Addressing Social Media’s Harms as a Social Media Addict
It is no secret that social media is unhealthy, dangerously addictive, and inescapable. Under the guise of a progressive, modern “escape” from harsh reality, social media is actually one of the leading causes for mental health deterioration in young people. It is linked to depression, anxiety, loss of sleep, bad self-esteem, and even addiction. This is all proven by a multitude of studies, surveys, and experiments. There is concrete proof that social media is horribly toxic for mental health, especially that of younger people. There’s an indisputable correlation between these two factors, and the real dangers of social media are still brushed under the rug by the people who fall victim to it most frequently. This is in part due to concerns being voiced by people who don’t actively live it, such as parents and other older non-technologically inclined people. Young people who excessively use social media know of its harms; many surveys have proven this. Unfortunately, they don’t speak up about it often and when they do their voices aren’t heard. I want to bring light to the dangers of social media as a young girl who has firsthand experience with it, and to this day struggles because of it.
Social media’s detriments have been a topic of discussion since its beginnings, though no concerns have been taken seriously by the people it most greatly affects. This is most likely due to the voices behind the loudest complaints: overbearing and out-of-touch parents who nag about their kids needing to stay off the phone and get outside more. Albeit an imperfect execution of voicing their concern, these parents are right for their worry. Several studies and surveys have proven how harmful social media can be. In a study done by Common Sense Media and Healthlab in 2021, researchers found that young people with moderate to severe depression symptoms are nearly twice as likely as those without depression to say they use social media almost constantly (Rideout 8). The same group also surveyed several young people, asking them a variety of questions regarding their social media use and mental health. One 16-year-old boy stated, “having a constant stream of negative news directly to your phone is bound to have a negative impact on mood and outlook. It makes me concerned for my health and future. For me, though, it is more about the local social element of social media. It can make you feel isolated and alone from everyone else” (32). Another boy of the same age concisely said that “social media connects you to the world, but it also has connected me to the world’s problems, which have started to feel like my own” (32). Not only anxiety and depression are linked to excessive social media use. Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta wrote an article on social media’s connection to eating disorders: “One study conducted on middle school students has raised the possibility that spending too much time on social media may increase the risk of eating disorders.” Social media causes a barrage of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and more.
Due to social media’s overwhelming popularity and integration into many cultures, a lot of people are skeptical or even purposefully ignorant of its harmful effects. Plenty of pro-social media people even claim that using it actually helps with their depression and anxiety, working as an outlet to escape from preestablished mental health issues. And believe it or not, facets of this are factually proven, but there’s a catch that puts things into a not so positive light and perspective. Jacqueline Sperling, a psychologist at McLean Hospital who specializes in young people suffering from anxiety, has had a lot to say on this subject. She has said that social media has an addictive nature, similar to drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances that have a much stronger stigma and negative connotation. Sperling goes on to say that using social media activates the brain’s reward center by releasing dopamine, which is a chemical linked to other pleasurable, yet addictive activities: “The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments.” Another pro-social media claim is that it can help with pre-teens and young teenagers finding themselves and coming into their own. While I agree with the merit behind this, there’s unfortunately much more below the surface. Social media isn’t real. Every post is curated to showcase a faux reality the poster wants the audience to see. The lifestyles, looks, and experiences on social media are sugarcoated, and sometimes even flat-out made up. And while the lies may seem harmless, naïve and easily seen through, young people are still greatly affected by them. Claude Mellins, a professor of medical psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University, proves this point with a quote published in the Columbia Public Health domain in September 2021: “Young people’s brains are still developing, and as individuals, young people are developing their own identities. What they see on social media can define what is expected in ways that is not accurate and that can be destructive to identity development and self-image.” So yes, there actually can be positive effects from social media, but those effects come with catches and consequences.
If the argument for mental health doesn’t convince you of social media’s harms, there are also many general issues that social media brings besides ones surrounding mental illness. If you’re not super careful, there is a complete lack of privacy on social media. You may have heard of the term “digital footprint,” which refers to the trail of permanent data left behind when you use social media. Everything you put on the internet is forever, even if you delete it. Your posts, subscriptions, downloaded apps, text messages, and anything else that can be collected will forever exist the second you press one button, and any mistake you might make then horribly regret will be pretty much impossible to undo. Natalie Athanasiadis, who is the owner of Ormi media, a digital marketing blog and company, stated that “you should keep in mind that anything you place online, whether text or images, has the potential to be available online forever.” Digital footprints can also lead to being a victim of cyber-crime, which in itself is a huge problem. Hacking, identity theft, piracy, and more are all forms of the rapidly accelerating cyber-crime. According to Business Insurance USA, US businesses lose over $525 million per year as a result of cyber-crime (Meenasian). 16.7 million consumers have had their personal credentials stolen and used; cyber-crime is a serious issue. Doxxing is another fairly big issue; people are having personal information, including their address, full name, and more, leaked on various apps for the purpose of endangering them and threatening their safety. This also includes leaked nude photos of people, including minors. Ana Dascalescu, a self-identified cyber security enthusiast, recalls a story about a young girl’s photos leaking in an article published to Heimdal Security blog in 2021: “By the time she wrote her story, 24,000 men had seen her photos. Her Facebook inbox was filled with soliciting messages from men she never knew. Some of them physically went to see her at the address posted by the 4chan doxxer” (Dascalescu). Men showed up to this girl’s house after being doxxed! Cyber security is no joke and should be fully taken seriously and utilized. Using social media is a risky game, and it’s best to use it as little and as safely as possible, or else you risk being the victim of a variety of crimes.
As a 19-year-old girl, I can personally attest to the harms of social media. I witness it firsthand every day, the deterioration of my friends’ mental health due to excessive social media use. I see it in the way they now speak about life, their peers, and especially themselves. Their self-esteem has plummeted, and social media is by far the main cause. Comparison is the silent killer for nearly everyone, but it is at its most prevalent during adolescence. Every time people open up any social media app, they’re overwhelmingly surrounded by seemingly perfect people with flawless faces, bodies, and lives. It’s bound to get to them eventually, whether you believe in the façade or not, and it does. This breeding ground for envy and insecurity is one of the major factors in younger peoples’ struggles with their mental health. And not only do I see these effects within my friends and peers, but I also fall victim myself. My personal experience is a large part of why I feel so strongly about this subject. I refused to believe and accept it for years too. My mother would constantly voice her concerns about my mental health, and theorize that my excessive phone use had to do with it. She claimed I had a phone addiction, and this even I knew at the time, but I still denied it to her face. For years my own vanity stopped me from seeing what was right in front of me. I was slowly delving more and more into a phone and social media addiction, using it absolutely non-stop and feeling anxious without it. I would feel panicked and jittery when my phone was out of my hand, and I’d fully freak out when somebody else took it. I was struggling to sleep because I wanted to scroll mindlessly through Twittter and Instagram just to keep my hands and eyes occupied. Along with this, I felt horrible. I was, and still am, horribly insecure due to social media. I compared myself to everyone I saw, even though I knew it wasn’t real. I also took in so much negative news using those apps. Every morning I would wake up to another horrible crime happening that I couldn’t prevent, or find out a terrifying fact that I should never have read. All of this combined to send me into a deep, scary depression. It took time, but finally after acknowledging how social media makes me and those around me feel, I stopped denying my own mother’s worries surrounding it and did some research. The results were not shocking; there is an abundance of proof that social media does make you feel horrible. Studies prove time and time again that it is depressing, anxiety inducing, exhausting, and just overall detrimental to mental health. Seeing so many perfect, cookie-cutter lives and people every day is horrible for the self-esteem, even if we are aware there’s no real truth to it all. In addition, seeing all the terrible news and events happening around us is just as damaging. Social media consists of two extremes on opposing ends, and most young people rarely walk the in-between.
I strongly believe that if we inform everybody of social media’s harms and effects, it’ll be the first push of a domino to begin fighting these issues. Although it’ll take some heavy pushing to get people, especially the younger people most affected by this phenomenon, to admit these are real issues, I think education is key. Ironically, I see that education working best with articles, blogposts, and even social media posts. I do think there should be classes surrounding social media and its harms, but maybe that’s a stretch right now. All of this could help open up some eyes, but honestly, the only messengers that will truly get through to anyone are the victims ourselves. Hopefully with time and more information learned, we’ll begin taking a look at social media and try to solve our own struggles with it.
Works Cited
Dascalescu, A. “What is Doxxing and How to Avoid It” Marlin Equity Partners: Heimdal Security, 2021. https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/doxxing/
Dutta, S. S. “Eating Disorders and Social Media” AZoNetwork UK Ltd.: News Medical Life Sciences, 2022. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Eating-Disorders-and-Social-Media.aspx
Erickson, K. “Your Digital Footprint: What Is It and How Can You Manage It?” Ramussen University, 2018. https://www.rasmussen.edu/student-experience/college-life/what-is-digital-footprint/
Fox, S., et al. “Coping with COVID-19: How young people use digital media to manage their mental health.” San Francisco, CA: Common Sense and Hopelab, 2021. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2021-coping-
Glasofer, F., Mellins, C. “Just How Harmful Is Social Media? Our Experts Weigh-In.” Columbia Mailman School of Public Health: Columbia Public Health, 2021. https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/just-how-harmful-
Meenasian, S. “Digital Age and the increase in cyber crime.” Crain Communications Inc.: USA Business Insurance, 2021. https://www.businessinsuranceusa.com/news/cyber-attack/digital-age-increase-cyber-
Sperling, J. “The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health” McLean Hospital: McLeanHospital.org, 2022. https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health
Anna Price is a 19-year-old freshman at Mary Baldwin University. While majoring in psychology in hopes of becoming a therapist, she has had a lifelong interest in writing in which she’d also like to pursue professionally. She mainly enjoys writing personal essays and poetry, but she also occasionally dabbles in fiction. She credits her love for writing to her intrinsic urge for self-expression and creativity.