heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness

Question

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

Comments

I find this topic very relevant, as these days social media is a part of everyday life for most people. I found the graph used in the article you provided as a very helpful way of showing people's associations between the different social medias and different words, and if they feel positive or negative.

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I agree with your topic. I believe that this is one of those bigger topics that is spoken about a lot in this generation. I do agree that social media can cause depression and anxiety because there is a lot of articles/real people going through this, but this doesn't necessarily apply to every person. Many people can benefit from social media when it comes to things like getting help with things they need, business ideas, or ways to better yourself etc. I will drop down to articles which can make your topic better, one that is agrees with your topic and another one that others might relate to more! https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/social-medias-impact-our-mental-health-and-tips-to-use-it-safely/2024/05
https://www.simplilearn.com/importance-of-social-media-in-todays-world-article

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I think that this is a very true statement. many people have done research on this topic and a lot of people can see negative effects. Even when looking at ourselves we can see the negative effects and the control that it can have over us.   

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

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I agree with the statement that heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness. Social media is a great way to communicate with others while being alone. Yes it can bring you together with people, but it is really making people more separated in their society. Going on social media most if not all the people posting, are showing their "best" version of themselves, and as a viewwer who only sees these people through the screen it seems like their life is perfect, which is false. No ones life is perfect, so it is very easy to escape to social media and find new desires or even be jealous of how others are living. In the end social media is a huge part of escapism and causes people to be more isolated, unhappy, and have an increase of mental illnesses. It has also proven that by even just looking at a screen it negatively impacts your mind.

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This prompt was very interesting and I learned that many people talk about this topic. Social media influences many people to look or act a certain way and we can see that through this link attached. A lot of people have a version of themselves that they want to be in their mind or a loom-a-like that they see online and will do what they can to achieve that. Which causes people to do things to themselves that can create issues physically and mentally.

Answer 1

After a thorough fact check, I was able to verify that the many other websites and sources such as the Stanford Law School website and the Yale Medicine website have also posted similar articles and information abou this topic. I was not, however, able to verify the author of this story effeciently, because it was made by the whole data team of The Economist and these articles and postings are from several years ago. After all of this fact checking, I am now able to verfiy that this is not news because this article appears to be just opinion, and even though there is a lot of news indeicating that social media use is affecting mental health this specific article does not seem to be based on actual facts and data. 

Answer 2

Heavy social media use can be linked to mental illness. After reading some articles the common theme with heavy use of social media is the weight it can hold over people. Some have been known to be addicted which results in them not getting anything done. Others have been seen as having FOMO (Fear of missing out) if their friends are posting or just random people posting them doing stuff. All the evidence points to the two being linked but there is another side to it. Social media has also connected and brought people together. Especially during the recent Covid pandemic when the whole country was on lock down and the only way people could see what was going on with friends and family was social media. 

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

Answer 3

The National Library of Medicine found that increased time on social media can lead to various mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, stress, mental deprivation, etc. The risk of developing these issues was found to be correlated to the amount of time spent on social media and how often one was using social media. Additionally, it was found that social media can lead to negative impacts on one's self-esteem due to comparison, burnout, stress, and social anxiety from the lack of real-life interactions. The National Library of Medicine is a credible source and therefore this claim is true. 

Answer 4

The claim that "heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness" is backed up by  scientific studies. Research has shown a positive correlation between the use of social media to depression, anxiety, and even psychological distress. In conclusion heavy usage of social media is linked with poor quality of sleep which can only worsen the mental health. Research from Stanford medicine also reveals that social media use can impact the brain, and even more during adolescence years, which can affect emotional regulation and impulse control.

Link- https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2021/10/29/addictive-potential-of-social-media-explained/

Link- https://thesocialdilemma.com/

Answer 5

This is a solid claim, the research in the article is convincing, it is easy to see how users on apps like instagram can fall into mental health issues with overuse. This claim is also supported by research at UC Davis, specifying that it can cause issues such as depression, anxiety, and increased FOMO.

Answer 6

This claim is true. The source provided explains the connection between mental health and social media using both positive and negative sides. The article starts with a comparison of the positive impacts and the negative. Many adults in a study discussed, found that social media helps with self-expression and community building but also had a lot more negative impacts like anxiety, FoMO, body image issues, sleep deprivation, and more. "Academic studies have found that these problems tend to be particularly severe among frequent users."  Even though there are a few benefits, they seem to be outweighed by serious negative effects. 

Another source that I used: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

This source looks up close at the reasons people get hooked. As said in the article, "To boost self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging in their social circles, people post content with the hope of receiving positive feedback." When people get positive feedback, they continuously go to the app to get more, and then they get hooked. When they see other posts or don't get as much positive feedback from other people, it creates negative self-talk or mental health issues. There are a lot of studies and surveys personally asking certain ages about the effects that they have felt from social media. 

Answer 7

A blog by Stanford Law found that social media apps are associated with increased likelihoods of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. The study found that it doesn't have direct cause of these illnesses, but can cause concern for them. They also mention how this is more commonly found in adolescents compared to younger children. "Moreover, in the United States, the 12-month prevalence of major depressive episodes among adolescents increased from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.3% in 2014 (Mojtabai, et al., 2016)". This adds more evidence to the claim that social media is linked to mental illness development. 

https://law.stanford.edu/2024/05/20/social-media-addiction-and-mental-health-the-growing-concern-for-youth-well-being/

Answer 8

There is a definite link between excessive use of social media and mental illness. The article I have attached states that they have found the risk of developing mental health disease is linked to the duration and use of social media. This is from a peer reviewed medical journal. 

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

Answer 9

While the source provided shows some flaws, it's been proven that heavy use of social media can have negative effects on mental health. The National Library of Medicine - an official US government has an article on the mental health problems related to social media. Which the article states "Findings suggested that likes, comments, and followers were the biggest contributors to poor mental health (total utility = 56.24)" Overall there are many different sources and articles that can show and prove that social media has negative impacts on mental health.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9915628/