Social media and its impact on depression and anxiety
The topic in question is social media in depression and anxiety. The issue of social media and how it affects depression and anxiety have been in debate for a long time. Some studies say it is a way for adolescents to interact with people from different parts of the world. Other studies have a different perspective. Other studies have claimed that social media plays a factor in mental health, specifically depression and anxiety, in regards of adolescents.
In a Barry, Briggs, Sidoti, (2019) study: Adolescent and Parent Reports of Aggression and Victimization on Social Media: Associations with Psychosocial Adjustment, this study investigated the relations of adolescent and parent reports of adolescents’ aggression and victimization on social media and psychosocial adjustment. There was a survey taken and consisted of 428 participants — parents and adolescents combined. The study extended its research by examining both mental health and self-perception correlates of aggression and victimization on social media in adolescents and by incorporating parent reports of aggression, victimization, and etc. Results showed that 36 of the 48 adolescents have reported directly aggressing against others on social media reported also having been directly victimized. Adolescent-reported direct and indirect victimization were related to anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as lower self esteem. Furthermore, adolescents have reported having FOMO (Fear of missing out) within their social media life and their life in regards to friendships and etc. In table 4 of correlations of aggression and victimization with indicators of psychosocial functioning and self-perception, adolescents have reported .25 in the FOMO category of aggression, .29 of victimization, .27 of indirect aggression, and .31 pf indirect victimization. This all means that social media aggression was correlated with anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as loneliness. Lastly, FOMO was related to adolescent-reported direct and indirect aggression and victimization.
As well as shown in a study conducted by Dew, Escobar-Viera, Primack, Sidani, Shensa, (2018) titled Social Media Use and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Cluster Analysis, it was sought to identify distinct patterns of social media use and to assess associations between those patterns and depression and anxiety symptoms. This study was conducted using an online survey of a nationally-represented sample of US adults ages 19 to 32. There were also 5 variables used in this study (time, frequency, multiple platform use, problematic social media use, and social media intensity) to identify distinct patterns of SMU (Social media use). In regards to time, participants were asked to report (in hours and minutes) how much time per day they spent on social media. In regards to frequency, participants were asked to indicate how often they visited each popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Snapchat, and etc. Moving forward, the variables are explained in detail and their significance in this study. Of the 1796 individuals who participated and completed the survey, the final sample consisted of 1730 individuals with complete data on the 5 variables of some level of SMU. In conclusion, SMU pattern characterization of a large population suggests 2 patterns are associated with the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms.
There is always a possibility social media can trigger depression and anxiety in an individual. For example, the overuse of social media can lead to limited in person interactions and more online conversations. Adolescents who grew up with social media are more obsessed and will most likely become introverts while those who grew up without it know how to live without it are extroverted.
The subject in discussion is whether social media impacts a person’s anxiety and depression. (TRIGGER WARNING) As an adolescent in today’s generation of social media, I could vouch for both sides of the argument. I have had a taste of depression and anxiety due to social media, also the good side. It all started when I was 10 and I would get cyber bullied on Facebook. From then on, up until the age of 13 I would get cyber bullied on Instagram as well. It got up to the point of self harm. However, everything changed after middle school, I made a new account deactivated Facebook, and changed myself completely. Social media, more like Instagram, became my safe haven. I would post my photography photos of sunsets, I started using it for comedic purposes like TikTok. This is why I feel so strongly about the topic because I can relate to both sides. In a Woods and Scott study about adolescents and their sleep schedule, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety is affected by social media. Study shows that it is possible that interpersonal feedback and social comparisons via social media will have a stronger effect on self-esteem levels of adolescents who feel a strong emotional connection to social media sites. Further into this research, they explore that greater overall social media use will be associated with poorer sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and depression. They used a method of handing out questionnaires to 467 scottish secondary school students ages between 11-17 either online or in paper form. Results have shown that higher depression levels were associated with increased overall social media use, r = .11, p < .01, nighttime-specific social media use, r = .21, p < .001, and emotional investment in social media r = .24, p < .01. To sum it up, It was specified that anxiety, depression and self-esteem were most strongly associated with emotional investment in social media.
It can be said that social media is a way to help one with entrepreneurship and it is used to boost someone’s confidence. In a study conducted by Huang, and Zhang, (2020), it can be hypothesized that social media plays a key factor in entrepreneurship and self efficacy. The participants were recruited from three Chinese public universities and were handed 572 paper-based questionnaires to undergraduate students, who took part in the study voluntarily; only 91.6% of those results were valid. In conclusion, their results indicated students were more likely to start a business when they used social media to gather business information and form relationships with others, and that having a high level of self-efficacy increased the strength of this relationship. Additionally, educators could endorse social media tools and encourage students to incorporate these into their entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, social media has made a useful effect on adolescents.
Social media has made a positive impact on a student’s creativity and it relieves stress and it is a way of meditation. In a Sun, X. (2020) study about Social media use and student creativity: The mediating role of student engagement, there were two hypotheses present. One hypothesis stated Social media use will be positively related to student creativity and the second hypothesis stated engagement. Participants were undergraduate students from three Chinese public universities and were handed 685 paper-based questionnaires to students. Based on hypothesis one, social media use was positively related to student creativity, β = .37, 95% confidence interval (CI) [.23, .51]. Continually, the relationships between social media use and student engagement, β = .44, 95% CI [.28, .61], and between student engagement and student creativity, β = .27, 95% CI [.13, .41], were both important. Supporting hypothesis two, results of a bootstrapping analysis of 5,000 replications with bias-corrected 95% CI show that the indirect effect of social media use on student creativity through student engagement was significant, effect size = .12, 95% CI [.07, .22]. Therefore, supporting the notion that social media has made a positive impact on a student’s creativity and it relieves stress and it is a way of meditation.
In closing, yes social media can be used to increase one’s creativity and entrepreneurship, however, it greatly affects one’s mental health negatively. Think about it like this, someone can have their good days and their bad days, it all depends on how strong that person really is and how they take it. Everyone is entitled to their own feelings or opinions and at the end of the day depression and anxiety can take a big toll on someone’s life. At the end of it all, suicide is one main factor one has to take in considering cyber bullying could lead up to it. For example, in a Ma, Zhang, Harris, Chen, and Xu, study about live broadcasts of Chinese emerging adult suicides and crisis response behaviors, the results found live presentations of suicidal behaviors offered unique opportunities to respond to suicidal crises, and also to learn more about the relationships between suicidal people and potential help sources. Moreover, it could have been prevented, however, people don’t know how to address it so increasing knowledge and skills for crisis response and suicide prevention is needed.
Bibliography
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