Blog Post #4: Research Round 2

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to my blog. Today I am continuing research on my inquiry question: What Impact Does Social Media Have on Teens?  I will continue to unfold my three subtopics to go more depth into my research! off my research!

1. Depression and Anxiety

Last research round I learned that more than 50% of teens say it would be hard to give up social media, which could be a possible reason to the uptake in depression and anxiety in the last few years. A study was conducted in 2021 from Healthline. Teens averaged 8 hours and 39 minutes a day of screen time outside the classroom — a 17 percent increase from 2019 (1). In my opinion, COVID-19 played a huge part in uptake of  teen screen time, post pandemic.  In 2021, 44% of high school students reported consistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to a survey from the CDC (2021) (1). One way to combat these strong upsetting emotions is to try spending more time outside, and off screens to give yourself proper dopamine, in the sense where you don’t rely on your electronics to give you “happiness”.

2. Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying can have an extremely negative effect on a teenager. An estimated half of teenagers have experienced some sort of cyber bullying through texting and messaging apps (2). 73% of teenagers have experienced cyber bullying through apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (2). Teenage victims of cyber bullying experience feelings like: sadness, anger, fear, and embarrassment, and are more prone to experience depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide (2). Another study shows that teens that have experienced cyber bullying often loose interest in academics, have higher absences, and may even skip school, to avoid bullies (3).

3. Isolation

Social isolation is healthy, and personally, needed once in a while. After a certain amount of time, it becomes unhealthy. As humans we need social connection every so often. Signs that teens are isolating themselves (4):

• Avoiding social interactions, including those that were once enjoyable
• Cancelling plans frequently and feeling relief when plans are cancelled
• Experiencing anxiety or panic when thinking about social interactions

As teenagers, we spend majority of our time glued to or screens, which gives us the wrong “dopamine”. In person, human interaction gives us good happy chemicals (dopamine), that leaves us satisfied. Some of the damaging affects of social isolation: depression, substance abuse, and anxiety (4). Ways to help teens, reaching out, and communicating with them frequently, and checking in with them frequently (4). Or, setting up an appointment with a councillor, or therapist, someone that your teenager feels confident talking to (4).

Thanks for reading my post!

– Rhea :))

Sources:

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/social-media-depression-in-teens
2. https://socialmediavictims.org/cyberbullying/effects/
3. https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-the-effects-of-cyberbullying-460558#:~:text=Kids%20being%20victimized%20by%20cyberbullying,messages%20that%20were%20shared%20online.
4. https://trailscarolina.com/blog/social-isolation-in-teens-the-damaging-effects-of-being-left-out/