Social media addiction is thought to affect 5% of young people and has been described as more addictive than courgettes and alcohol. Research suggests that young people who are heavy users of social media are spending more than two hours on social media sites and have poor mental health. Social media can be positive for connecting with friends but can be toxic with cyberbullying, trolls, comparisons. Adolescences and young people who struggle with social skills, social anxiety, or who don’t have easy access to face-to-face socialising, social media can be their way of socialising and connecting with people, it can help them to feel less isolated. People who are in a marginalised groups including LGBTQ or struggling with mental health can use social media to connect with people who are in the same situation and this can give support to people if they want to tell someone if they have mental health or are LGBTQ – some may find it hard to open up face to face. Reports show that social media can increase the number of people feeling lonely and low confidence in themselves. In March 2018, a report of 1,000 individuals showed a third were quitting social media for good as 41% said social media platforms were making them feel anxious, sad or depressed.
“Likes”
Social media can be really harmful if young people and adolescences feel like they have pressure or need to get a certain amount of “likes” on social media. This can mean they feel the need to change appearance or edit their photos to make themselves look more ‘pretty’. Likes on social media can make a young person or adolescent feel like they have approval of being good enough and think if they don’t get any or few likes they are not good enough. Getting a lot of likes can make people feel like a reward cycle and the more likes you get the more you want them to feel good. Comparing likes to others can affect mental health as it can make someone question themselves – why don’t I get that many likes? Why can’t I be like them? What is wrong with me? All these questions can lead to low self-esteem and not feeling good enough. The number of likes and feeling happy about your number can be a vicious cycle, if you stop hitting the level of likes it may make someone disappointed in themselves and make them feel low.
Self-esteem and body image
Self-esteem can play a big part of social media, many young people and adolescence will scroll through Instagram and see pictures of peers or celebrities/influencers, they will then start comparing themselves to the pictures they see. Comparing yourself to others is a danger zone as many of the pictures from celebrities or influencers are edited and photoshopped to make themselves look better, they show unrealistic body images. Images that have been changed to make someone’s appearance and body ‘better’ creates a fake and unrealistic image that people will compare themselves to who will wish they looked like. Comparing yourself to others can result in depression, anxiety or body dysmorphia. Studies have shown when young girls and women in their teens/early 20s view Facebook or Instagram images for a short period of time the develop body image concerns and these are much higher than people who are not using social media. One study found that girls/women have changed their hair, skin and have filler injections after spending time on social media. Reality TV stars such as girls from love Island are seen with hair extensions, lip fillers, Botox and surgical procedures; all their followers see their constant pictures and many people think they look ‘perfect’. Many have had surgical and non-surgical procedures to boost their confidence but as they have a large follower base many young people are seeing these images and not realising, they have had procedures done. They then start comparing themselves and wishing they had the unrealistic looks. For example, liposuction has been done on a handful of influencers/celebrities and for some of these they are creating a very skinny waist and big hips to achieve the hourglass shape (an extreme version). Many of their followers will see their photos and want their body shape, wishing they could look the same, but these body shapes are unrealistic and fake; they are creating unrealistic expectations.
Cyberbullies
Social media can be full of trolls and cyberbullies as they get to use social media to hide behind a screen to say things. This can make mental health for young people and adolescence really high as they can get messages from people or comments that are abusive or bullying content. The popularity of instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Snapchat are rising, with that said the rise in bullying is also rising. Messaging apps can be where problems begin as they can be used to circulate bullying messages or spreading images. Seven in ten young people have experienced bullying with 37% of young people say they experience cyberbullying regularly. Cyberbullying can result in depression, anxiety, and an extreme risk of suicidal thoughts.
Unreal expectations
Unreal expectations can come with social media and this can be with life events and friendships. Social media only shows the good side of times it never shows what goes on behind the camera. Social media can show a few minutes of what something can be like it does not give the downs as well as the ups, it shows what is seen as the perfect side of life, but this is not real. Instagram can give us a picture-perfect life but no one’s life is perfect and not everyone is the same so creating these unrealistic images and life events can leave many disappointed, wishing their life was like an Instagram life.
Sleep
Social media can also affect your sleep, a number of studies have shown that increased social media use has a significant association with poor sleep quality in young people. Using social media on phones, tablets and a laptop at night before bed is also linked with poor sleep and even more than regular daytime use. The LED lights from a screen before sleep can interfere and block natural processes in the brain that triggers feelings of sleepiness as well as release of the sleep hormone melatonin; this means it takes longer to fall asleep and people end up getting fewer hours of sleep. According to a report one in five young people wake up through the night to check messages on social media.
Dr Tim Bono said: “Getting worked up with anxiety or envy from what we see on social media keeps the brain on high alert, preventing us from falling asleep,”
