Blog #3 -How does the frequency and type of social media use impact levels of anxiety, depression, or loneliness in individuals across different age groups?

My Inquiry question is: How social media influences mental health and self-perception

Social media gives users the ability to add “friends” to their network and share personal information with them, including pictures and thoughts. Young adults’ usage of social media facilitates social comparison, which can result in poor mental health and life unhappiness. According to certain research, people who utilize social media may experience social anxiety. According to a study done in Kolkata, medical students’ anxiety and despair were significantly correlated with social networking sites and their reliance on them. Additionally, a study conducted in Hong Kong, China, found that students who used social networking sites more frequently experienced more severe anxiety and depression issues. Social media users may undergo a physiological stress response as a result of cyberbullying, negative feedback from others, feeling pressured to maintain social networks current, and become more conscious of traumatic events in other people’s life. Because people are constantly inundated with messages from various electronic channels, social media use can also result in general communication overload, which has been connected to psychological distress. (1)

People share content in the hopes of getting good comments in order to feel more confident and like they belong in their social circles. You have a recipe for continuously checking platforms when you combine that content with the framework of a possible future reward. Comparisons like “Did I get as many likes as someone else?” or “Why didn’t this person like my post, but this other person did?” are common while examining the social media activity of others. On the internet, they are looking for approval that can take the place of deep connections they could otherwise have in person. Another factor is FOMO, or the fear of missing out. People worry that they may miss jokes, connections, or invites if they don’t use social media sites when everyone else is. Anxiety and despair can result from missing events. People’s thoughts, sentiments, and physical health may be impacted when they discover they are not allowed to participate in an activity on the internet. Social media use is linked to delayed, disturbed, and reduced sleep, which is linked to depression, memory loss, and subpar academic performance, according to a 2018 British study. Even more directly, social media use can have an impact on users’ physical health. Researchers are aware that anxiety and depression can manifest as headaches, tremors, nausea, and muscle tightness due to the mind-gut connection. (2)

This study looks at reports of the detrimental consequences people between the ages of 15 and 64 encounter as a result of using social networking websites or apps, using data from the 2018 Canadian Internet Use Survey. Digital platforms that let users generate and share material (such as text posts, images, and videos) and online profiles, as well as engage with other users, are referred to as social media. Approximately 90% of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 34, 8% of those between the ages of 35 and 49, and 6% of those between the ages of 50 and 64 frequently utilized social media in 2018. (3)

The study looks at six outcomes linked to social media use: difficulty focusing on tasks or activities, decreased physical activity, anxiety or depression, jealousy of other people’s life, and frustration or anger. About one-fifth of all social media users between the ages of 15 and 64 stated that their use of social media had caused them to lose sleep (19%), engage in less physical activity (22%), or struggle to focus on tasks or activities (18%) during the previous 12 months. Approximately one in eight users (12% to 14%) said they had experienced feelings of anxiety or depression, frustration or anger, or jealousy of other people’s lives. (3)

Of primary importance are variations in the prevalence of these consequences among social media users in various age groups. Each of the six outcomes is reported by a higher percentage of younger age group social media users than by older age group users. This is partly due to the fact that younger people use social media more intensely, as evidenced by the quantity of social media accounts they use, the variety and quantity of social media activities they engage in, and the amount of time they spend on their smartphones. (3)

Even when these factors were taken into consideration, younger people were still substantially more likely than older people to report four of the six outcomes. People between the ages of 15 and 19 were particularly likely to report losing sleep, while people between the ages of 15 and 24 who used social media were particularly likely to report having difficulty focusing. Youth, who were described in this study as those between the ages of 15 and 34, reported feeling more anxious, unhappy, or envious of others. When social media use characteristics were taken into consideration, there was no difference in reduced physical activity or feelings of irritation or anger between age groups. (3)

According to a 2017 study of more than half a million students in grades eight through twelve, the proportion of students with severe depression symptoms rose by 33% between 2010 and 2015. The suicide rate among girls in that age range rose by 65% during that time.When smartphones were first released in 2007, 92% of teenagers and young adults had one by 2015. Even when compared year after year, the study’s lead author, Jean Twenge, PhD, a psychologist at San Diego State University, notes that the increase in depressed symptoms at that time is correlated with smartphone adoption. Reports of students seeking assistance at college and university counselling centres, primarily for anxiety and depression, increased significantly during that same time period. (4)

Thank you for reading.

Ressources:
1.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9966679/#:~:text=Some%20studies%20have%20found%20that,among%20medical%20students%20%5B13%5D.
2. https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health
3. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2021003/article/00004-eng.htm
4. https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/