Social Media and Mental Health of Youths

Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUTHS
SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUTHS
KNAGGS FELISME
MONROE COLLEGE
PROFESSOR: DR. ALTAMIRANO

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUTHS
Social media's influence on mental health of the youth
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to discuss about the impacts of social media. The first section
of the study focuses on the influence of social media on the youths in general. The next section
of the study highlights the negative impacts of social media on the mental health of the youths. In
this context, this study also talks about the psychological issues like depression, inferiority
complexes, low levels of self esteem, anxiety, lack of concentration, feelings of loneliness,
isolation as well as suicidal tendency.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUTHS
Main body:
Literature Review
Youth Activism through Social Media
A way by which the young population of the world connects with each other is through
the use of social media. In today’s digital era, the only form of human contact is through the use
of social media. Social media has turned out to be a major way through which the youth
campaigns for their rights. From the very popular social media campaign ‘Me Too’, this was
against the sexual assault on women to promoting the U.S. presidential candidates on social
media; the virtual world has been in the center of all debates (Enli, 2017). There were various
social media campaigns in the United States that were in the center of a lot of debates. There was
a movement named ‘Occupy the Wall Street’ which were promoted by innumerable internet
users all across the United States (Gerbaudo, & Treré, 2015). All these means bring about the
collective sense of self among the youth of today. These social media campaigns in a way shape
up the identity of the individual. The things that they believe in and support in the virtual world
reveals their choices and preferences as an individual, these beliefs reveal their behavioral
pattern (DiGrazia et al., 2013). Although many have criticized the fact that the activism that
these young people show in the virtual world, does not translate to concrete actions in the real
world (Loader, Vromen, & Xenos, 2014).
Effect of Social Media on the Mental Health of the Individual
The use of social media not only promotes activism and starts the conversation regarding
different subjects like sexual assault and same sex marriage but also sometimes have an adverse
effect on the mental health of the youth. There are debates regarding the factor that social media