5 Ways Social Media Affects Teen Mental Health

It should come as no surprise that the pressure to be available 24/7 on social media is a very real challenge for today's teenagers. Aside from the fact that their grasp of and dependence on social media far exceeds that of many adults, they also are using social media at much greater rates too.

In fact, a report by Common Sense Media found that 75% of American teenagers have social media profiles. Social media is a daily part of life for the vast majority of teens.

The Teen Brain and Social Media

For many tweens and teens, social media can become almost addictive. In a study by researchers at the UCLA brain mapping center, they found that certain regions of teen brains became activated by "likes" on social media, sometimes causing them to want to use social media more.

During the study, researchers used an fMRI scanner to image the brains of 32 teenagers as they used a fictitious social media app resembling Instagram. The teenagers were shown more than 140 images where "likes" were believed to be from their peers. However, the likes were actually assigned by the research team.

As a result, the brain scans revealed that in addition to a number of regions, the nucleus accumbens, part of the brain's reward circuitry, was especially active when they saw a large number of likes on their own photos. According to researchers, this area of the brain is the same region that responds when we see pictures of people we love or when we win money.

In another part of the study, researchers could see a correlation between social media and peer influence. Participants in the study were shown both neutral photos and risky photos. What they found is that the type of image had no impact on the number of likes given by teens in the study.

Instead, they were likely to hit "like" on the popular photos regardless of what they showed. Researchers believe this behavior shows that peers can have both a positive and negative influence on others while using social media.

Mental Health

Undoubtedly, social networking plays a vital role in broadening teen social connections and helping them learn valuable technical skills. But what impact is all of this social networking having on young teen minds? Most reports indicate that the impact can be significant.

Not only are teens' developing brains vulnerable to so much time online, but because they often have difficulty self-regulating their screen time, their risks can increase with the more time they spend. Additionally, they are more susceptible to peer pressure, cyberbullying and sexting—all activities involving digital communication—making navigating the online social world treacherous at times.

Here is an overview of the most common mental health-related issues teens can experience from too much social media use.

Depression

Researchers are just beginning to establish a link between depression and social media. While they have not actually discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between social media and depression, they have discovered that social media use can be associated with an intensification of the symptoms of depression, including a decrease in social activity and an increase in loneliness.

For instance, a study published in Computers in Human Behavior found that the use of multiple social media sites is more strongly associated with depression than the amount of time spent online. According to the study, people who used more than seven social media platforms had more than three times the risk of depression than people who used two or fewer sites.

Anxiety

Teens often feel emotionally invested in their social media accounts. Not only do they feel pressure to respond quickly online, but they also feel pressure to have perfect photos and well-written posts, all of which can cause a great deal of anxiety. In fact, some studies have found that the larger a teen's social circle online the more anxiety they feel about keeping up with everything online.

Additionally, if teens commit a faux pas online, this also can be an extreme source of anxiety. Many teens, especially girls, are prone to worry about what others might think of them and how they will respond when they see them next. Then factor in cyberbullying, slut-shaming, and other cruel online behaviors and you can see why social media can be a toxic source of anxiety for many teens.

Sleep Deprivation

Sometimes teens spend so many hours on social media that they begin to lose valuable sleep. Consequently, this sleep loss can lead to moodiness, a drop in grades, lack of physical activity, and overeating, as well as exacerbate existing problems like depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In fact, research shows a strong link between increased screen time and the development of ADHD-related symptoms, such as difficulty with focusing, emotional regulation, poor attention, hyperactivity, and getting enough sleep.

Additionally, one British study published in the Journal of Youth Studies surveyed 900 teens between the ages of 12 and 15 about their social media use and its impact on sleep. What they found was that one-fifth of the teens said they "almost always" wake up during the night and log in to social media.

The study also revealed that girls were significantly more likely than boys to wake up and check social media on their phones. In addition to reporting feeling tired all the time, they also reported being less happy on average than teens whose sleep was not disturbed by social media.

For instance, aside from feeling tired and irritable, lack of sleep can make accidents more likely and lower the immune system and make it harder for teens to fight infections.

Envy

Jealousy and envy—while normal emotions—can wreak havoc on teen brains if they dwell on comparing themselves to their peers. They may fixate on what someone else has or experienced, that they themselves have not. Due to the way accounts are curated, it can appear to the reader that other people lead more exciting lives than they do, which only feeds feelings of inadequacy.

Unfortunately, what teens often do not realize is that people tend to only post their "highlight reel" on social media and often keep the mundane or difficult experiences off the Internet. As a result, another person's life may look perfect online, but offline they have struggles just like anyone else.

Still, it is easy for a teen to play the comparison game and start thinking that everyone is happier or better off than they are. As a result, this can feed into depression, loneliness, anger, and a variety of other issues.

What's more, envy, if not dealt with, sometimes may lead to bullying and mean behavior. Some teens, particularly those that feel bad about themselves, target others because they are jealous of the target's clothes, body, boyfriend, successes, or any number of other things.

Communication Issues

While social media is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, it also is not the same as face-to-face communication. For instance, a teen cannot see a person's facial expressions or hear their tone of voice online. As a result, it is very easy for misunderstandings to occur, especially when people try to be funny or sarcastic online.

Many teens spend so much time online checking statuses and likes that they may forget to interact with the people right in front of them. For this reason, friendships and dating relationships can suffer when social media takes center stage in a person's life. As a result, teens risk having relationships that are not deep or authentic.

Teens who place a priority on social media will often focus on the pictures they take that show how much fun they are having rather than actually focusing on having fun. The end result is that their relationships and life satisfaction may suffer.

A Word From Verywell

Because so much brain development takes place during the teen years, it is important that parents understand the impact that social media use can have on their kids. For this reason, it is important to establish guidelines for social media use. While many kids do have unrestricted access to their phones and other devices, setting limits may be helpful for your child.

It's also important for families to have regular discussions on how to use social media responsibly and safely. When families navigate the world of social media together, a teen's online world becomes much more manageable.