heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness

Question

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

Comments

This claim about social media being a link to mental illness in young adults is a well backed statement. After analyzing the article provided in the post, I cross analyzed it with a more recent article from McLean Hospital. Mclean provides professional opinions and multiple articles that back the information provided within The Economist article. Along with mentioning the same results from the 2018 British study illustrated with a graph by The Economist article.

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

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I totally relate to what you’re saying. Social media can often be overwhelming, especially when it seems like everyone else is living their best life and achieving so much. It can definitely magnify insecurities and make you question your own worth or progress. It's important to remember that what we see online isn't always the full picture, and everyone has their own unique journey. Taking a step back and focusing on real-life connections and self-care can really help with staying grounded.

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I agree with this statement. The claim is correct and there are statistics to prove it. The articles are linked and include relevant facts relating increase of social media with decrease in mental health. There are also many reputable articles published on the same topic with the same conclusion.

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I agree to a certain extent of this claim. The statistics and data you provided were very helpful because of the relevant facts. Stanford Law provided similar feedback, but rather initiated the idea there needs to be more research done to prove the direct relation.

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This article is very helpful in supporting the claim that the heavy use of social media can affect one’s mental health. The article provides very helpful graphics to visualize just how dramatic the effects are and the claims are backed with real surveys and data teams. This article proves that overuse of social media is linked to issues with mental illness.

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. The journal states that a study involving Norwegian individuals ranging from 16 to 88 years of age reported a more frequent association of anxiety with addiction to social media use14. Similarly, another U.S.-based study involving 563 adults aged 18–22 showed that the amount of time spent using social media was directly related to the incidence of dispositional anxiety but was not related to any recently developed anxiety. Social media affects the mental health of its users. 

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/

Answer 10

The claim above is correct. Along with The Economist being a trusted source, I looked at the University of California-Davis' research paper on the effects of heavy social media use on your mental health. High usage of social media indicates higher rates of anxiety and depression, especially among young adults and teens. Social media activates dopamine, a chemical our brain produces to perceive reward when we use social media. Heavy usage ruins our dopamine receptors and makes it feel harder to feel a sense of reward or pleasure, leading to anxiety or depression.

The Economist

UC Davis