (“Parents”). As this

concern increases, this issue becomes something that needs to be talked about more and just

shows how far the dangers of social media have gotten.

Over the past deacade suicide rates have gone up in correlation to the increased use of

social media in teens. Suicide is affecting so many people’s lives every day and is the second

most common form of death. “Social media use by minors has significantly increased and has

been linked to depression and suicidality” (“The Role”). On the contrary, social media has

opened the opportunity for people who have suicidal thoughts or thoughts about self harm to find

a safe space to interact with others who feel the same and get the help they need. These safe

spaces can be both positive and negative, because, while it lets people express their negative

thoughts and feelings, it can also lead to people feeling more depressed and can cause them to

commit suicide.

Social media was intended to bring people together but, in some regards it leaves people

feeling more isolated and lonely than they began (Sherrell). A study from the University of

Pennsylvania proved this correlation to be true and linked an overuse of social media use to

increase feelings of isolation. Constantly being on social media and seeing what other people are

doing without you can be a detriment to a person’s health and make them feel left out and alone,

as well as lower your self esteem

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The ability to see what others are up to 24/7 is a dangerous thing that social media allows

us to do. FOMO, also known as fear of missing out is not new, and can lead people to believe

they are missing out even though what they see online is not reality. The feeling of missing out

and constantly feeling like you need to post your life to make it seem more glamorous than it is,

is very dangerous and leads to a social media addiction.

Social media is a good thing if used in moderation, many studies have shown that an

overuse can damage mental health. Another study from JAMA showed that teens who spend

more than 3 hours on social media a day have a 37% increase in having a major depressive

episode (Sherrell). Overusing social media also takes time away from doing other things. An

increased use of social media can lead to people being lazier and this will affect their overall well

being. Kids used to play on the playground and spend more time outdoors and hang out with

friends now they communicate through video games virtually. This has significantly affected

kid’s social skills and how they interact with one another.

An overuse of social media can lead people to forgo sleep in exchange for an extended

use of social media. Sleep deprivation is a very serious problem among teens and can affect daily

function. A cross sectional study done in the United Kingdom concluded that “extended social

media is tied to disrupting and delaying sleep patterns” (Sherrell). It has been proven that an

overuse of social media affects your sleep and mood. A lack of sleep can lead to “adverse mental

health effects, such as depression and memory loss” (Sherrell). Limiting the amount of time on a

screen can be extremely beneficial in getting more sleep and can lead to better mental health

conditions. There are many ways to limit screen time such as setting time limits on your phone as

well as making plans with friends and staying off social media.
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One reason social media may be so detrimental to teens' mental health is, “that it allows

them opportunities to engage in risky behavior with little to no consequences,” (Valkenburg).

There, however, is a downside to being able to interact with strangers and that is cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is “an aggressive, intentional act, or behavior that is carried out by an individual

or group using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and overtime against a victim who cannot

easily defend himself/herself” (“The Role”). The ability to hide behind a screen and be able to do

whatever one wants is a dangerous power and allows people to trash talk and hate on people

from the comfort of their own homes. People take this power way too far and end up mentally

abusing random people online and cause them to have mental health problems such as low self

esteem. Used in moderation and correctly a positive of social media is that it allows people to

interact with strangers and build a virtual community together.

All over social media teens are inundated with people who appear to have perfect bodies

and perfect lives, however, what you see on social media most of the time is not reality. A cross

sectional study done by various groups reported that there is significant evidence that teens

overly rely on social media for validation (Valkenburg). People compare themselves to what they

see on social media and have unrealistic expectations of body image and their own lives, and this

can lead to depression and a feeling of not being good enough.

Constantly being shown images of people with “perfect” bodies has created an unrealistic

and false perception of beauty and body image. Being shown these images constantly can make

people have a strong desire to have a similar body and this can lead to eating disorders. The

lasting effects of being shown these false images, “are so deep, the result can be a lifelong

struggle with an eating disorder” (“How does”). The age group this affects is teen and young

adults since their brains are not fully developed yet and they are the most impressionable. People
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constantly seek validation from other people and will do anything to gain social approval and fit

in.

The messages promoted on social media are not always positive and appropriate for

teens. Lots of alcohol and nicotine companies run ads on social media targeted to the teenage

demographic, causing teens to develop these seriously negative behaviors (“The Role”).

Companies advertise “new” and “fruity” flavors in big and bold fonts to capture the attention of

teens and promote their products as fun. Ads like this promote underage use of substances and

can cause minors a lot of trouble and can lead to incidents like drunk driving. Exposure to other

people their age doing things like drinking and drugs can glamorize it and make it seem like it is

okay to do. Glamorizing doing things like this can lead to peer pressure and result in people

getting into serious trouble or injured.

To reduce the negative effects of social media people can limit their use of social media

as well as interact with people face to face as opposed to through a screen. Schools can also

teach classes on how to use social media in a productive and positive way (“Impact”). Parents

and guardians can also get involved and learn the warning signs of the negative effects and help

monitor their children. Another way people can limit their use of social media could be to turn

off notifications to social media, constantly being interrupted by the buzz of a new notification

can be distracting and can cause more screen time than necessary. People do not consider that

what they see on social media is fake, and they are worth more than what they post.

Realising and coming to terms with the fact that someone may have an addiction to social

media is a very hard thing to do. Many people use social media way too much and rely on it

more than they should, which in turn normalizes an overuse and can often lead to people not

releasing or accepting the fact that they are addicted to social media. There are many signs that
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social media is taking over your life and affecting it adversely. A big sign is that people are

finding it more enjoyable to interact with their online friends than ones in real life. Another is

that you are constantly checking your phone even when you are in the presence of others. Being

addicted to constantly knowing what other people are doing while one is out with others is a

prime piece of evidence that someone is addicted to social media.

Displayed in figure 1 below are some of the biggest warning signs that social media is

affecting your mental health (Song). Social media controls people's lives more than they know

and these signs are often missed due to the fact that it affects everyone and as a society it has

been normalized to be “addicted” to social media. People are used to constantly being around

other people and being on social media while in their presence, this use of social media causes a

feeling of isolation even though they are with other people it makes them feel together but apart.

Using social media to escape your problems is not a healthy way to deal with emotions and can

make one internalize them and then project at people they do not mean to and damage

relationships.
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Social media has the ability to be a good thing when used in moderation. Sadly, most

teens overuse social media and are constantly being shown false images and information that

cause low self esteem as well as suicidal thoughts. People are obsessed with how many likes they

get and how many followers they have compared to other people. It is a constant competition to

see who has the most likes, followers, and who appears to have the best life, this phenomenon is

also known as Facebook Depression (“Impact”). Being in constant competition with others and

having feelings of self doubt can seriously affect one’s mental health especially in teens who are

so vulnerable to outside sources. Living and documenting your life through social media is not

good for your mental health, it has been proven to increase suicide rates, make people feel more

isolated, and helps people promote unhealthy and unrealistic lifestyles.

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Works Cited

“Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health.” University of Nevada, Reno, 30 Dec. 2019,

onlinedegrees.unr.edu/online-master-of-public-health/impact-of-social-media-on-youth-m

ental-health/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021

“Parents of Teens Who Died by Suicide Hope Speaking up Will Prevent More Deaths.” CBS

News, CBS Interactive, 1 Nov. 2019,

www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-suicide-social-media-bullying-mental-health-contributing-t

o-rise-in-deaths/.

Sherrell, Zia. “What to Know about Social Media and Mental Health.” Medical News Today , 15

Sep. 2021, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/social-media-and-mental-health.

Accessed on 24 Oct. 2021

Song Catherine. “Signs Social Media.” Very Well Mind, 2021.

https://www.verywellmind.com/link-between-social-media-and-mental-health-5089347.

Accessed 12 Nov 2021.

“The Evolution of Social Media: How Did It Begin and Where Could It Go next?” Maryville

Online, 3 Mar. 2021, online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/. Accessed on 24

Oct. 2021

“The Role of Online Social Networking on Deliberate Self-Harm and Suicidality in Adolescents:

A Systematized Review of Literature.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 60, no. 4, Oct.

2018, pp. 384–392. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_414_17.

Valkenburg, Patti M., et al. “Social Media Use and Its Impact on Adolescent Mental Health: An

Umbrella Review of the Evidence.” Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 44, Apr. 2022,

pp. 58–68. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.017.

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