writing

In the spring of my senior year at University of Oregon, I studied the ways social media has influenced the spike in mental health concerns among teenagers. A sample of my completed thesis (first 5 pages) is below. You can also download the full text here.

ABSTRACT

Thanks to modern technology, social media has flourished and allowed us to stay connected to friends, families, celebrities, influencers, total strangers (anyone really) easily. While there are many benefits to this, there are also many dangerous aspects to online communication, especially for young people. Numerous studies note that about 90% of young people of ages roughly between 13 and 30 use social media, and are the most active age group using it. Studies from recent years have also recorded some of the highest rates of mental health problems among teenagers, with depression and anxiety being the most common. The goal of this research is to present a review of the current state of the research on the correlation between teens increased mental health problems and frequent social media consumption. Because this young age group is the most easily affected by the stressors of social media, they are the focus of much research on this topic. Many studies have concluded that high social media use contributes to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt that lead to

depression through means like social comparisons and the strong influence of our peers in our youth. Social media messages that are received and transmuted into psychological ideas and unconscious comparison contribute to deteriorating mental health. Through thorough research, I’ve observed that the two primary factors relating to lowered self-esteem on social media are 1.) the way one perceives his or herself and their identity and 2.) the ways in which they perceive others. This has guided the direction of my thesis and conclusion that through the influence of peers and need to draw comparisons between self and others, increased social media use contributes negatively to self-esteem and other mental health conditions because of the narrow and often unrealistic way individuals are presented and perceived on their online platforms.

INTRODUCTION

The idea to put a small camera inside a cell phone probably seemed absurd to some at first, but for most people it was very exciting. For the first time, we could use a mobile device for relaying one-to-one communication verbally, using text, and now send images. Shortly after, in 2007, Apple released a phone with a camera that could also play music. The iPhone at the time, with its sleek and futuristic touch screen design, was considered a luxury item. However, as more competitors to the iPhone were released, in under a decade this smartphone technology became a standard part of everyday life. We became fully immersed in the digital age, and these innovations have totally changed how we socialize and interact with one another. While Facebook did predate the iPhone as a highly popular social media platform, social media truly flourished when it became easily accessible from our pockets, particularly for teenagers for whom many of their socialization occurs through their phones. It was this idea to incorporate a camera in a phone, two inventions that have very little to do with each other, for the purpose of sharing photos with our friends and family that laid the foundation for social media to develop into what we have today.

There is a generational shift in the way young people interact with each other. Teens today spend less time together face-to-face and more alone time spent online, connecting with friends through social media or social networking sites (SNS) rather than in person. The entertainment factor of smartphones, even the ability to connect to the internet on any device, could contribute to the trend of teens staying home more and going out with friends less than in prior generations. They miss opportunities to develop social skills like the ability to read social cues and appropriately react to them. Perhaps as a result, many teens are critical of themselves for being too awkward. Many highly-active social media consumers of this age group exhibit identity-seeking behaviors on social media, such as comparing themselves with everyone they see online to gain a better understanding of themselves. Understanding how others perceive you and letting that influence how you view yourself tends to have very negative psychological effects that are only intensified on social media where people usually only show us the good sides of life.
The goal of my research is to compile and assess current research findings and ideas about the relationship between increased social media activity and declining mental health and self-esteem. In this review, I will discuss the correlation between increased social media use and increased mental health obstacles; such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness; focusing specifically on how today’s teenage population is affected due to their being the most active users of social media.

PERCEPTION OF SELF

Identity and self-expression

Learning how to engage with the world around us, especially socializing with other people and the ability to read and react to social cues, is critical while we are young. This is a time for figuring out who we are among familiar others, like our peers and family. The rise of social media and quick integration into our daily lives and habits throws a wrench into this task because far too many of us use social media as a mask. We use it to hide our imperfections and our typical, mundane and dysfunctional lives. Other’s opinions of ourselves will always have a role in the way we personally view ourselves, regardless of one’s social media following. However, expect to find that the increased use of social media amplifies this effect.

According to one study that analyzed peer relationships of people ages 14-25, “adolescent identity development is positively associated with an attachment to peers... Desire to belong to a peer group and active involvement and participation in various peer groups activities are also linked with a reached identity. This could be explained by the fact that peer groups become the place where adolescents can compare themselves with each other and achieve a personal sense of identity which may be constructed in the context of social relationships” (​Ragelienė​). Social media has become a place for adolescents to find a place they feel they belong among peers, and feel accepted. There is a lot of room to control your identity on social media. It makes us hyper-aware of others spying on our lives, and helps explain why many of us have become so particular about the way we present ourselves online. Feeling under this pressure to be perfect, which many avid social media users do, can have many negative effects on mental health, including social stress, anxiety, and depression.

Identity development during the formative years of young adulthood is strongly influenced by others, including our peers and experiences in public. A significant part of social communication, and communication of identity and personality, is told using our bodies. Our body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and even our clothing. What we say, how we say it, and the way we act in front of others are all part of identity performance. The reactions of others to our performance, and how we interpret those reactions, are a key part to identity formation while we’re still young. Meaning, if you interpret that others see you as c​ ool​ you are more likely to also believe you are cool. The same concept goes for when you think others see you as uncool. Most young minds that are still piecing together their own concept of themselves are easily influenced by the opinions of others, and many will adjust their performances to get the desired reactions from others. The process of performance, interpretation, and adjustment is known as impression management, according to Erving Goffman’s “presentation of self in everyday life”. On social media, the lack of physical presence means that the performance, interpretation, and adjustment occurs via a personal profile and posts that vary from text, photo, video, or music/audio depending on the chosen platform.