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Whitney Pittman
Jessica Morton
University Writing 1103
11 April 2016
Social Media: Our Self-Esteem and Mental Health

For years the Millennial generation has been consumed with technology and social
media. We are often looked at as the social media pioneers and inventers. With their use of social
media becoming more frequent there have been many problems that have surfaced such as
cyberbullying, self-esteem issues, and problems with teenagers mental health. With new laws to
restrict cyberbullying there have still been issues with teenagers obsessing over whatever is
happening online. This obsession has created problems with obsessive compulsive disorders,
anxiety, depression, and fear of missing out. Many parents are beginning to restrict social media
usage for their children but with technology progressing more everyday it is hard to prevent
social media usage. This makes people wonder how much social media is too much and what
exactly is this doing to the Millennial generations mental health and self esteem? Ultimately,
social networks are becoming bad for self esteem and mental health but there are measurers that
can be taken to reduce teenagers usage of social networking sites.
A lot of people struggle with self image because of the way the media portrays the heath
typical body type. Some teens find themselves going to extreme lengths to fit the perfect body
mold. There are many studies that find teens who struggle with self image issues are more likely
to develop eating disorders, drug use, alcohol use, cutting, bullying, and sexual addictions
(Gummwow). These addictions are extremely dangerous and can often lead to death or long

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term medical problems. It has been said that there is a correlation between eating disorders and
social media. The more time a woman spends on social media the more likely she is to develop
some kind of eating disorder or become body conscious. Having body image issues can cause
people to interact with people outside of the virtual world in an unusual way. They will feel as if
everyone is looking at them. They often feel uncomfortable or suffer from anxiety about social
settings and struggle with face-to-face connections because they are unable to communicate
offline.
Heavy social media usage can lead to obsession with staying connected. Some people
will not go places where there is not wireless internet because they cannot get online to tell
everyone about it. People who are addicted to social media often find themselves checking first
thing in the morning, throughout the day, and right before bed. A recent study conducted by CNN
called #Being13 surveyed thousands of 13 year olds from across the country about their social
media usage. Many of them admitted to checking their social networking accounts over a 100
times a day. When asked why the most popular response was they wanted to see if their online
post were getting likes and comments and the second most popular response was to see if their
friends were doing things without them. According to sociologist Robert Faris, a professional
mentioned in the #Being13 article, Theres a lot of anxiety about whats going on online, when
theyre not actually online, so that leads to compulsive checking (Hadad). Most of their
obsessive checking stems from their need to be accepted by their peers and their social status
(Hadad).
This need to constantly check into social media even at night can harm sleeping
schedules as well. An article on Huffington Post discussed how using social media at night could
damage teenagers sleeping schedule and increase their risk of anxiety and depression (June).

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Multiple studies have concluded using social media at night before bed is harmful to a persons
sleeping patterns. At night, the brain is supposed to rest but if it constantly busy at work over
social networks it makes it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep at night. During the interview,
different teens mentioned how they felt pressured to make themselves available at all times and
felt bad for not replying to messages as soon as they got them; one 14-year-old girl said she had
to reply to all of her friends because she did not want them to think she was ignoring them. The
worst part about teenagers not getting enough sleep is teens need sleep more than adults.
Supposedly, 9.5 hours of sleep each night is the healthiest option for teens but the average teen
gets about 7 hours a sleep a night. Not enough sleep causes people to be tired, irritable,
depressed, and it also weakens the immune system making you susceptible to illnesses. As a
student it is vital to get the recommended hours of sleep per night because of the amount of stress
and workload we are given everyday. A poor sleeping habit can often lead to bad grades and
unnecessary stress over schoolwork.
I personally have suffered from this issue since being in college. I feel that I have to be on
my phone at all times to keep up with my friends from home because of our now conflicted
schedules and different time zones. I had difficulty staying asleep at night because my brain was
too awake which caused me to be cranky and exhausted the next morning. Unable to focus in
class I knew I had to stop getting online before and just focus on going to sleep rather than what
my friends were doing.
Researchers have discovered the more time a person spends on social networks the more
depressed they become from comparing their lives to other peoples. Many people become
obsessed with making their lives seem more interesting. This feeling of missing out and having
such a boring life gives some people anxiety.

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FOMO or fear of missing out is actually a real thing. People have apprehensions that
others are having fun without them. The idea that there is something exciting going on without
them sometimes makes people check their phones while driving or performing important tasks.
Being distracted while performing tedious task is extremely dangerous, which is why there are
laws that have banned texting and driving. This problem is mostly seen among teenagers and
people who feel the need to constantly stay connected with everyone at all times. Whenever I
think of missing out I always think about the now popular app, Snapchat. Thanks to Snapchat we
are able to show what we are doing at all times through picture and short 10 second videos.
Constantly checking your Snapchat can sometimes cause people to feel left out of last minute
plans and can easily create unnecessary drama among friends. Another common form of social
media that makes people feel left out would be Facebook. Sometimes people find themselves
envious of other peoples relationships, income, living situations, and lifestyles. It has been
stated in many news articles, Huffington Post and the New York Times, that the group of people
that most Facebook users are envious of are people they do not know in real life (June). If you do
not know someone personally it is easy to assume their life is amazing if you only know what
they are posting online. It is very rare that someone will post the bad parts of their life on social
media.
Jealousy can lead to many other emotions such as resentment, anger, and sadness. Long
spells of sadness can lead to depression. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses
among teenagers. Most people who are depressed tend to compare themselves to others. Social
media sites allow people to compare themselves more easily, someone with depression may look
at a post that reads Just got into my #1 choice school! and irrationally pit themselves against
that person to make themselves come up lacking. Teenagers who suffer from depression are often

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very pessimistic and fixate on everything that is wrong with their lives and are envious of others.
The idea of the number of likes someone receives on their post can make people feel less valued
that someone who receives 100+ likes on a basic selfie.
Although some teenagers suffer from depression caused by social media, other teenagers
are using social media to beat their depression. They use positivity and support from others
through the internet to bring happiness to their lives. In a Teen Vogue article, Dr. Melinda Ring
discussed how social media helped her teenage son who suffers from a mood disorder. Her son
focused his Instagram with positivity and helped support others who are going through a difficult
time (June).
The reason people continue to log into their favorite social media sites even though they
know it is bad for them is because they are afraid of missing out, their egos, validation, and the
power to control what is going on around them. People enjoy having an audience to share their
stories with and the approval from others allows them to feel as if what they are doing with their
life is right. In an article by Tom Lowery our ego is what drives us forward (Lowery). Being
able to track how many people deems our post worthy and who deems are post worthy is what
makes people continue coming back. Being able to control what people perceive about you is
another reason people continue to engage in social media. People only allow people to see the
positive aspects of their lives, such as promotions, major purchases, and achievements. If all
anyone ever sees of a person are positive things they will assume they live the perfect life.
Having people think you are living the American dream can cause a persons self esteem to sky
rocket making them continue to compulsively check their social networking sites. Affirmation
that they are doing what society wants them to do drives people to continue logging on to these
sites.

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For teens struggling with an online addiction there are ways to overcome the need to
constantly check in. The first and most obvious step being to reduce the amount of time that is
spent on social media. Limiting the amount of time, you use social media helps teenagers spend
time interacting in the real world rather than the social media realm. It helps reduce the amount
of time their brains are preoccupied with things happening online. As the person begins to make
the connection between their overuse of social networking sites and the strain on relationships,
grades, sleeping patterns, being distracted, and anxiety they will begin to feel even better. After
time the teenager will grasp the bigger picture that social media is great for news and
entertainment but should be used responsibly, anything done online has consequences outside of
the internet realm.
The Millennial generation is certainly growing up in a different time period than
generation X. With negative comments and cyberbullies on every social network it can be
intimidating to engage in few the positive aspects that social media has to offer. With technology
moving forward everyday people do not have another option other than to accept it. Although,
there are many dark sides to social media there are many great sides as well. Social media is
great for marketing, advertising, and staying connected to old friends. For people who are having
trouble with social media there are many easy solutions to ease off online. Also, for anyone
having problems with cyberbullying there are people to speak to online and in person.

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Works Cited
Gummow, Jodie. "7 Telltale Signs Social Media Is Killing Your Self-Esteem." Alternet. Alternet,
07 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Hadad, Chuck. "#Being13: Teens and Social Media." CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Oct. 2015.
Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
June, Eric. "Social Media Is Harming the Mental Health of Teenagers. The State Has to Act" The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Lowery, Tom. "Why Social Media Is So Addictive (And Why Marketers Should Care)."
CMSWire.com. Simpler Media Group, Inc., 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.