The Detrimental Impact of Social Media on Youngsters' Health in Canada

This essay examines the significant impact of social media on the mental health of young people in Canada. It highlights the increasing addiction to social media among Canadian youth and its correlation with mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies. The essay discusses the existing mental health promotion strategies implemented by the Canadian government, focusing on youth engagement and initiatives to enhance positive feelings and reduce negative emotions. It also addresses barriers to these strategies, such as wait times for mental health services and workforce shortages. Furthermore, the essay recommends awareness programs and social media campaigns to improve mental health literacy. The content is based on research from sources like the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. This assignment provides a clear overview of the problem, government actions, and recommendations for addressing the issue.

Running head: IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNGSTERS’ HEALTH
Impact of Social Media on Youngsters’ Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNGSTERS’ HEALTH
Introduction
The issue of social media use and adverse health related outcome have become in
recent times around the different countries of the world. The scenario of Canada is not at all
different from them and thus, a huge amount of people are now addicted to social media
nowadays. However, the youth population of the country has been affected mostly due to this
addiction to social media. The main problem associated with the addiction to social media on
youths is associated with the onset of mental health problems among them (Nauert, 2020).
In this essay, the enhanced effect of social media use among the youths is discussed
and along with this an existing policy on the health disparities and its barriers are also
discussed.
Discussion
In Canada, it is estimated that almost 10 to 20 per cent of the Canadian youths are
affected by the problem of mental health disorder and it is reported that almost 5 per cent of
the male and 12 per cent of female youths under the age group of 12 to 19 year have the
problem of depressive disorder (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2020). As per the report
of Nauert (2020) it is stated that the excessive use of social media among the Canadian
youths causes various problems such as self-harm behaviours, suicidal tendencies, sleep
disturbances and these problems are associated with the onset of mental health illness among
the youths. In Canada, 1 out of 5 children needs mental health support and suicide is the
leading cause of deaths among the 15-24 year old Canadian youths (Canadian Mental Health
Association, 2020).
While discussing the health promotion strategy for the mental health condition for the
youths in Canada, it can be stated that the Health Promotion and Prevention Unit at the

2IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNGSTERS’ HEALTH
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health works with the Ministry of Health of Canada. For
promoting the mental health condition of the youths in the country, the primary strategy that
is taken by the government is the youth engagement and government believes that proper
engagement of the youths in the mental health promotion program can lower the rate of
depression among the youths and anti-social behaviours and drug abuse cases among the
youths will also be reduced. This mental health promotion strategy aims to improve the
overall condition of the youths’ mental health condition and therefore this strategy takes a
few initiatives to improve the condition (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2020).
As a part of the mental health promotion strategy for the youths the government aims
to enhance the positive feelings of the youths by enhancing the self-confidence, wellbeing of
the youths and increasing positive moods of the youths as well. Another approach that the
health promotion strategy has taken is the reduction of negative feelings of the youths as it
will reduce anxiety, loneliness and stress of the children. Another approach of the mental
health strategy is associated with developing the skills of the youths and this will enhance the
rate of mental health disorders among the youths of Canada. At the community level, for
addressing the mental health conditions of the youths of Canada, the government can include
an employment strategy for the youths so that those employed youths can support other
people in the community people. Apart from that, the government also has taken school-
based programs for addressing the mental health conditions for the youths. This health
promotion strategy aims to improve the overall wellbeing of the youths in the country
suffering from mental health conditions, so it can be stated that the strategy meets the
requirements of the health promotion strategy (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2020).
While discussing about the barrier of the youth mental health promotion strategy, it
can be stated that sometimes, youth has to wait for a long period of time for getting access to
the mental health care services and along with this lack of workforces for addressing youths’

3IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNGSTERS’ HEALTH
health conditions can be marked as a barrier for delivering services. The report of
government stated that the application of the school-based mental health program has become
successful in reducing the risk behaviours by almost 50% and the mental health literacy rate
was also improved by 37 per cent (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2013).
Therefore, it can be stated that this health promotion strategy is effective in improving
the condition of the youths of the country (3 out of 5 ratings). As a part of the
recommendation, it can be stated that the government should arrange awareness programs to
improve the literacy rate and social media campaigns can be initiated as it is used mostly by
the youths and it will be easy to reach them through social media.
Hence, it can be concluded that the issue of mental health illness is a significant
problem for youths in Canada and the government has taken a few initiatives to combat this
issue.

4IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNGSTERS’ HEALTH
References
Canadian Mental Health Association (2020). Fast Facts about Mental Illness. Canadian Mental
Health Association. Retrieved from- https://cmha.ca/fast-facts-about-mental-illness
[Accessed on 24th March 2020]
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2020). Mental health promotion for youth in Canada.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health . Retrieved from-
https://www.porticonetwork.ca/documents/81358/128451/Youth_MHP_Report_FINAL.p
df/4d51c802-3986-4ad4-8dd5-7b487788abdd [Accessed on 24th March 2020]
Mental Health Commission of Canada (2013). School-Based Mental Health in Canada: A
Final Report-School-Based Mental Health and Substance Abuse Consortium. Mental
Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved from-
https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/ChildYouth_School_Based_M
ental_Health_Canada_Final_Report_ENG_0.pdf [Accessed on 24th March 2020]
Nauert, R. (2020). Canadian Study Analyzes Links Between Smartphones, Social Media & Teen
Mental Health. psychcentral.com. Retrieved from-
https://psychcentral.com/news/2020/02/12/canadian-study-analyzes-links-between-
smartphones-social-media-teen-mental-health/154110.html [Accessed on 24th March
2020]