Social Media is used daily, by the hour, even the minute by people of all ages. From the front line, social media seems to be a lighthearted, entertaining way to keep in touch with friends and family, or as a way to escape your boredom. However, since the rise of power in technology and social media within the last decade continues to rapidly increase, the mental health and well-being of young adults and teens is decreasing.
According to research done by Columbia University, feelings of anxiety, isolation, hopelessness, and increased depression are becoming more and more present in the minds of young teens. Dr. Anne Marie Albano spoke on the subject, going into depth about the potential risks of body image issues and comparison when it comes to already-prone young children/teens, and those with ADHD who tend to fall into a “rabbit hole of more time on social media and less time being in the world.”
TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter are all just a few of many social media platforms that exist today. Back in 2004, MySpace was launched, reaching just shy of 1 million users. Fast forward to 2022, Facebook alone has a user population of over 2 billion- not including the millions and billions of users on all other platforms. Those who use social media make up one/third of the world, statistically. Thus, any negative effects or consequences resulting from the use of social media are no coincidence, and quite likely to be relevant to a massive number of people. (Our World in Data https: //ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media)
After speaking with multiple students ages 19-20, including interview subject Payton Foxworthy and Cal Poly student Lukas Varney, it is clear that use of social media comes along with inevitable effects. Lukas takes a different approach than Payton and manages his time on-screen by simply deleting the Instagram app. “I think a lot of it is just false reality and people show off the best parts of them and what they want the world to see instead of what’s really going on in their life and how they are.” This outlook on social media seems to be logical and effective, however can be easier said than done for many- considering social media is considered such a norm in modern day culture, with society expecting people to be present on these platforms.
On top of school this quarter, I have been interning for Vous Wellness- a massage therapy brand founded and ran by Kendall Drozda. My primary duty is to maintain and update the Instagram page, and occasionally create content for the account. Last month, the theme was “Self-care is not Selfish.” With this, I created a template demonstrating 28 ways to practice self-care and increase time outdoors, or with yourself/loved ones. While I participated in the challenge myself, I found my mental health to improve, and feel much more at-peace and calm than I did before. I give credit to the activities I did such as cooking, taking a walk, or even taking a drive with music- all things that I would normally spend those minutes scrolling through social media.
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