heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness

Question

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

Comments

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.

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It's important to note that the impact of social media on mental health can vary based on individual usage patterns, the nature of content consumed, and personal consuming the media. While some people may experience negative effects, others might find social media to be a valuable tool for support and connection. Some negative effects of social media are excessive use has been associated with "increased risks of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. A systematic review found that the use of social networking sites is linked to these mental health challenges"
https://law.stanford.edu/2024/05/20/social-media-addiction-and-mental-health-the-growing-concern-for-youth-well-being/?
There are also a lot of body image concerns being distributed to kids or even adults that question the beauty standard of the society we live in today." Social media can lead to body image dissatisfaction, particularly among adolescents. This dissatisfaction may contribute to the development of eating disorders and other related issues."
https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01243-x?
In summary, while social media offers can show connection and support, excessive use can contribute to mental health struggles. Balancing online engagement with offline activities and being mindful of content consumption are essential steps toward maintaining mental well-being.

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The statement that social media has negative effects on metal health is factual and backed up by scientific evidence, but the source used of the Economist is not entirely reliable because it is a .com website, and it's source is from the Royal Society for Public Health, which have since taken down their article. I found a source from the National Library of Medicine with a study titled The Relationship between Social Media and the Increase in Mental Health Problems. They did a study in Saudi Arabia on teenagers who use social media, and stated that "High social media exposure has also been found to be associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety in the kingdom [12]". The NIH is a trusted and reputable source that is peer-reviewed, so I trust their evidence.

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This article claims that the heavy use of social media is causing depression and anxiety among young people. One of the main uses of evidence is that Sean Parker, Facebook’s former president, admitted that Facebook was designed to exploit human psychology. This is true as Sean Parker came out to the public in 2017, sharing that Facebook was designed to consume as much attention as possible, knowing its impacts on young people's brains. This article took findings from a survey by the Center for Humane Technology, indicating that nearly 63% of Instagram users reported that they were unhappy, having spent an average of an hour per day on the app. 37% who were happy spent around half an hour. This is consistent with what I found in the official survey, making this fact check true.

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This article from The Economist makes a claim that young people from the ages 14-21 that use social media deal with a lot more mental health problems. I agree with this claim because they use a lot of backed up evidence and statistics to provide a valid argument. Some of the evidence they used like "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”)." that is backed up by a well respected organization from the United Kingdom. I agree with The Economist's claim and I believe it is a valid article.

Answer 1

This claim was easily verifiable by looking at similar credible sources. The survey from RSPH does agree with the article's claim that heavy social media use can be detrimental to the mental health of young people. There are also a substantial amount of articles that support this claim. According to the National Library of Medicine, the use of social networks is strongly correlated with the development of anxiety and other psychological problems. While many sources support this claim, it is important to note that social media also provides certain benefits, such as educational support and community building. The most important factor in limiting the adverse effects is moderation of use. Overall these sources agree with the findings in the Economist article

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

• ​​https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/youth-mental-health/social-media/index.html

Answer 2

This claim is not a very jarring one to make, and checks out pretty clearly with the correlation between the two. Based on my research I would check this claim as true. 

There are many predictions that the usage of social media and our phones in general has a direct correlation with the increase in mental health problems, especially in youth. This article from the National Library of Medicine lays this out very clearly claiming that, “The use of social networks is strongly correlated with the development of anxiety…depression, insomnia, stress, decreased subjective happiness, and a sense of mental deprivation.” This is reassured in other articles from other universities and hospitals, giving us as readers a reliable source. 

One of these many include Stanford Law study. This article goes into the fact that there should be some concern to the public and officials about the correlation between the two, considering it also has direct relations to suicide and depression in teenagers circa 2016/2017, and social media has only gotten more popular since then. In some cities, such as New York, social media has become seen as a public health threat which has led to supporting the public but overall giving more mental health resources and understanding the impact it could make. 

Health professionals have also started finding new ways to give support to clients about having a healthy relationship with social media and stopping the spread of harmful and toxic content.

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

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

Answer 3

I would agree that heavy use of social media has links to mental health. There are many elements that scientists are researching on how exactly social media affects mental health, from how it affects sleep to how it can be specific to what content the individual takes in. The studies listed below all come to the conclusion that high social media use is linked to depression and anxiety.

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7785056/

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide

Answer 4

An Economist article has identified a belief among youth (aged 14-24), that such sites as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are each contributing to anxiety, depression, and sleep deprivation. These same sites, on the whole, will usually contribute to body image issues, cyberbullying, FOMO, or fear of missing out. Longitudinal studies on Facebook users have identified the frequency of using this website with decreasing mental well-being. Another study, conducted along similar lines but more scientifically, was published by the NCBI to identify the psychological mechanisms involved. The findings indicate that there is, in fact, a strong correlation: intense social media use coupled with heightened risks for anxiety and depression, which they attribute to constant social comparison, cyberbullying, and addictive design features of the platforms. The conclusions of the NCBI study echo the same concern as The Economist.

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

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

Answer 5

This article claims that social media is directly linked to mental illness. The Economist itself has been credited as highly reliable. It is also neither left or right wing. It is also an english weekly news magazine that is edited in London, UK. The UK has different and more straightforward standards in news journalism compared to the US, which often relies on sensationalism.

UK vs. US News: The Real Differences | by Melissa Moreno | Medium

The article quotes multiple surveys and studies from credible sources, for example they cite ResearchGate.net, a science organization focused on bringing knowledge and science to society's core. 

Association of Facebook Use With Compromised Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study | Semantic Scholar

Not only does it cover UK citizens, they also pull from an American survey by Semantic Scholar, a .org site. This ensures that the claim is not UK specific.

 Social Media and Youth Mental Health

In the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory PDF, it states, “ 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.” This data supports the Economist’s claim, “Each week it asks its 1m users whether they are happy or sad with the amount of time they have spent on various platforms. Nearly 63% of Instagram users report being miserable, a higher share than for any other social network. They spend an average of nearly an hour per day on the app. The 37% who are happy spend on average just over half as long”

Overall, This article is very reliable and is heavily backed up by credible sources and studies. It does not appeal to emotions or sensationalism and instead shows statistical evidence. The claims it makes are true.

Answer 6

Yes, after doing some research the economist article is right and heavy social media use can have negative impacts on anxiety, depression, and fear of missing out. Another source that proves this is the Stanford school of law and they said that heavy social media use is linked to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.

Answer 7

The claim that heavy social media use directly causes mental illness oversimplifies a complex issue. According to Yale Medicine, research suggests a correlation between excessive social media use and increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, particularly in teens, but it does not prove that social media alone causes these conditions. Other factors, such as pre-existing mental health issues, social environment, and offline stressors, also play significant roles in mental well-being. In some cases, social media can provide positive connections, support networks, and mental health resources that may help individuals cope. Rather than being an inherent cause of mental illness, social media's impact depends on how it is used and the individual's overall mental health context.

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20research%20study,including%20depression%20and%20anxiety%20symptoms.

Answer 8

After looking, the claim that was made is true. Social media has been studied and is linked to anxiety, depression, and FOMO (fear of missing out). A report by the Royal Society for Public Health has shown that companies like Snapchat and Instagram are big contributors to the issue. Social media has created unrealistic lifestyles and has caused lower self-esteem because users are constantly trying to prove themselves through interactions on social media. Companies like Facebook have made their app by trying to make it addictive, making sure people do not want to get off of the app. On the other hand, research shows that if you limit your screen time, it significantly improves your mental health and well-being. The source of the main claim seems to be a valid course. The Economist's article had multiple sources and references in the article which is why I agree with the claim as well. 

Sources:

UC Davis Health

Stanford Law School

Answer 9

The claim in this article by the Economist states that frequent use of social media is linked to negative impacts on mental health. The sources referenced in this article include a study from the Royal Society for Public Health, an experiment from Research Gate, and a survey from Semantic Scholar. The Royal Society for Public Health is an independent health education charity dedicated to improving and protecting people's health (Royal Society for Public Health). The data in this study correspond with the claims in the article. The second source, the experiment published by Research Gate also appears to be a credible source. Research Gate is a place to share academic publications (American Edu). On Research Gate, they link their source to PubMed, which is part of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (Cal Tech). The last source that the Economist uses from Semantic Scholar, which is an AI backed search engine for academic publications (Commerce Research Library). Both of these sources also support the article. I was also able to find recent support for their claim from other multiple sources, like HealthGuide.org and McLeanHospital.org. Due to this evidence, I would say that the claim is true.

https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us.html

https://answers.library.american.edu/faq/405403

https://library.caltech.edu/NCBI#:~:text=PubMed%20and%20NCBI,-PubMed%20is%20the&text=PubMed%20covers%20articles%20mainly%20in,Institutes%20of%20Health%20(NIH).

https://library.doc.gov/c.php?g=1127321&p=9961066

https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/wellbeing/social-media-and-mental-health

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

Answer 10

I found this claim to be true. Some of the leading side effects of extended social media use according to the National Library of Medicine are Insomnia, Anxiety, Depression, stress, decreased subjective happiness, etc. these symptoms can be directly correlated with the amount of time spent on social media platforms. It seems social media can have a particularly rough result when it comes to teenagers, who are commonly more vulnerable in regards to insecurity when compared to adults.     

Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10129173/#:~:text=The%20results%20revealed%20that%2048.3,combined%20anxiety%20and%20depression'20

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide