heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness

Question

Throughout the Economist article it states that people between the ages of 14 and 24 think that social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter make anxiety, despair, and lack of sleep worse. Cyberbullying, trouble with body image, and "fear of missing out" have all been connected to social media use. Also, there has been multiple research studies that followed Facebook users over time discovered a link between a loss in mental health and greater activity. A research from the NCBI addresses related issues but takes a more methodical scientific approach.  The addictive nature of these many social media platforms, The constant social comparison, and cyberbullying, they looked at the unique psychological mechanisms underlying social media usage and discovered a relationship between heavy social media use and an increased risk of anxiety and depression. The results of The Economist are consistent with this investigation.

Answer 1

As you did not link the Economist article, it is difficult to fact check it. The other link you have posted though, seems legit, but outdated. The sources it sites are of reputable places such as the NHS, but the sources all date pre 2010, and social media has changed drastically between now and 2010, making this a poor comparison to make to the original article.

Comments

This factcheck points out the errors of the information provided of this particular claim, and I like how you point out how the source is outdated. Especially when it comes to an experimental study that exercises correlation and causation, it is important to note contributing factors and the relevance of the information and data being provided.

Answer 2

Based on this article, the reader can assume that the link between social media and mental illness will be shown using examples supported by statistics. Without the Economist article and the NCBI research that is being referenced linked to the claim it is supporting, it is hard to fact-check. The article below seems to be reputable, but it only offers limited information that supports the main claim. The URL is an organization in the UK; this particular article seems to be many years old. Including a graphic from 2008, but also the sources cited are all older than 2010. These statistics aren’t interchangeable, especially looking at the evolution of social media, various new platforms, user engagement, and other factors that have changed largely since 2010. This claim, as written, is false because it doesn’t cite valid, up-to-date sources and, therefore, can’t be proven true of social media in 2024. It could even be seen as an opinion due to its large, unsupported statements.

Comments

You make a solid argument about the outdated information in the sources cited in the article. It’s critical that any discussion around this topic uses current data to reflect how quickly the context of social media platforms and their user engagement changes. Because platforms are evolving rapidly, older studies do not accurately represent the experiences of today's users. Additionally, some studies link social media to increased anxiety or depression, while others suggest it provides community and support. Acknowledging both of these effects could provide an interesting perspective on the analysis. Have there been any recent studies that depict these changing factors?

Answer 3

In this study it is shown that younger youth and adults have a higher likelihood of mental health issues caused by social media use. I agree with this statement because those between the ages 14-24 especially, are still developing to themselves and growing to be who they want and with all these new social queues and 'norms' they are seeing unrealistic posts which is higher to make them insecure or is if they don't feel like they are worthy even though most social media posts are unrealistic.

Answer 4

I may have found the article you referenced by searching "heavy use of social media is linked to mental illness" and the first link I found was by "The Economist" as you stated. It is true that heavy use of social media can be a detriment to someone between the ages 14-24 because that is when the brain is still developing and hours of social media can have an effect on how our brain grows. There were few graphs in the article that showed what some of the positive and negative effects that social media has on us but for the most part, they had negative effects. The article also states that 63% of the people who average about an hour on Instagram to be miserable, compared to the people who use it for half the time, 37% of the people, to be happy. There were also many other credible sources that are more recent, such as Yale and the Cleveland Clinic, who have also published reports on this topic and found similar results/evidence to support the claim.

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/05/18/how-heavy-use-of-social-media-is-linked-to-mental-illness

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

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dangers-of-social-media-for-youth

Comments

I appreciate this thoughtful comment! Links to cleveland clinic and yale medicine were helpful resources I've heard to be trustworhty. It looks like those external sources came to the same conclusion as the original claim. Dissecting the claim as you did is also helpful. Nice fact check!

Answer 5

Although the claim given is mostly accurate on the idea that younger teens and children are suffering mentally because of social media, the information in which is linked however never gave any background on social media affects at all and was only linked to the mental health of younger kids in general making the link inaccurate when linked to the claim written. However, after doing further research on the topic I was able to prove the claim through Yale Medicine where it does prove that social media can affect the way a child makes healthy connections and that the problem can be linked to other forms of technology such as television.