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Aseeya Grant
March 28, 2016
WRTG 2010
Jessie Richards
Literature Review
Many millennials are constantly on their phones, checking Facebook, Twitter, or
uploading a picture to Instagram. But is this time spent on social media creating more problems
than helping? College students across the country are suffering from mental illnesses and a major
contributor to these could be their attachment to social media. The reviewed sources suggest that
colleges are not doing enough to make a difference in their student population. Mental illness is
something we dont often address as a society, you cant see it, and it isnt taken as seriously as
physical diseases. Mental diseases arent talked about as much as other diseases, though our
minds are just as important as our bodies. Common misconceptions about mental illnesses lead
people to dismiss loved ones cries for help. These sources suggest that with better education and
expanding mental health literacy, colleges will be able to help students avoid the negative effects
social media can have on their mental health.
Scrolling through our friends feeds or people we follow can always be a highly
deceiving experience because things that people post are usually very one-sided. Though a
multitude of people use social media it does often get a bad rep for things like deception. Social
media is simply meant to be a fun way to share things with friends over the internet, but of
course many will take advantage of this non-confrontational way of communicating. Many
people use social media to say things they dont have the courage to say or inappropriate things
to get a reaction out of people. In this way cyberbullying can have a major toll on people even

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though this is caused by actions as simple as words up on a screen. Another way people can be
influenced by social media is seeing how great someone looks in a picture, or where they are
vacationing that week or even an accomplishment theyve achieved. This can often cause
feelings of envy or disappointment based on comparison to our own lives. The reviewed sources
state that the constant comparison and feelings of disappointment can lead to mental illness such
as anxiety and depression. Which when are left untreated and not talked about can be some of the
most dangerous things about mental illness. Social media can be vital in learning environments,
but with misuse can lead to things like mental illness; the reviewed sources reflect that colleges
need to offer better facilities to their students to help prevent or aid students with current
conditions of mental illness.
The Negatives of Social Media in Mental Health- Emphasis on Student Athletes
The revised sources believe there are a lot of components to social media that can cause
negative reactions out of their users. College students in particular suffer from mental illnesses
such as depression and anxiety that can be a major contributor to the students overall college
experience. Universities are good at promoting things through social media and spreading word
about events on campus, but universities are lacking in their efforts to make a change. This
section will explain the negatives of social medial on mental health and how colleges need to
increase their focus on mental illness in their student body.
These sources reflect how when student athletes are used for colleges benefits, their
mental health is often compromised, often when using social media. Athletes face cruel criticism
from users that dont matter, but still leave that impact on them. The idea is expressed that
student athletes are under more pressure than non-athlete students and social media should not be
an added pressure for these students.

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An article from Huffington Post explains that students use of social media can cause
unhealthy comparisons and lead to mental illnesses. This particular article tells the story of a
student athlete who committed suicide as a result of negative attention on his social media
account. The student was receiving cruel comments and whose life most likely ended after a long
battle with depression. Gary Browns article also regarding students mental health focuses on
the negative impact social media can have on college students. Brown states that colleges need to
focus more on the mental health of their students especially student athletes. Students are often
taken advantage of in other ways, many students athletes have faced things like cyberbullying
damaging their self-confidence and sometimes leading to illnesses such as depression. The
authors of the article, A Game Plan Use Issues. Also address the idea that social media has a
negative impact on college students. This article reviews things such as substance abuse and how
universities can better educate students in hopes to prevent misuse of things like medical
prescriptions. Jamie Hopkins et al. Being Social Social Media as well as Hernandezs All
Quiet Social Media discuss the need for colleges to increase monitoring students use on
social media. These authors suggest that by monitoring colleges could set more restrictions,
making it harder to abuse social media sites and therefore decrease major issues students have
with social media. The given sources had an overall idea that the use of social media needs to
focus on being a more positive resource rather than students abusing it to harm other students.
The Positives of Social Media on Mental Health
The following sources counter the previous, giving evidence and hope for the use of
social media for the positive effects on mental health. Now of course social media wasnt created
with the intention that people would target others and create mean words, but in the simplest
form social media has good aspects to mental health. It allows users to stay connected with

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friends, family, or others they might like to know about and keep updated on what goes on in
each others lives. It is also an easy way to communicate or spread news quickly. Even though it
is not a face to face relationship, many people find comfort in having that outlet, to be able to
communicate with someone who is miles away or who is in the very same building as them. This
section will look at the positive side of how social media can effectively have an impact on
mental health when used in good ways.
It is suggested that students are actually available to more information using social media,
creating a positive experience claims Al-Khabteebs and Abdurabus article, Using Social in
Research. Their article also articulates that with easier access to information on sites like
Facebook and Twitter students can find out more about opportunities they may be interested in.
DeAndrea et al. Serious Social Media Adjustment to College states that with the strong
communication social media offers college students could be able to have an easier adjustment
into higher education. The transition into college is a big one, and not all the transitions run
smoothly, so from using utilities such as social media students may find comfort in finding their
peers are feeling similarly. Social media is also a nice way to reach out to people, if a student
does not have a class with someone they know or find someone theyd like to know better they
can easily reach out through a form of social media. Lastly, the article Engaging Students
through Social Media written by Reynols shares the results of a study concluding that
Facebook doesnt make you stupid. This study examines two groups of college students, one
group spent time on Facebook and the other group didnt have accounts. The conclusion was that
there was no academic evidence that the students that did not have a Facebook account were any
smarter than those who did have an account. So the idea that students spending time on social
media do not necessarily let it shake their grades.

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Knowledge and Strong Social Support Gives Major Benefits

The following sources agree that one of the most important aspects of students who are
struggling with mental illness is how colleges can do their best to support them. As of now many
universities do not make mental health a top priority. In this last grouping of authors and ideas
they make it very apparent that with a strong support system students who have been treated for
mental illnesses are usually successful due to a strong support system afterwards.
This grouping is very important because it examines what can be done to fix the
unproductive ways of the modern university in regard to aiding students with mental health
issues. Lisa Merlos et al. Attitudes of CollegePsychiatric Medications. and Jin Kims et al.
The Influence of Psychological College Students both agree that one major thing that is
missing at many universities is actual mental health literacy. Lots of people have grown up
hearing about physical diseases and then seeing a picture to match the description. The trouble
with mental diseases is we are unable to see them on the outside, and then lack an understanding
because everything on the external seems to be fine with the person. In todays society we also
throw around phrases like Im depressed or Stop acting bipolar without truly understanding
the offense we may be causing. This grouping of sources agrees that our lack of knowledge
causes us to throw around words without actually understanding what they are. Nancye Hshiehs,
A Collaboration of Student Preparation Project, Jill Gale and Thalitaya Madhusudans,
Mental Health Support University Students and Dennenny Danielles et al. Subthreshold
Psychotic Symptom Health Concerns all express that one major change colleges need to start
making is a useful and approachable facilities for mental health treatment as well as a place for
students to just be offered support. Being able to have a safe place to socialize and express
anything that may be troubling them. These facilities would also be equipped with informational

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classes so that anyone could come in in hopes for expanding their knowledge on mental
wellness. The previous sources all agree that the best thing colleges can do for students
struggling with mental illnesses is to offer them a place where they can get information on where
to get treatment or posttreatment have a place where they are available to socialize.
In summary, all of the given sources agree that colleges have some changes to do with
regards to social media and mental illness. Though social media has its perks it generally does
more damage than good. When someone gives you an insult or strong critique you are going to
remember that. Even if you were to receive one hundred compliments that one insult is going to
stick with you. Somehow our brains are so good at picking out the negatives and letting them
swell until they consume our thoughts. So something that seems as small as leaving a jokingly
mean post on someones wall could cause them to get really upset. When read text it can often be
hard to interpret the tone especially over social media. If we misinterpret something we read on
the internet it could easily cause us to get upset. But by creating more censorship for college
students on social media colleges should be able to eliminate some of the issues that occur
online. To actually see results colleges will need to make big changes to help aid their students
who are struggling with mental illness. The given sources express that the more colleges can help
with spreading mental health literacy the overall decrease there will be in students being too
afraid to go to someone for help. Social media could go back to being a sole use for
communication and just having an account for fun, not a place where people will see a decrease
in their mental health.

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Works Cited
Al-Khateeb, Abdulrahman, & Hanan Y. Abdurabu. "Using social media to facilitate medical
students interest in research." Medical Education Online, 19 (2014): n. pag. Web. 1 Mar.
2016.
Blankenship, Mark. "How Social Media Can And Should Impact Higher Education."
Education Digest 76.7 (2011): 39. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 1 Mar.2016.
Brown, Gary T. Mind, Body and Sport Understanding and Supporting Student-Athlete
Mental Health Wellness. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Oct. 2014. Web. Mar.
1, 2016
David C. DeAndrea, Nicole B. Ellison, Robert LaRose, Charles Steinfield, Andrew Fiore.
Serious social media: On the use of social media for improving students' adjustment to
college. The Internet and Higher Education, Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages
15-23, ISSN 1096-7516.
Denenny, Danielle, et al. "Subthreshold Psychotic Symptom Distress, Self-Stigma, And Peer
Social Support Among College Students With Mental Health Concerns." Psychiatric
Rehabilitation Journal 38.2 (2015): 164-70. PsychINFO. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Gale, Jill, and Madhusudan Deepak, Thalitaya. "Mental Health Support Service For
University Students." Psychiatria Danubina 27.Suppl 1 (2015): S115-S119. PschINFO.
Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
Hsieh, Nancye L. "A Collaboration Of Student Nurse Coaches And Students With Mental
Illnesses In A College Preparation Project." Psychiatric Rehabilitation 33.3
(2010): 200-06. PsychINFO. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
Junco, Reynol. Engaging Students through Social Media: Evidence Based Practices for Use in

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Student Affairs. Wiley, 2014.

Kim, Jin E., Nolan Zane, and Anne Saw. "The Influence of Psychological Symptoms
on Mental Health Literacy of College Students." American Journal Of
Orthopsychiatry 85.6 (2015): 620-30. PsychINFO. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Merlo, Lisa J., and Amanda M. Stone. "Attitudes of College Students toward Mental Illness
Stigma and the Misuse of Psychiatric Medications. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 72.2
(2011): 134-39. PschINFO. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.