Social Medias Impact On Teens

       Nowadays, teenagers have all the digital devices you can think of and they all come with social media apps. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, all affect teenagers in different ways. One might argue that having social media helps improve lifestyles like being more fit and healthy from seeing models and how they look, but in the long run, teens become dissatisfied with their appearance and become very insecure about their body, feel a state of depression or anxiety. Perfect Illusions PBS said that 42% of girls in grade 1 - 3 want to be thinner. No one that young should be feeling self-conscious about their body. 78% of 17 year olds, girls especially, are unsatisfied with how they look. Seems unbelievable, right? That’s not it. 46% of high schoolers have an eating disorder. If social media is affecting kids and teens this much, why do we continue to have social media? The false body image that is being carelessly thrown out to the world has got to stop. Would you want to being living life like this? If you are, why?

        Instagram is flooded with perfect body images which are almost always photoshopped to reach this ideal body that no one really has naturally. In many cases, at a young age, people are exposed to social media and perfect models that stand on the page. Body images can create false fantasies for young girls, such as making them want to look a certain way even though everyone has their own body type. Teenagers start to have this image in their head of what they need to look like in order to be beautiful and when teens look at their flaws, they become depressed, but mostly very insecure. The article Social Media: A new source of insecurities, says that at age 13 teens become to recognise the image you don’t have and by 17 years old, it only becomes more noticeable to them and worse. Even though a teenage girl could end up being as “perfect” as other models or celebrities, she will still tend to not feel satisfied with herself because each model looks different. Luckily, throughout time people start accepting who they are and what they look like, but very slowly it happens.

        Now, I know for a fact that almost all the seventh graders at my school find themselves in bed with their phone checking social media. New posts of Cara Delevingne and her unique looks or maybe looking through Kendall Jenner’s Instagram account. No matter what person you wish you could look like, we all think about it. Going to bed becomes a struggle and it’s as if the phone sits on your bed just taunting you to pick it up and continue the searching. “Increase of vulnerability for the onset of depression and anxiety, and poor sleep quality may contribute to this,” Cleland Woods said. Lack of sleep because of social media can make teens depressed and more sensitive to things, such as how they look. The study, from British Psychological Society showed that nighttime social media use relates to poorer sleep quality. It also results to higher anxiety and depression.

        Being self-conscious about yourself can lead to way more then wanting new clothes. Personality changes and mood swings are some of the many emotional things that can happen. Growing up can be hard enough, but when jealousy of girls, models, or actresses come into place, it makes it even harder when you are still figuring out who you are. Girls may become intimidated by other women, who are on television shows, or are famous. Teenagers may treat others in a rude manner because of the influence they hear through the internet or through media. The Huffington Post said “25 percent admitted to difficulties in relationships because of social media". Sadly, anxiety squirms into teens head and in some cases, it can become so difficult that they become very depressed.

        Overall, social media and the false body image it puts out, creates too many unnecessary problems for teens. It causes anxiety, depression and insecurity. Teenagers are already experiencing changes and figuring out who they really are, but when social media comes into place, it makes it very difficult for teens. Teens are so emotionally attached to social media these days that it can hurt relationships and how you feel about yourself. On the other hand, social media can provide a rich source of information and help people stay connected. Teenagers need to be responsible and learn how to manage how much screen time they have. But, how much teens are hurt, needs to stop.

Social Media's Body Perceptions Lead to Horrible Circumstances

  “Nobody is perfect”. “You’re beautiful the way you are”. These are things we have all heard but never acknowledge. I claim that social media has a huge impact on how kids perceive themselves, and it is important to know the effects of that and how to stop it. It starts with one picture, one video, one story. Kids get influenced by everything. Even though it may be fake. Photoshop and plastic surgery have taken over our lives and the internet is full of lies. There are so many horrible things that kids do just to achieve the ‘ideal body’. Do we really want our kids to live in such a world that discourages insecurities but also supplies them?

  To start with, the internet is a wide, diverse place. There are so many good things that happen because of the inter-webs. But there are equally as many bad things that happen because of it. Imagine that you are a 13 year old girl, and your social media life is extremely diverse. Your entire life exists on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, to mention a few. Likes and retweets matter more to you than your own family. Suddenly, you discover a really pretty girl with the perfect body. You aim to be like her. After a bit of exercise and healthy eating, you see no results. You decide enough is enough. The next time you have a meal, you put your dishes away nervously and your hands quiver. After going straight to the sink, you vomit out all the food you have just eaten. ‘It’ll make you thin’ ‘You can look like her’  your mind tells you. Many people go through that. According to eatingdisorderhope.com, 2.7% of teens aged 13-18 will develop a serious clinical eating disorder due to insecurities from social media, and 50% of teenage girls use unhealthy weight control behaviours like skipping meals, vomiting, smoking, and using chemicals to control their body shape and make it ‘perfect’. 46% of 9-11 year olds are on diets due to the unrealistic standards set by social media these days. Would you want your child or your best friend or your sister or brother or even yourself to go through something so unhealthy for something so useless?

  Secondly, even though social media brings people together, it can tear them apart too. Some people go through depressive episodes, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Being thin is regarded as the cult of happiness these days. Obese or even slightly bulkier people are ridiculed and as a result of that many people get extremely mentally or physically ill. Some mental conditions that people unfortunately develop due to not being ‘perfect’ are: depression (something very common even in teens), poor self esteem, panic attacks, panic disorder, and anxiety. It is devastating to see a quirky and carefree friend turn insanely obsessed with her body. It is important to identify the symptoms of this before it gets too late. If you know someone who has suddenly become into a nutshell, here are some symptoms that it may be more serious than just a bad day.

• Loss of interest in everyday activities
• Sudden appetite/weight changes
• Snappy attitudes
• Loss of energy
• Self loathing/Self hate/Self Doubt

Obviously all of these things could mean something else entirely but checking on that person and monitoring their behaviour is important. Another good way is to monitor their page on social media. Have they been posting weird things or have they been ranting on and on about how some person is prettier than them? Watch out before it gets serious.

  Lastly, how can you stop this? Most people don’t even know how to prevent it, let alone stop it. But it’s definitely worth a try. You never know, you could save a life. Well, considering at what point you are in your life, there are many ways you can help. If you are a teen yourself, I suggest taking a minute away from everything. Reconnect yourself with reality (not reality shows) and the real world outside of that screen. Imagine if everyone looked perfect. Eventually the standards would change. Trends don’t define you. You define yourself. Remind yourself that even though it’s perfectly fine to think someone is pretty or cute, there are so many people that think you are too. If you are a parent, I suggest monitoring your child’s use of media. Don’t snoop on them or read their messages etc, but just monitor their behaviour around their screens. Also, emphasize the rights and wrong on social media. Show them what is good and what is bad. And here’s a note for everyone: humans like to set standards. It’s natural. But in an ever-evolving world, let’s step away from fake identities and stay close to our real ones.

  All in all, I think that even though the causes for these harsh effects may sound weird or unreasonable, it’s now part of our lives. Social media and the internet; it’s taking over. Simplicity and easy lives have turned into a complex track of stress and anxiety playing over and over. Do we really want to live in a world with people thinking about killing themselves just because they don’t look like a carbon copy of a person they haven’t even met?

Vedika Sanga