IndexIntroductionSocial Media and Mental Health: EssaySummaryReferencesIntroductionIntroduction: Advances in technology have brought about many positive and negative effects on society. Newer technology offers easier access to our everyday needs, such as how we purchase products and how we communicate with each other. The most significant way that people gain access to these technological advances is through cell phones, which have become almost essential to modern life. The possibilities of what a person can do on a cell phone are endless. Teens especially can spend hours scrolling through social media. This can eventually become unhealthy depending on the amount of hours spent and how they are spent. Teens who spend more time on social media are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Context: Countless research studies have been conducted in hopes of finally finding an answer to the question of whether or not social media increases mental health problems in adolescents. After all the studies planned and performed by professionals around the world, the link between social media and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression is undeniable. Thesis Statement: To determine how social media affects mental health, this essay analyzes research on the correlation between social media and mental health. Social Media and Mental Health: EssayTopic Sentence: The increase in the use of social media over the past decade is evident, considering the fact that it has become more accessible to anyone with the Internet and a smart screen. Evidence and Quotes: According to J. Clement of Statista, the number one business data platform, “the number of social media users worldwide reached 3.5 billion in April 2019.” The author highlights how the amount of people who use social media is a strong signal of the important role they play in our daily lives. Evidence and Citations: Another recent report shows that “younger audiences were more likely to use social networks than older generations” (Clement). In other words, most of the data accumulated concerns teenagers since they are the ones who use these websites and apps the most. As the use of social media has increased, depression among adolescents has also increased. According to U.S. News and World Report, “A study published this month in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology finds that over the past decade the number of young people with mental health disorders has more than doubled… A survey was conducted with responses from part of more than 200,000 youth ages 12 to 17 between 2005 and 2017... For youth, major depression increased 52 percent from 2005 to 2017, from 8.7 percent to 13.2 %” (US News). There is a serious increase in depression among adolescents found in the findings of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association: the main scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States Comment: these two statistics are not simply a coincidence as the increase in depression has come hand in hand with the increase in smartphone use As more and more teenagers purchase a smartphone, access to social media becomes easier. Topic sentence: Many studies have found that the more time a teenager spends on social media, the greater the risk of suffering from anxiety and depression. Evidence and citations: For example, a four-year studyconducted by Elroy Boers, Mohammad H. Afzali and Nicola Newton, all PhD holders, found that for every additional hour spent on social media, adolescents showed an increase in depressive symptoms. Similarly, Ariel Shensa, a statistician at the Center for Media Research, states that “several studies have found that users can become addictive to problematic levels of social media use, which have been associated with increased anxiety and depression.” (Shensa). Comment: Statistically speaking, the numbers are there and the evidence seems solid that as teens spend more time on social media, their levels of anxiety and depression increase. The reason for this is that increased time spent on social media can lead to social media addiction, self-esteem issues, sleep deprivation, poor academic performance, etc., which will essentially lead to depression and anxiety in teenagers. Topic Sentence: Social media addiction can be one of the negative outcomes of being on social media for an unhealthy period of time. People may start to feel like they need to constantly check all their social platforms and may start using them excessively. A study conducted by Ariel Shensa showed the final results that “membership in the Wired cluster was strongly associated with elevated symptoms of both depression and anxiety. Evidence and Citations: This finding suggests that high social media use occurring alongside high levels of problematic use and high emotional connection to social media is very concerning.” Comment: This simply means that people with a higher emotional connection to social media are associated with higher symptoms of both depression and anxiety. Topic Sentence: One of the major roles that social media plays in increasing depression is by giving rise to self-esteem issues. Studies have revealed that increased use of social media has led to lower self-esteem. Amelia Theison, both an elementary and high school therapist, points out that people often measure their self-worth by the amount of likes they get. Comment: Not only is this inaccurate, but it can also lead to low self-esteem if the person isn't getting the amount of likes they want. Evidence and Citations: Similarly, Ariel Shensa found in her study that adolescents with a higher emotional connection with social media were more likely to engage in attention-seeking behaviors such as constant status updates and checking likes ", which can lead to depression if they do. not receiving the desired positive results (Shensa). Comment: These constant status updates and waiting to be validated by “likes” can keep someone on edge and can contribute to symptoms of anxiety. Topic Sentence: Another way social media can impact teen mental health may not be so obvious at first. Evidence and Citations: According to the Child Mind Institute, “one of the most common contributing factors to depression in adolescents is sleep deprivation, which can be caused, or exacerbated, by social media” (Miller). Comment: Teens can stay up late scrolling through Instagram, watching just one more YouTube video that then becomes 20, or just gossiping with their friends on Snapchat until 2 in the morning. Constantly staying up late at night can lead to trouble falling asleep. Evidence and Quotes: “Research shows that 60% of teens look at their phones in the last hour before bed and that they sleep an average of one hour less than their peers who don't use phonesbefore going to bed. The blue light from electronic screens interferes with falling asleep” (Milller). Comment: Not getting enough sleep on a daily basis can cause sleep deprivation among teens, and they may not even realize it. Topic Sentence: Spending more time on social media can cause a student's academic performance to decline. Evidence and Citations: For example, a study conducted by Yubo Hou shows that academic performance is negatively associated with excessive social media use. Some of their hypotheses for why they got these results are that more time spent on social media may mean less time spent studying. They believe that social media addiction can “interfere with students' work by distracting them and making them unable to stay focused. Research has shown that multitasking has negative effects on the performance of specific tasks” (Hou). Comment: Getting low grades in school can have a negative effect on students by making them sad and feel unworthy. If a student consistently gets bad grades due to excessive social media use, they may begin to experience depressive symptoms that will only increase from there. Along with the adoption of social media has come a new form of bullying: cyberbullying. This new form of bullying is not only more effective for the bully, but it also makes almost everyone even more susceptible to his or her torment. On social media it is easier to find people and make fun of them. A bad photo of someone can be posted to a page with a lot of followers and, boom, within seconds the photo goes viral. Katie Hurley, a licensed therapist, states that "teenage girls in particular are at risk of cyberbullying through the use of social media...Cyberbullying is associated with depression, anxiety, and an elevated risk of suicidal thoughts" (Hurley) . Comment: Teens who are victims of cyberbullying feel like they have nowhere to run. Their bully can harass them at any time because of how easy it has become to access anyone on the Internet. The feelings caused by the bully lead to depression and potentially suicidal thoughts. Wondering when the bully will target them next can make teens anxious and live in constant fear. Some people may argue that perhaps social media doesn't cause depression and anxiety, but instead teens who experience symptoms of these mental health issues may be taking to social media as a way to achieve the goal. While this seems like a good point, upon further investigation, studies have found that social media actually causes the exact opposite reaction. Evidence and quotes: Dr Graham, an expert in psychology, states that "it is easy to see how the use of technology can take the place of more traditional social interaction and provide a measure for one's popularity - or, more significantly, for one's feelings of loneliness and alienation" (Graham). Commentary: In this article, he explains how lonely teens seek social interactions on social media with what he calls “FOMO” (fear of missing out). He further explains that social media actually creates social anxiety if a lonely person uses it to make themselves feel more popular if they don't receive the desired amount of likes. This occurs when the person does not receive the same validation in likes or numeric interactions; worsens their feeling of alienation. Dr. Graham also points out that social media can be the cause of loneliness, but it's not always lonely people who seek validation from social media (Graham). Summary Most studies conducted on social media and mental health had limitations. Even the studies conducted by.