Joanna Moroz - FILM240 Flipbook

Social Media’s

Impact on Teen

Mental Health

Teens are increasingly active on social media platforms…

Photo by Victor Hanacek, PicJumbo

72% 68%

66% 36%

Percentage of teens and young

adults aged 12-24 years old who

use each social media platform:1

Photo by Yoppy, Flickr.[Source 1] Statista.

Photo by Anonymous, KaboomPics

This increased usage of social media has led to…

“1/4 of students reporting

poor self-rated mental health,

psychological distress, suicidal

ideation, or unmet need for

mental health support"2

[Source 2] Payne, Elizabeth.


Social media alters the way

that teens think and interact

with each other:

Representation and social

norms are changed.𝟑1

• Representation through repetition

can tell us what we should be

thinking

• Norms of body image and status can

be established through celebrities

posting on social media

Photo by Victor Hanacek, PicJumbo[Source 3] Matrix, Sidneyeve.


Women are more than twice as

likely to say that their

conception of beauty is shaped by

women in the public domain.𝟒

78% of women surveyed felt

that the portrayal of women

on social media is unrealistic

82% of women surveyed said

that they thought that

social media could change

the standards of beauty[Source 4] Katz, Brigit.

The use of algorithm-driven social medi𝒂𝟓2• Algorithms create social media echo chambers where it is difficult to find

challenged viewpoints

• Social media is filtered to show only what we want to see or have seen in

the past, not what we need to seePhoto by Anonymous, KaboomPics[Source 5] Matrix, Sidneyeve.

60% of millennials use

Facebook as their primary

source of news.6

• The newsfeed algorithms

choose our content based

on what our friends post

• Because we tend to interact

with like-minded people,

the chance of us being

shown a different

perspective is quite slim

Photo by Anonymous, KaboomPics[Source 6] Hosanagar, Hartik.

Messes with teens′ ability to think independentl𝑦73• Social media forces teens to fall into peer pressure more easily

• The action of “liking” each other’s posts makes people feel the need to

not only measure their self-worth in terms of likes, but also to like posts

that are liked by many other people

[Source 7] Beres, Damon. Photo by Anonymous, KaboomPics

Lack of independent

thinking among teens can

cause them to lose their

identity and sense of

individuality.


Awareness of these issues is crucial for teens because without

intervention, increased interaction with social media can cause a

multitude of issues, including:


Cyberbullying can occur

among teens when social

media is overused.8

1 in 3 of teens have received

cyberthreats online

Over 25% of teens have been

repeatedly bullied through their

cell phones or the internet

More than half of

cyberbullying victims do not

report the incident to their

parents or another adultPhoto by Maujesm, Flickr.[Source 8] Bullying Statistics.

Photo by Gabriela Minks, Flickr.

Frequently being exposed to photos that can create body image

concerns on social media can cause eating disorders in teens

that are predisposed to developing one.9

[Source 9] Eating Disorder hope.

Photo by Isabella Mariana, Flickr.

A study from the University of

Halifax has shown that girls

with increased exposure to

social media have a greater

chance of developing an eating

disorder.10

[Source 10] Eating Disorder hope.

Increased exposure to social media can cause depression in

teens who are impacted by unrealistic expectations on social media

Photo by Chelsea Burgess, Flickr.

To prevent the negative

impacts of social media use

among teens, parents can…


1) Limit social media use to no

more than 2 hours per day

2) Monitor the content that

their children are consuming

3) Discuss their children’s

mental health regularly


Social media is an increasingly important aspect of teens’ lives. It is

important to understand how to use it correctly in order to avoid

the potentially negative impacts.


References:1) Statista. “Reach of leading social media and networking sites used by teenagers and young adults in the

United States as of February 2016.” 2016. Retrieved from:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/199242/social-media-and-networking-sites-used-by-us-teenagers/

2) Payne, Elizabeth. “Teens’ poor mental health linked to social media use” Ottawa Citizen. N.p. 08 Aug.

2015. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.

3) Matrix. Sidneyeve. “Module 1 Lecture 01 Media Convergence..” 10 Jan. 2017. OnQ. Web.

https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/71613/viewContent/849731/View

4) Katz, Brigit. New study shows impact of social media on beauty standards. New York Times. April 03,

2015. Web. Retrieved from: http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/04/03/new-study-

shows-impact-of-social-media-on-beauty-standards/

5) Matrix. Sidneyeve. “Module 1 Lecture 02 Media Use Research Part 2 of 2. 17 Jan. 2017. OnQ. Web.

https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/71613/viewContent/860602/View

6) Hosanagar, Hartik. “Blame the Echo Chamber on Facebook, but Blame Yourself, Too. Wired.

November 11, 2016. Web. Retrieved from: https://www.wired.com/2016/11/facebook-echo-chamber/

7) Beres, Damon. “5 Weird Negative Effects of Social Media on Your Brain.” Reader’s Digest. 2017. Web.

Retrieved from: http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/negative-effects-of-social-media/

8) Unknown Author. “Cyber Bullying Statistics”. Bullying Statistics. 2017. Web. Retrieved from:

http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html

9) Unknown Author. “The Influence of Social Media on Adolescent Eating Disorders.” Eating Disorders

Hope. January 24, 2016. Web. Retrieved from: https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/the-

influence-of-social-media-on-adolescent-eating-disorders

10) Unknown Author. “Does Social Media Cause Eating Disorders in Children?”. Eating Disorders Hope.

September 9, 2016. Web. Retrieved from: https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/social-media-

cause-eating-disorders-children

Data & Analytics

Joanna Moroz - FILM240 Flipbook