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Brittany Thurmbuchler
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102
5 April 2016
Social Media: The Mentality of it All
Reflection: Ill be honest, writing this thesis was the ultimate struggle. My first draft was
a mess. I had no idea where I wanted to go or how to organize all of the information I had
acquired over the past few weeks. I was not sure how to tie everything together or how to
incorporate everything learned from the They Say/I Say book. After my peer-review session, I
knew what information I needed to incorporate and I had a better understanding of how I should
organize my paper. It was surprisingly easy to write eight pages, I was worried I would not have
enough to say. Now that its all said and done, I can say that I have gained a lot of knowledge
about social media, mental health, building writing skills, and I have learned a great a deal
about myself as a writer. I am excited to share the information I have learned with others.
Your phone lights up with a Facebook notification. A few seconds later, it lights up again
with a notification that your best friend snapchatted you back. These notifications are a regular
occurrence. Checking, updating, and mindlessly scrolling through social media has become a
part of our daily routine. In fact, most of us cant start our day or get out of bed until we see what
we missed while we were sleeping through the night. Wake up, check social media. Bored in
class, check social media. Cant sleep, check social media. Growing up in a world where social
media has become such a prevalent part of our daily lives affects the way we, as teenagers,
socialize, prioritize, think, and behave. I want to know in what ways social media has or is
beginning to affect the mental health of the majority of its users: young adults.

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In order to understand how social media is affecting mental health among teenagers, we
must first have a working definition of two major things: social media and mental health. Social
media is defined as systems of electronic communication where users create online communities
to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (Merriam-Webster). Today, we
have a plethora of social media sites including: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, the list
could go on. Social media is mainly used to connect people from all different parts of the world
and to also keep others updated on your life by posting pictures, videos, and statuses. Although
first created to bring people and communities together, could social media be tearing us apart?
Its hard for others to understand the way we, as individuals, perceive and understand the
world in our own ways. A big influence in the way we see the world is the quality of our mental
health. Mental health is described as including our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing and affects the way we think, feel, and act (What Is Mental Health). Mental health is
usually associated with the term mental illness which is defined as dysregulation of mood,
thought, and/or behavior (Mental Health Conditions). Examples of mental illnesses include
depression, anxiety and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors. Although
most people may argue that mental illnesses are not as serious as other illnesses or diseases,
mental illnesses should be taken and treated seriously because our mental health affects the ways
in which we behave. How does social media correlate with mental health? According to Deborah
Richards, Patrina Caldwell, and Henry Go, the authors of a peer-reviewed article in Journal of
Pediatrics and Child Health, Daily overuse of various forms of media and technology has a
negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers, which in turn, makes them
more prone to psychological disorders like anxiety, depression, and others (Richards). Most are
familiar with the term eating disorders and the social stigmas they are associated with.

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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, eating disorders are serious and often fatal
illnesses that cause severe disturbances to a persons eating behaviors. Common eating
disorders include: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders
usually develop during teen years or young adulthood and can affect all genders, however
womens rates of developing eating disorders are 2 times greater than men. Treatment of
eating disorders includes psychotherapy, medical monitoring, nutritional counseling, and
medications (National Institute of Mental Health).
So, what does social media have to do with eating disorders? Although biological,
behavioral, and psychological factors play a large role in the development of eating disorders, so
do social factors (National Institute of Mental Health). The media provides teenagers and young
adults with content on body related issues. Therefore, The exposure to ideal images coincides
with a period in their lives where self regard and self efficacy is in decline, where body image is
at its most fragile due to physical changes of puberty and where the tendency for social
comparison is at its peak (Disadvantages). Social media puts an emphasis on dieting and
fitness in order to become physically attractive and to obtain status. While there is no way to
prove that social media is in fact causing eating disorders, it does however, act as a negative
reinforcer which may lead to the development of an eating disorder. It does so by conferring
hidden messages on food, persuading us that wrong eating habits are right and natural, and
presents us with an idealized shape (Jade).
Another mental illness that we are all familiar with is depression. Depression is defined
as a mood disorder that affects how you feel, think, and handle daily activities. Although
depression is more common among older adults, it is becoming more prominent in children and
adolescents (National Institute of Mental Health). Symptoms of depression include: changes in

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sleep and appetite, lack of concentration, energy, and interest, low self-esteem, and feelings of
sadness and hopelessness (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Depression is usually treated
through psychotherapy and medications such as antidepressants (National Institute of Mental
Health).
Social media is used today more than ever before, so much so that new slang, trends, and
even mental illnesses are developing because of it; for example, there is a such thing as social
media depression. Although it is not an actual medical diagnosis, the term social media
depression is used to describe the depressive thoughts sometimes associated with excessive
social media use (Spoon). Social media can be the root of negative thoughts and emotions and
excessive use of social media can create a negative cycle. The time spent on social media is time
wasted not doing other things such as exercising and socializing which could actually improve
emotional health. I personally have found that I have a very negative mindset when I spend time
sitting around scrolling through social media, but are more positive mindset when I go out and
socialize. Instead of spending time doing productive and healthy activities, wasting valuable time
on social media can isolate you, which contributes to intensified feelings of loneliness and
amplifies negative thoughts (Theobald).
Another factor of social media that can lead to depression is cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is the action of harassing another online through posting or sending mean
messages anonymously (The Definition). Although extremely similar, cyberbullying is known to
be more harsh than normal bullying. It can happen at any time on any day and it can reach a
person even when they are alone. The mean messages and images posted can be spread to a wide
audience quickly and easily and they are extremely difficult to delete. The growth of social
media and the creation of new sites has only helped to increase the number of cyberbullying

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cases seen within the last few years.Victims of cyberbullying are more likely to skip school,
abuse drugs and alcohol, have lower self-esteem, and have unhealthy mental health (What).
So far weve discussed two types of mental illnesses and the ways social media could
potentially lead to these: eating disorders and depression. One of the other most common mental
illnesses is anxiety and anxiety disorders. Although it is normal to feel anxious every now and
then, for those with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety is constant and never goes away. There are
three types of anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and social anxiety. Those
with generalized anxiety are excessively anxious for months. People with panic disorder have
unexpected panic attacks which are periods of intense fear accompanied by a pounding heart,
sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, and a feeling of impending doom. Social anxiety disorder,
which is also known as social phobia, is a fear of social situations where expected to feel
embarrassed, judged, or rejected. Like any other mental illnesses, treatments for anxiety
disorders include various forms of therapy and medications (National Institute of Mental Health).
A team at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom conducted their research on
the topic of social media and FOMO, the fear of missing out. According to Dr. Dan Herman, who
was first aware of the phenomenon, FOMO is defined as a fearful attitude toward the possibility
of missing available opportunities and the joy gained from those opportunities. He describes it as
concentration of attention on the empty half of the glass (Herman). The team at the University
of Glasgow asked 467 students between the ages of 11 and 17 questions about their social media
use and psychological well-being. The team found that teens who were extremely active and
also emotionally invested in their digital lives reported worse sleep quality, lower self-esteem,
and higher instances of anxiety and depression when compared to their peers who cared less (or
at least, spent less time) on social media sites (Chang).

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While my inquiry question focuses specifically on the influence of social media on
mental health, social media can also affect physical health as well. Technology and social media
use is one of the many factors that are causing teens to become sleep-deprived. Not only are
social media sites distractions, the light emitted from the devices sends signals to the brain which
keeps the brain awake (Garey). It is because of this that Apple just recently included the new
night shift feature in the latest IOS update. This feature uses the geolocation and clock on your
device to determine when to shift the display to a warmer color (IOS). Not only is social media
thought to cause lack of sleep, but our lack of sleep is also thought to cause more frequent social
media use. There have been multiple studies conducted to take a closer look at this correlation.
One study led by Gloria Mark, an informatics professor at UCI, did just this. Mark and her team
monitored 71 undergraduate students at UCI and their technology use for seven days. Softwares
were installed on their phones and computers that was activated each time a student logged onto
social media, texted or called someone, or opened a browser. The software would then create a
timestamp and the students also took surveys twice a day to assess sleep schedules. The research
done found that the more a student lost sleep, the more time they spent looking at social media.
Most students admitted to using social media as a part of their pre-bed ritual (Smith). Sleeping
is your bodys way of resetting itself and preparing for the next day; with that being said, sleepdeprivation, especially among teenagers and young adults, can greatly harm a persons physical
and mental health (Why is Sleep Important?).
Weve explored the many negative consequences of social media use: mental illnesses
such as eating disorders, depression, anxiety, as well as physical consequences too. However,
there are people who firmly believe that the benefits of social media outweigh the negative
effects. Social media allows its users to stay connected, maintain relationships, and express their

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individuality freely. Although social media can harm a persons self-esteem, it can also boost it.
We, active social media users, have the ability to pick and choose what content we post on our
profiles. We want others to believe that our lives are perfect--or at least close to it. So, we make
sure we edit our happiest pictures to perfection and post only those that make us look like were
having fun all the time. The more likes and positive feedback we get, the better we feel about
ourselves and we have begun to rely on social media for validation. In addition to boosting selfesteem, social media can also help those with social anxiety by stimulating sharing and
relationship-building amid their users. According to the Association of Psychological Science,
the perception of building and maintaining relationships with people is fundamental as is a
justification for their existence, even if their actual effectiveness is uncertain (Farfan). So, in
reality, building and maintaining relationships through social media as well as sharing personal
information can help those with social anxiety disorder.
With its rapid growth and developments, social media is definitely here to stay. While
some argue that social media is only beneficial to society, studies have shown that social media is
correlated with unhealthy mental health. Research has found that social media has a correlation
with an increase in eating disorders, depression, and anxiety among teenagers and young adults,
as well as an increase in unhealthy physical health as well. I myself will admit to getting caught
up in the negative thoughts and emotions that using social media brings about. Is this picture
Instagram worthy? Will it get a lot of likes? Did I edit this good enough? Will posting this
picture make me look attractive and like Im having fun? Its also extremely easy to find yourself
caught up in FOMO (the fear of missing out). After being constantly connected to people, we
also feel a need to be social all the time. In fact, its almost deemed strange if youre having
some alone time or not going out every weekend. In my opinion, I think that these are all things

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that we, as individuals, need to work on. I dont think there is anything specific social media sites
can do to help improve the quality of our mental health. Instead, we as teenagers and young
adults should learn how to spend less time caught up in the fake reality of the social media world
and spend more time enjoying our lives in the real world.

Works Cited
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Chang, Lulu. FOMO Is a Real Thing, and Its Adversely Affecting Teens on Social Media.
Digital Trends. N.p., 14 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Depression. NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
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Eating Disorders. NIMH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Farhan, Guillermo. Social Anxiety in the Age of Social Networks. Association for
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Garey, Juliann. Why Are Teenagers So Sleep-Deprived? Child Mind Institute. Child Mind
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Herman, Dan. The Fear of Missing Out. The Fear of Missing OUt RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
Apr. 2016.

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IOS 9.3 Updates. Apple. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
Jade, Deanna. National Centre for Eating Disorders-The Media & Eating Disorders. National
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Komaroff, Anthony. Social Networks Can Affect Weight, Happiness - Harvard Health Blog.
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Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
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Richards, Deborah, Patrina H. Y. Caldwell, and Henry Go. "Impact of Social Media on the
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Smith, Steve. Yet Another Study Finds Link Between Social Media Use and Poor Sleep
Quality. Medical Daily. N.p., 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Spoon, Marianne. Whats Social Media Depression -- and Might I Have It? HowStuffWorks.
N.p., 26 Apr. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
The Definition of Cyberbullying. Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2-16.
Theobald, Mike. Depression and Social Media. EverydayHealth.com. N.p., 29 May 2014.
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What is Cyberbullying. What Is Cyberbullying. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
What Is Mental Health? Mentalhealth.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

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Whiteman, Honor. Social Media: How Does It Affect Our Mental Health and Well-being.
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