mental illness, teens & social media
Post on 23-Jan-2018
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Mental Illness,
& Social Media.
Virginia TooleFilm 240
The complicated relationship between mental wellness and the online world.
Image via Eric Gross
Teens
“20% of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime.” (CMHA)¹
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The amount of time individuals spend on smartphones and social media is continuously growing and become a even bigger part of our society.
Of adults ages 18-34, 84% use smartphones, which is up by 80% since 2013. (Krashinsky)²
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But how are younger teens dealing with technology?
According to research and findings by 18 year old Alexandra Ulmer, some teens and young adults work better when they are multi tasking with various tasks.
"What our research is suggesting is that maybe our brains as adolescents and digital natives have adapted to this media influence and because we've grown up with it we're able to cope with all these different stimuli”. (Reddy)³
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A recent Ontario study indicates that 80 per cent of young people use social media on a daily basis, with almost 50 per cent using it for over two hours per day.(Whitley)⁶
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How can Social Media positively and negatively affect Canadian teens’ mental health when they live in such a media saturated world?
But the important question is …
“Children are totally immersed in a virtual world which is damaging both to the way they see themselves and the way they perceive the real world; some young children are finding it hard to unpick reality from fantasy.” (The Telegraph)¹⁰
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Based on research preformed by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, students who frequented social media often reported poorer mental health than the students who were less frequent users of social media.(CAMH)⁴
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Of 753 surveyed students, those who used social media for more than 2 hours per day reported lower self reported mental health and similar distress. (Payne)⁵
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There are several factors that can be linked to these statistics…
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The reclusive nature of social media can be attributed to poorer
mental health. Spending increased time alone, missing meals,
getting behind on school work or not spending time with friends
and family.(Whitley)⁶
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Teens compare the unrealistic social personages of their peers to their own lives. Feeling that they are inadequate, uninteresting or unpopular.(Whitley)⁶
“Girls are socialized more to compare themselves to other people, girls in particular, to develop their identities, so it makes them more vulnerable to the downside of all this.” (Ehmke)⁷
Dr. Steiner-Adair:
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Constantly portraying a hyper happy and enthusiastic version of a teens life on social media can obviously be exhausting and can create a great deal of psychological strain. (Whitley)⁶
Cyber bullying is also a concern for young teens and their mental health…
Being bullied and abused online can obviously affect teens self esteem and mental wellbeing
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There are of course benefits to social media…
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“Social media sites such as Facebook and MySpaceoffer multiple daily opportunities for connecting with friends, classmates, and people with shared interests” (O'keeffe, Clarke-‐Pearson)⁸
Larry Rosen (Professor of Psychology at California State University) suggests that parents monitor their children's social media use, with communication about both the advantages and disadvantages. (Pilieci)⁹
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As the research suggests, the amount of time spent on social media sites and apps can contribute to poor mental health and psychological distress. Thus, a healthy balance and use is important.
Bibliography 1. Fast Facts about Mental Illness -‐ Canadian Mental Health Association. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2016, from
http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-‐facts-‐about-‐mental-‐illness/#.WAPDXJMrL-‐Y2. Krashinsky, S. (2014, December 04). Four ways Canadians are consuming media differently. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-‐on-‐business/industry-‐news/marketing/four-‐ways-‐canadians-‐are-‐consuming-‐media-‐differently/article21949630/
3. Reddy, Sumathi. "Teen Researchers Defend Media Multitasking; Doing Homework with Music, Texts, Tweets Works Better for some."Wall Street Journal (Online), New York, N.Y., 2014.http://search.proquest.com.proxy.queensu.ca/docview/1610794735?accountid=6180.
4. Social media and student mental health: What's the connection? (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from http://www.camh.ca/en/research/news_and_publications/CAMH-‐Discovers/summer-‐2015/Pages/Social-‐media-‐and-‐student-‐mental-‐health.aspx
5. Payne, Elizabeth. "Teens' Poor Mental Health Linked to Social Media use." The Ottawa Citizen. Aug 08 2015. ProQuest.Web. 21 Oct. 2016 . http://search.proquest.com.proxy.queensu.ca/docview/1702249271?accountid=6180
6. Whitley, Robert. "Here's Why Social Media Harms Your Teen's Mental Health ..." Huffington Post, 14 Sept. 2016. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/robertwhitley/social-‐media-‐mental-‐health_b_11893462.html
7. Ehmke, Rachel. "How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers." Child Mind Institute, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. http://childmind.org/article/how-‐using-‐social-‐media-‐affects-‐teenagers/
8. O'keeffe, G. S., and K. Clarke-‐Pearson. "The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families." Pediatrics 127.4 (2011): 800-‐04. Web.
9. Pilieci, Vito. "National Post: Is Social Media Harming Our Mental Health ..." National Post, 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/is-‐social-‐media-‐harming-‐our-‐mental-‐health-‐researchers-‐wonder
10."Excessive Social Media Use Harms Children's Mental Health ..." The Telegraph, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Oct. 2016. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11943810/Excessive-‐social-‐media-‐use-‐harms-‐childrens-‐mental-‐health.html
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