As a 1992-born Millienial, I tend to be placed in the middle ground when it comes to the rise of certain technology and social media. I'm old enough to have vivid memories of life before social media, but young enough to have had social media be part of my late teen to young adult life. Like most of my peers, I had a Myspace account throughout high school. I had a Facebook account by 2009 (junior year of high school) and created my Instagram account at the end of 2013 (right after graduating college). I enjoyed the App Formally Known As Twitter throughout college but as of last year, I began losing interest.
Social media wasn't part of my early childhood, yet I find that it's a big part of my life as I log into at least two social media applications daily. I find that there are times when I need to give myself a break from social media, as there are a couple of factors that can make it exhausting.
In an ongoing survey from the Pew Research Center including nearly 1,500 teenagers between the ages of 13 to 17, the most popular apps among teens are YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram (in that order). Facebook isn't necessarily in the running here, as teens are pretty vocal about it being "an old person" app. In 2022, it was noted that only 3.9% of Facebook users are between the ages of 13 and 17. The only forms of social media I had before I became an adult were Myspace and Facebook, and even then I was in my late teens during that time frame. I can't imagine having several social media accounts in middle school. I point this out because I feel like adults like myself don't consider that social media didn't play such a huge role in our more formidable years as it does with the current generation of kids.
With that being said, it's not surprising that social media use can be tied to a decline in mental and emotional health (in both kids and adults). So much so that we are looking at even more legislation relating to children and social media use. There are a lot of benefits to using social media, but what can we do about excessive use? Does the good of social media outweigh the bad? How does social media affect our mental and emotional health?
Social Media Pros and Cons
The internet and social media have opened up plenty of opportunities for positive interaction, but also opportunities to experience another avenue of harassment. A recent piece presented by Consumer Notice, a consumer advocacy organization, highlights some of the more distasteful aspects of social media. Frequently, people who use social media could risk experiencing online bullying, sexual harrassment, and cyberstalking.
Trolling, or making comments or posts online to provoke or cause arguments, is also a more negative side to social media use. "Trolls" engage in attention-seeking behavior online, usually for the sake of their own entertainment in seeing people argue or get worked up over a topic. Trolling makes way for harrassment typically targeted towards marginalized groups (women, people of color, LGBTQ community) and religious communities.
Social media, at its core, is designed to keep us connected with our family, friends, and peers--regardless of the distance (or lack of distance) between us. When used in this way, it's a great way to share life updates, catch up with friends, promote your small business, or make connections with people within your career field (or in the field you wish to break into). While harrassment and bullying can happen via social media, it is noted in a 2019 report from the National Center for Education Statistics that teens state bullying still mostly occurs in person. In fact, studies show that teens who self-harm/battle with suicide ideation often turn to social media apps for social support. I have seen this first hand in the times I've scrolled on TikTok and viewed teens or young adults venting about their struggles or seeking company and advice from their viewers.
While it can be nice to have a sense of community amongst one's online followers or friends, it is still important to note that social media can also increase exposure to negative messaging that would motivate one to turn to self-harm. As mentioned earlier, Trolls don't think too much about the mental state of the person on the other side of the screen and will gleefully tell others to commit suicide. ConsumerNotice has gathered some relevant statistics, most notably that from 2010 to 2020, suicidal thoughts have increased to 40% among teenagers. People suffering from suicidal ideation have also had their condition exacerbated by the periods of isolation during the global pandemic.
I'll never know what it's like to be a teenager using several social media apps and having them be so prevalent in my adolescence. What I will say, from the adult perspective, is that social media has (at times) exacerbated my own depression and anxiety. As much as I love staying connected and sharing pieces of my life with friends and family, there are times when social media just feels completely draining.
Social Media's Affect on Mental Health
What I have found from using social media throughout young adulthood is that its presence and influence can be pretty sneaky. A couple of years ago, I was challenged by a mentor to pay attention to the amount of time I spend on my phone (especially social media apps). Smartphones are equipped with systems that track and share with you how much time is spent on certain apps, and I was very surprised to see how much time I spent scrolling aimlessly on social media.
TikTok even has a feature in which, after a long time, a user will be met with messaging about how long they have been scrolling and consider taking a break. In our current climate, more of us are susceptible to "Doom Scrolling", the act of compulsively reading [negative] news and media online for long periods.
Just like how we don't notice how quickly time passes when we scroll down our social media feed, we also don't always notice the changes in our mental and emotional state directly tied to social media use. Some more common signs that social media is negatively affecting your mental health include:
Impulsively checking social media, even when you pick up your phone intending to do something else entirely.
Difficulty with falling or staying asleep
Increased feelings of depression or anxiety
Feeling distracted from your work, school, etc
Spending more time on social media than you do "IRL"
It is said that comparison is the thief of joy, and social media can be a breeding ground for comparison. Social Media has had quite an evolution since I was growing up in the days of Myspace. For a lot of people, there is this need to be perceived as someone who has a fun, interesting, and aesthetically pleasing lifestyle. This is especially true for visually heavy media like Instagram. One can look at friends posting about buying a new home, taking luxurious-looking vacations out of the country, constant announcements of engagements or babies, and quickly begin to feel like their lives are less than. A user may feel like they are not doing enough with their lives like they're being left behind, like they are the only ones struggling, the only ones not having fun, etc. It's something that even adults have to check themselves about, so I imagine it would be even harder for a teenager to remember that not everything is as it seems on social media.
What Can We Do?
I can share some things that I have done in the past that have helped me greatly when it comes to using social media. If I can sum it up in one word, it would be "intentionality". Social media is extremely commonplace now, and rarely do I meet people who are completely off (even if it is just one app). When something becomes such an integral part of life, it means that we have to be very intentional about restricting our use:
Take Social Media Breaks - There are usually a couple of times a year when I will just take a step back from using social media for a while. Of course, if social media is an important part of your job, you will have to do this a little differently. I'm mainly speaking in the context of personal social media accounts. Sometimes it's a day, sometimes it's a week, or maybe even a month: I just take the time I need to regroup and recharge. In an age where we are constantly met with bad news of some kind, sometimes the best thing we can do is log off social media to nip those feelings of depression and anxiety in the bud.
Wind Down Before Bed - This one can be tough, especially if you are like me and struggle to go to bed at a decent time. I encourage others to set a bedtime goal and to stop using their phone at least 20 minutes before it's time for bed. I'll admit I don't always do a great job with this one, but I find that when I do adhere to putting my phone down before starting my bedtime routine, I usually fall asleep faster and have better quality sleep. It can be tempting to lay in bed and scroll, but that's how we end up watching niche-interest videos until 2:00 am (mine happen to be car detailing videos and earwax extractions, don't judge).
Utilize Focus Tools - Whether you are an Android or iPhone user, there are settings on your phone that you can use to make sure you're not spending all of your time scrolling on social media. Take some time to figure out how much time you would like to cut out scrolling and utilize Focus Modes or Do Not Disturb features on your smartphone. I tend to use a Focus Mode during busy work days when I don't want to be distracted by social media notifications or non-important messages. However, it's also nice to use these settings when you're out and about. Don't forget that you can utilize these settings when you're in social gatherings, doing an activity, catching up with a friend, on a date, etc. Which brings us to the next point:
Live Life IRL (In Real Life) - The thing that helps me the most in reducing my social media usage is just making sure I'm taking time to enjoy life and give myself a chance to have experiences that don't revolve around being on my phone. There are times I have been out and have forgotten to check my phone for several hours. This is where intentionality really comes in: take time to think about what you could be doing with the time you usually spend on your phone. What's something that you've been wanting to do? A place you have been wanting to go? A friend you have been wanting to see? Feel free to write down some things you'd like to do. One example for me: my husband and I finally visited the National Museum of African American History in D.C. for the first time; I barely opened social media at all that day.
I think this advice is very helpful for both adults and teenagers. However, I do understand that there are some things that we adults have to understand about social media, namely those of us with teens and pre-teens. I believe it may be unrealistic to expect teenagers not to have social media accounts at all. However, some regulations and restrictions may have to be in order depending on your child. If you are a parent or caretaker for a child, it would be worth taking the time to sit down and really discuss your stance on social media usage. Let them know that social media when used correctly, can be a great tool for connection. But also let them know how they can keep themselves safe and how to recognize stranger or predatory behavior. Remind them that social media feeds are usually just highlight reels of people's lives and that they are not as likely to share the more negative or vulnerable things they have going on.
I recommend checking out these two pieces from ConsumerNotice.org (which has been referenced throughout this post) regarding Social Media Harm and Protecting Mental Health while using social media for more insight. All in all, I hope that we don't regard social media as inherently bad or unproductive, but instead we should view it as just a normal part of life that we can easily regulate for ourselves.
Thanks for reading,
--Raven
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