Newswise — As teens’ use of social media has grown over the past decade, so too has the suicide rate among younger people, with suicide now being the second leading cause of death among those ages 10 to 34. Many have suggested that social media is driving the increased suicide risk, but because social media is still relatively new, it’s been difficult to determine its long-term effects on mental health.

Good habits include logging on for a purpose and actively participating rather than passively scrolling, as well as unfollowing those who are exclusionary or have a negative influence.

HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USE CAN:

– negatively affect teens self-esteem and interpersonal relationships

– decrease social and emotional functioning

– increase in Cyber bullying

– normalize and even premote self- harm and suciadity

– lead to chronic sleep deprivation

– negatively affect academic performance

Evidence suggests that too much time spent on social media leads to an increase in mental distress, self-injury and suicidality among youth, especially among girls.

Even as states have loosened restrictions and people have started to get back “out into the world,” screen time including the use of social media, has continued to rise among children and teens. While much of this has resulted from the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has forced young people into isolation, there are still calls for parents to balance screen time due to its impact on kids’ mental health and general well being.

Social media can cause a lot of problems, one of them being eating disorders which can be a huge problem to a lot of people most of them being celebrities which can be bad to their bodies

Eating disorders are caused when people shame others bodies this mostly occurs on social media. Some girls ages 15-19 years of age experience eating disorders due to being shamed for their bodies. Today, more than ever, adolescents are driven to concern about their weight, shape, size, and image, and as a result they diet and lose weight (2-5 pounds)

Today’s children and teens grow up in a world flooded with the mass media (television, films, videos, billboards, magazines, movies, music, newspaper, fashion designers, and the internet). Statistics reveal that on average children and teens watch at least 5h of television or screen time which can affect them on how they look and want to be like their role model leading to them having eating disorders.