The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health Among Adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62051/8cx2zq67Keywords:
social media; adolescent; mental health.Abstract
This study delves into the intricate relationship between social media and adolescents’ mental health, a pressing concern in the digital era. The development of social media is a product of the times and a reflection of social progress. For individuals, the impacts are diverse. Social media platforms, while promoting social interaction and a sense of belonging, also harbor dangers like addiction and cyberbullying that can negatively impact self-esteem and mental health. The paper offers a succinct literature review, emphasizing social media's dual impact as a source of support and stress for high school students. It highlights the pivotal role of mental well-being in countering social media's negative influences and advocates for additional research to develop strategies that encourage positive social media engagement. The study concludes with a call for a balanced strategy to maximize social media’s benefits for adolescents while protecting them from its potential detriments. This study explores the relationship between social media and the mental health of adolescents, a pressing issue in the digital age. The development of social media is a product of the times and a reflection of social progress. There are both positive and negative consequences for individuals. While social media platforms promote social interaction and a sense of belonging, they also pose dangers such as addiction and cyberbullying, which can harm self-esteem and mental health. The paper provides a concise review of the literature, emphasizing the dual impact of social media as a source of support and stress for students. It highlights the central role of mental well-being in countering the negative influences of social media and advocates for further research to develop strategies to promote positive social media engagement. The study concludes with a call for a balanced strategy to maximize the benefits of social media for young people while protecting them from its potential harm.
Downloads
References
[1] Liang, E., Kutok, E. R., Rosen, R. K., Burke, T. A., & Ranney, M. L. (2023). Effects of Social Media Use on Connectivity and Emotions During Pandemic-Induced School Closures: Qualitative Interview Study Among Adolescents. JMIR Mental Health, 10, e37711.
[2] Taylor-Jackson, J., & Moustafa, A. A. (2021). The relationships between social media use and factors relating to depression. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 171–182).
[3] Allen, K. A., Ryan, T., Gray, D. L., McInerney, D. M., & Waters, L. (2014). Social Media Use and Social Connectedness in Adolescents: The Positives and the Potential Pitfalls. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 31(1), 18–31.
[4] Bonetti, L., Campbell, M., & Gilmore, L. (2010). The relationship of loneliness and social anxiety with children’s and adolescents’ online communication. Office of Education Research; Faculty of Education.
[5] Sharabi, A., & Margalit, M. (2010). The Mediating Role of Internet Connection, Virtual Friends, and Mood in Predicting Loneliness Among Students with and Without Learning Disabilities in Different Educational Environments. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 44(3), 215–227.
[6] Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2009). The Effects of Instant Messaging on the Quality of Adolescents’ Existing Friendships: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Communication, 59(1), 79–97.
[7] Gonzales, A. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2011). Mirror, Mirror on my Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, 14(1–2), 79–83.
[8] Duval, S., & Wicklund, R. A. (1972). A theory of objective self-awareness.
[9] Walther, J. B. (2007). Selective self-presentation in computer-mediated communication: Hyperpersonal dimensions of technology, language, and cognition. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(5), 2538–2557.
[10] Dhir, A., Yossatorn, Y., Kaur, P., & Chen, S. (2018). Online social media fatigue and psychological wellbeing—A study of compulsive use, fear of missing out, fatigue, anxiety and depression. International Journal of Information Management, 40, 141–152.
[11] Tandon, A., Dhir, A., & Mäntymäki, M. (2021). Jealousy due to social media? A systematic literature review and framework of social media-induced jealousy. Internet Research, 31(5), 1541–1582.
[12] Wright, M. F., Wachs, S., & Harper, B. D. (2018). The moderation of empathy in the longitudinal association between witnessing cyberbullying, depression, and anxiety. Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 12(4).
[13] Festinger, L. (1954). A Theory of Social Comparison Processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140.
[14] Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206–222.
[15] Durak, H. Y., & Saritepeci, M. (2019). Modeling the effect of new media literacy levels and social media usage status on problematic internet usage behaviours among high school students. Education and Information Technologies, 24(4), 2205–2223.
[16] Basantani, A., Kesarwani, Y., Bhatia, S., & Jain, S. (2021). EmoCure: Utilising Social Media Data and Smartphones to Predict and Cure Depression. IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering, 1110(1), 012010.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
