heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness

Question

Youngsters report problems with anxiety, depression, sleep and “FoMO”

Answer 1

This article from The Economist claims that the heavy use of social media by young people (ages 14-21) can negatively impact their mental health. They support this claim by presenting a 2017 survey by the Royal Society for Public Health, a reliable charity that is dedicated to doing research in support of public health. The link that they embedded was no longer working, but I was able to locate the study on their website, (https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/status-of-mind.html) and it aligns with the claims presented in the article, that the use of social media is linked to worsened sleep, anxiety, depression, FOMO, bullying, and worsened self-image. They used two other studies as well, both of which were linked and were legitimate studies. I was also able to find several other reliable sources making the same claims, such as UC Davis Health (https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/social-medias-impact-our-mental-health-and-tips-to-use-it-safely/2024/05#:~:text=Mental%20health%20impacts,reward%20center%20by%20releasing%20dopamine.), Yale medicine (https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide), and the National Library of Medicine (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9915628/). This proves that The Economists claim is legitimate, because it is based on reliable research and evidence, and aligns with many other research studies.

Comments

This is a really good analysis of why this article is true! You looked into the sources and evidence that the article utilized and found out whether they were credible. I also liked how you referenced the NLM, it is a very useful source that I use to find anything health/medical related as they conduct their own studies and research and post their findings.

Answer 2

The Economist article discusses how young people aged 14-24, believe that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter exacerbate anxiety, depression, and sleep deprivation. Social media use has been linked to body image issues, cyberbullying, and the "fear of missing out". Additionally, research tracked Facebook users over time, finding a correlation between increased activity and a decline in mental health. The NCBI conducted a study that explores similar concerns but provides a more structured scientific approach. They examined the specific psychological mechanisms behind social media use and found a link between heavy exposure to social media and an increased risks of anxiety and depression due to constant social comparison, cyberbullying, and the addictive nature of these platforms. This study aligns with the findings from The Economist. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9915628/

Comments

This is an awesome fact check to the claim of "Heavy Use of Social Media is linked to Mental Illness." The inclusion of statistics could even make it better and prove how much of an effect social media has on people aged 14-24. Additionally, you could agree with the fact check at the beginning to let the reader know what your viewpoint is rather than figuring it out mid way through the paragraph. The article included in your response is very good and closely relates and proves the claim said.

Answer 3

The Economist article, “How heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness,” briefly explains the increase in mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, that social media has had on individuals aged 14-24. To further prove this claim, the article, “The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health” (https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health), expands on this idea by saying, “[Fear of missing out] can create anxiety and depression. When people look online and see they’re excluded from an activity, it can affect thoughts and feelings, and can affect them physically.” This proves that the article from The Economist is not misinformation and is telling the truth about how extended use of social media sites can decrease an individual’s mental health.

Comments

I like how you used another article to back up the claim made by The Economist. However, it would have been helpful to include more sources to further prove its validity, especially with quantitative statistics. It's also important to explain how these two sources are connected specifically (was The Social Dilemma article referenced in The Economist article or did you look up the claim separately?)

Answer 4

This article from The Economist makes the claim that “Heavy use of social media by young people can have negative effects on their mental health.” They link social media usage to anxiety, depression, FOMO, lack of sleep, and negative self-image. The article supports their claim by providing a 2017 survey by the Royal Society for Public Health. The claims from this study match with the claims in the article. I looked into the other sources they used as well, all of which proved to be reliable. I looked into this claim further and found a variety of other reliable sources which share the same claim, such as The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Social Media and Youth Mental Health, which expands on this claim explaining, “Excessive and problematic social media use, such as compulsive or uncontrollable use, has been linked to sleep problems, attention problems, and feelings of exclusion among adolescents. Sleep is essential for the healthy development of adolescents. A systematic review of 42 studies on the effects of excessive social media use found a consistent relationship between social media use and poor sleep quality, reduced sleep duration, sleep difficulties, and depression among youth. Poor sleep has been linked to altered neurological development in adolescent brains, depressive symptoms, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. On a typical weekday, nearly 1-in-3 adolescents report using screen media until midnight or later. While screen media use encompasses various digital activities, social media applications are the most commonly used applications by adolescents.” (https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf) 

Answer 5

Looking further into the survey that tracked a group of 5,208 Americans between 2013 and 2015, there is definitely a decrease in mental health associated with Facebook activity according to the charts and tables on the Semantic Scholar website. With 294 Citations and 71 References, the Association of Facebook Use with Compromised Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study is a very reliable survey proving this claim to be true. The source and abundant additional supporting information is legitimate. 

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Association-of-Facebook-Use-With-Compromised-A-Shakya-Christakis/5270606dec382cfd50e925467ba35dac44654fc1

Answer 6

The article from The Economist that claims heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness is completely true. The article states "But they also said that the platforms exacerbated anxiety and depression, deprived them of sleep, exposed them to bullying and created worries about their body image and “FOMO” (“fear of missing out”). Academic studies have found that these problems tend to be particularly severe among frequent users". This claim of frequent issues of anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation line up with The National Library of Medicine's article on Link between excessive social media use and psychiatric disorders. 

The story states "Social media use is the second leading cause of disability among psychiatric disorders". It also says "However, unrestrained use of social media can lead to the development of many psychosocial problems, such as disturbed sleep4–6, decreased subjective happiness7, and poor academic performance8,9, in addition to anxiety and depression6,10". This article explains how social media and mental illness directly coincide wth one another. When an individual has a problem with their mental health they often lean onto social media, and when one examines their mental illness it can often come from chronic social media use. Therefore proving the claim that heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness as true. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10129173/

Answer 7

The article shared shows some research studies for people in age groups 14-24.  The research shows how almost all social media platforms have negative effects with bullying, FOMO, and depression.  To go along with this article another one says, "Using that data, the organization drew some conclusions on the relationship between high school students' social media use and bullying, feelings of hopelessness, and suicide risk. The findings show that most students use social media frequently and it significantly affects their mental health." 

Frequent social media use tied to bullying and suicide risk, CDC finds | Mashable

Answer 8

This article from the Economist explains the effect on young people that spend a great amount of time on social media, supporting that heavy users can exacerbate anxiety, depression, deprived sleep, bullying and create worries about body image FOMO. Doing some research on other studies like the one conducted at Columbia Psychiatry it is seen the “same effects” (“Smartphones, Social Media, and Their Impact on Mental Health”) that heavy users have in social media aligning with the claim the Economist makes. According to an article from the university of Staford they also claims that “social media addiction has a strong link with mental health problems” (“Social Media Addiction and Mental Health: The Growing Concern for Youth Well-Being | Stanford Law School”). In this article they also mention several studies conducted through diverse sources pointing and proving that the heavy use of social media has a strong link to mental illness.

Answer 9

This claim can be deemed as true, as according to the linked article, “The most convincing effort was a survey that tracked a group of 5,208 Americans between 2013 and 2015. It found that an increase in Facebook activity was associated with a future decrease in reported mental health.” After diving further, this study was done by the Semantic Scholar Organization which can be proven to be a reliable source. This statements in both articles support the idea that the constant use of social media can deplete one's mental health.

Sources

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Association-of-Facebook-Use-With-Compromised-A-Shakya-Christakis/5270606dec382cfd50e925467ba35dac44654fc1?p2df

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/05/18/how-heavy-use-of-social-media-is-linked-to-mental-illness?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=17210591673&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-response.anonymous&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw68K4BhAuEiwAylp3kojZc-_RSnDsZNcqsrkgak4j9Q8JBp2LzzSAIP-uPjHy9VeuAY_qzBoCFfEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds