“Seeing the unrealistic body images in apps like Instagram and TikTok promote definitely makes me feel like I am not good enough on my own,” said a sophomore who wished to remain anonymous. Social media can affect a person’s view of themselves with both their personality and body image. There are many different opinions on the matter. 

Social Media usage in the generation now is more than it has ever been along with diagnoses of depression spiking in the generation now. Science.org says, “social media use in teens ages 13 to 17 is now almost ubiquitous. Two-thirds of teens report using TikTok, and some 60 percent of teens report using Instagram or Snapchat, a 2022 survey found. (Only 30 percent said they used Facebook.) Another survey showed that girls, on average, allot roughly 3.4 hours per day to TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, compared with roughly 2.1 hours among boys. At the same time, more teens are showing signs of depression than ever, especially girls.” It seems like the more social media used the more cases of depression there are. 

Emma Maloney, a senior at Weir high, said, “I feel it doesn’t affect people as much as they say it does because what you see online and what you hear you also see in real life.” Both opinions are valid, and neither is incorrect. People feel and perceive things differently. No matter if you think social media does or does not affect mental health there are scientific sources available for each. 

Acef.org states, “Numer­ous stud­ies show that high­er lev­els of social media use among chil­dren and ado­les­cents are linked to adverse effects, includ­ing depres­sion and anx­i­ety, inad­e­quate sleep (which can dis­rupt neu­ro­log­i­cal devel­op­ment and lead to depres­sion and sui­ci­dal behav­iors), low self-esteem, poor body image, eat­ing dis­or­der behav­iors and online harass­ment. These risks are greater for girls ver­sus boys and for those already expe­ri­enc­ing men­tal health issues.” This source supports the idea that social media does affect the mental health of youth, especially girls because social media promotes body images for girls that are unrealistic, and that can take a toll on a girl’s mental health.  

People often agree with the thought that social media impacts their mental health and leaves a negative impact. On research by ncbi.gov they stated, “The findings suggest that the feature with the most significant negative effect on mental health is ‘likes, comments, and followers.” Comparing your followers to someone else is something most youth do. There  

Whether you think social media does or does not affect you, there is always resources or people to talk to when you feel anxiety or depressed from social media such as StopBullying.com, securrity.org, and safekids.com. There are also many adults in our school that would listen to how you are feeling to get you help.