Social media can highly impact the mental health of teenagers.

“Social Media has crippled students when it comes to interacting with one another in person, according to mediainterchange.org.” The definition of social media is known to be misleading; although students interact with one another using their phones, they do not physically interact with those whom they associate with. 

There are many perks to social media. Teens that may try to interact with a friend who moved away or even just lost touch with are able to be contacted through Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter or Facebook. Snapchat gives the ability to send friends pictures of yourself doing fun activities that friends should be informed about while Instagram is a great way to keep friends updated on daily activities and family life. These great apps keep friendships connected and updated on each other’s lives.

There are many downfalls of social media that negatively impact teens’ health and wellness. Social media causes students anxiety and depression, according to the CDC. This anxiety is caused by the pressure of feeling perfect or making one’s own qualities measure up to those on social media. This brings doubt, loneliness or even signs of depression into the teenage mind. 

Approximately one third of teens have suffered from anxiety and or depression due to the amount of time spent on social media. Teens truly struggle to detach from their electronic devices. They spend an average amount of four hours per day on their phone wasting their lives away. It becomes a true addiction, according to statistics.org. Statistics like this show how social media can negatively impact teens and their mental/ social health. It tends to make them feel like they are not good enough for society, which is why social media breaks are so important.

It is so important to take social media breaks due to how it makes teenagers feel. A break from seeing others’ pictures and what may seem to be a perfect life is not all accurate on an Instagram or Facebook picture. Although there are multiple benefits, there are also many downfalls social media has on a teenagers’ mental health.