SOCIAL

MEDIA AND THE MENTAL WELLNESS OF ADOLESCENTS 1

The Effects of Social Media On The Mental Wellness of Adolescents

ETEC 511

Natalie Roberts

University of British Columbia

Dr. F. Feng
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Introduction

Social media is a prevalent force in the everyday lives of adolescents and has

changed the way they meet, engage and interact with peers, with classmates, and even

within the educational system (Lenhart, 2015). Adolescence is a key time for the

development and formation of peer relationships and with over 93% of American

teenagers connected to the Internet (Nesi & Prinstein, 2015), social media plays a

prevalent role in the formation of these social networks. However, there exists a complex

interplay between adolescents’ social media use and their mental health. Unfortunately,

current research remains inconclusive regarding the specific nature of this relationship.

Do to its popularity and the potential impact it has on our youth, it is important to review

the benefits and drawbacks of social media use as it relates to mental health and well

being, and continue this valuable conversation. In British Columbia schools, the Ministry

of Education’s redesigned curriculum contains the Core Competencies (2016). Through

the Personal Awareness and Responsibility lens youth are being asked to make choices

that contribute to their personal well being, including their online activities.

“Students who are personally aware and responsible recognize how their decisions and

actions affect their mental, physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and spiritual wellness,

and take increasing responsibility for caring for themselves.”

B.C. Ministry of Education (2016)

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By addressing these concerns, and continuing this dialogue, we can better inform

our families, our educators and empower our youth around making desirable choices and

mitigating negative aspects.

Social Media - Overview

Social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication (such as websites

for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities

to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)”

(Merriam-Webster, 2017). This technology medium is used by all ages, though

adolescents are the most active users. A recent survey of American teens (ages 13-17)

found that 91% were regularly using text-messaging tools on their smartphones, and

utilizing and engaging with popular social media platforms such as Instagram - 76%,

Snapchat - 75%, and Facebook - 66% (NORC University of Chicago, 2017).

Some important questions to consider are: Why are adolescents using social media and

what role does it play in the life of an adolescent? We know that social media is an

attractive, and easily available platform for adolescents to access and is used for a variety

of purposes. Through their smartphone, tablet, computer, or watch, they are able to stay

connected with and communicate to family and friends. Beyond basic communication,

they utilize it as a means for belonging and self-presentation (Nadkarni & Hofmann,

2012) and for self-worth and self-integrity (Toma and Hancock, 2013). Through social

media youth are able to construct their digital word “establishing, re-connecting, or “de-

friending” relationships” (Michikyan & Suarez-Orozco, 2016). The developing brain of

an adolescent also comes into play. One research study, using fMRI images, found that

neural regions in the brain associated with “reward processing, social cognition,
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imitation, and attention” were more active when adolescents were viewing posts with

many “likes” (Sherman, Payton, Hernandez, Greenfield, Dapretto, 2016). This is

important to note when we consider validation as something adolescents may seek out

through their use of social media. As we will see, how adolescents are using social media

is as important as their why.

Social media and mental health connections

There continues to exist much debate regarding the impact of social media on the

mental health of adolescents. The multifaceted and evolving nature of social media with

variables such as frequency of use, style of use, type of platforms and possible pre-

existing mental health conditions, to name but a few, make this a complex area to

research. At present, research studies exist which have demonstrated both positive and

negative effects on mental health.

Positive Effects

Social media gives adolescents the opportunity to exchange ideas, meet new

people and connect to existing social networks. Social media can wield positive effects

on the mental well being of adolescents. Through social media networks youth may feel

more connected to their friends and increase their subjective sense of self-worth when

they show themselves as “attractive, successful, and embedded in a network of

meaningful relationships” (Toma & Hancock, 2012). In a study by the Royal Society for

Public Health (2017), social media provided youth with an outlet for self-expression and

self-identity though they noted in their study that YouTube was the only social media

platform to demonstrate an overall positive impact on youth mental health.

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When adolescents face challenges, social networking sites can provide

opportunities for online social support or give the perception of social support (Nabi,

Preston, & So, 2013), which positively influences the user. These connections with others

can provide much needed inspiration, motivation, or encouragement in times of need

(Hinduja, 2016; Best, Taylor & Manktelow, 2015). They also remind youth that they are

not alone. It should be noted that these online supports do not necessarily transfer offline

and further study needs to be undertaken.

Negative Effects

While the potential positive effects are notable, research and antidotal evidence

has also reported that there exists possible negative outcomes. Adolescents are spending

many hours a day on the Internet, predominantly on social media, and much of which is

likely unsupervised. Some of the major concerns identified center around anxiety,

depression, loneliness, body image, self-identity, and cyberbullying. These are all valid

and significant concerns and relate directly to the social-emotional development and well

being of our adolescents.

The type of social media platform being used matters. Although Instagram has

been shown to be one of the most popular social media platforms among adolescents, it

has also been exposed as one of the most detrimental to youth mental health (Royal

Society for Public Health, 2017) followed closely by Snap Chat. Observing versions of

“their world” through filters and Photoshop, youth can develop feelings of inadequacy

and, particularly for women and girls (Tiggeman & Slater, 2013), compare themselves to

this distorted reality. This can have a negative influence on their self-identity, increase
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anxiety, and develop body image concerns. It has been reported that with an increase in

time spent on social media platforms, participants’ sense of well-being, self-esteem and

life satisfaction decreased (Kross, Verduyn, Demiralp, Park, Lee, & Lin, 2013; RSPH,

2017). The quantity of interactions also matters. Chen & Lee (2013) noted that frequent

interactions on Facebook led to greater psychological distress and reduced self-esteem

due to communication overload with Sampasa-Kanyinga & Lewis (2015) reporting that

adolescents with poor mental health were greater users of social media. High levels of

social media use by adolescents, from an overall perspective and when specifically

looking at usage at night, were also reported to have led to poor sleep quality, lower self-

esteem, and higher levels of anxiety and depression (Woods & Scott, 2016). This is

concerning due to the sizeable amount of time and frequency with which adolescents are

involved with social media.

The social anxiety phenomenon of “FOMO” (Fear Of Missing Out) is another by-

product of social media use. The constant bombardment of images, videos and texts

weighs heavily on the psyche of adolescents. A 2015 survey conducted by the Australian

Psychological Society (APS) found that one in two Australian teenagers suffer from

FOMO, and being concerned about being left out, missing out, or others having more

rewarding experiences than them (2015). Adolescents’ desire to belong socially has been

escalated with increased use of social media (Beyens, Frison, & Eggermont, 2016). When

adolescents perceive they do not belong, or are feeling FOMO, they experience increased

stress, or perceived stress, causing a return to social media to be in the know and satisfy

the need for belonging. However, these technology based social comparisons and
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feedback-seeking behaviours may also be associated with depressive symptoms (Nesi &

Prinstein, 2015).

Moving forward

As noted, current research provides contradictory evidence on the positive and

negative effects of social media on mental health. Clearly some connection exists,

however, even the most recent studies, such as Barry, Sidoti, Briggs & Reiter (2017),

acknowledge the need for continued research. Further understanding of the how and why

is important. Some questions to consider: Is poor mental health due to social media use,

or are adolescents with poor mental health more frequent users of social media? In

addition to supporting the education of our youth through the new B.C. curriculum, how

else can we support adolescents’ mental well being as they engage with social media?

Should guidelines for time usage at this age range be put in place? As educators

increasingly use social media within their classrooms, are they mindful of the power

social media can yield? Many parents and educators are lagging far behind youth in both

knowledge of and application of social media. Moving forward it is important not only to

educate adolescents about the potential consequences of social media use, but also

educators, parents, and other members of the community. Conversations and awareness

stemming from this knowledge will allow for a wraparound support system for our youth

as they navigate potentially tricky or isolating situations.

Conclusion

Parent information, strategies and educational knowledge need to be in place to

address and support the negative aspects of social media use and mental health.
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Adolescents, parents, and educators need to be mindful of the amount of time and

types of social media that adolescents are exposed to, engaging with, and the reasons for

doing so. The nature of social media allows for both positive and negative implications

on adolescent mental health and an education-based approach to navigating this terrain

would be prudent. Continued research into the complex nature of this topic, especially

with the vulnerable adolescent population, is warranted.

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References

Australian Psychological Society (2015). Teens Suffer Highest Rates of FOMO.

http://www.psychology.org.au/news/media_releases/8Nov2015-fomo/

Barry, C.T., Sidoti, C.L., Briggs, S.M., Reiter, S.R. (2017). Adolescent social media use

and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives. Journal of

Adolescence, 61.

Best, P., Taylor, B., & Manktelow, R. (2015). I’ve 500 friends, but who are my mates?

Investigating the influence of online friend networks on adolescent well being.

Journal of Public Mental Health, 14(3).

Beyens, I., Frison, E. Eggermont, S. (2016). “I don’t want to miss a thing”: Adolescents’

fear of missing out and its relationship to adolescents’ social needs, Facebook use,

and Facebook related stress. Computer in Human Behavior, 64.

British Columbia Ministry of Education (2016). Core Competencies. Accessed

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

Chen, W. & Lee, L. (2013). Sharing, liking, commenting, and distressed? The pathway

between Facebook interaction and psychological distress. Cyberpsychology,

Behavior, and Social Networking, 16.

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Hinduja, S. (2016). How Social Media Helps Teens Cope With Anxiety, Depression,

and Self-Harm. Media Smarts. Accessed http://mediasmarts.ca/blog/how-social-

media-helps-teens-cope-anxiety-depression-self-harm

Kross, E. Verduyn, P., Demiralp, E., Park, J., Lee, D.S., Lin, N. (2013). Facebook use

predicts decline in subjective well being in young adults. PLoS ONE, 8.

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Michikyan, M. & Suarez-Orozco, C. (2016). Adolescent Media and Social Media Use:

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Nadkarni, A. & Hofmann, S.G. (2012). Why do people use Facebook? Personality and
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NORC University of Chicago. (2017, April 21). New survey: Snapchat and Instagram are

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