According to Wikipedia, the term social media means 'interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongst virtual communities and networks'. Social media essentially defines the online platforms that connects people globally through various interactions.
Impact of Socialization
Before I come to the impact of social media on teenagers I must say that since the very early days of living beings on earth every creatures has brought down the tendency to interact with others, it can be their own type or some other species and as a matter of fact, humans are naturally social species that depend on the companionship of others to thrive in life. Thus, while being socially linked with others helps alleviate stress, worry, and melancholy, a lack of social connection can pose major threats to one's mental health.
Concerns of Social Media Usage
In the 21st century, online sharing within social media sites helps many people stay in touch with friends or connect with new ones. And that may be more important for teenagers than other age groups. Friendships help teens feel supported and play a role in forming their identities. Here's the 'but' fact, The increasing dependence of teenagers on social media has raised significant concerns, especially regarding its effects on their mental well-being. Digital and social media use has increased lately, and it offers both benefits and risks to the health of children and teenagers. In 2023,United States Surgeon General Dr.Vivek Murthy released an advisory called 'Social Media and Youth Mental Health', in which he says there is growing evidence that social media is causing harm to young people’s mental health. Soon after, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued its own health advisory.
FOMO from Social Media
From a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2022,up to 95% of teenagers surveyed (ages 13 to 17) reported using social media, and more than a third of them use it “almost constantly.” Social media doesn't affect all teens the same way. Use of social media is linked with healthy and unhealthy effects on mental health. These effects vary from one teenager to another. The effect of Social media on mental health depends on each individual according to their activities like how much time they spent online, what they sees and does online daily. Though social media is considered to connect individuals to the world and provide them with a wide length of exposure, at the same time, it can also increase the feeling of loneliness and isolation. The regular interaction of social media creates a sense FOMO(fear of missing out) in the mind of teenagers, their mind creates an intense urge to keep on scrolling their mobile screen without taking a note of time. I would say that such 'urge' can also be put into good use by learning something, the 'urge' to gain knowledge is something that can take those growing minds of teens to great heights. But, contrary to our expectations the sense of 'urge' most of the teens gets is to be in the 'trend' that the world of social media creates.
Negative Impact of Social Media on Teenagers
Though every ages of people more or less uses social media, the amount of negative impact is mostly on teenagers. The first thing is, their lack of experience doesn't make them a good judge of good and bad things available on social media platforms, and the second thing is that in this age their mind is at the peak of learning and absorbing just like a sponge of whatever they consumes daily. For example ,there are concerns that social media use can increase the risk of unhealthy behaviors, such as alcohol consumption. They are more likely to be exposed to visuals promoting alcohol use, which could lead to greater experimentation and risky behaviors. Hence, the excessive usage of social media especially in young, developing individuals may cause mental health vulnerabilities which is directly linked to retardation in academic performance. Along with mental health issue, there are many other alarming concerns such as Privacy Concerns, Cyber Bullying, Sleep Deprivation, Eating Disorders and most importantly 'addiction' as it activates the brain’s reward center by releasing dopamine, a “feel-good chemical” which leads them to maintain their social media identities on a regular basis. Besides, the other concern is teens can easily access extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content. In certain cases, deaths have been linked to suicide- and self-harm-related content, such as “cutting,” partial asphyxiation, and risk-taking challenges on social media platforms.