Social Networking Use within Teens Associated with Poor Sleep, Anxiety

Teens and social media use: What’s the impact?. Find out how to help limit the negative impact of social media use on your teen.

And an older study on the impact of social media on undergraduate college students showed that the longer they used Facebook, the stronger was their belief that others were happier than they were. But the more time the students spent going out with their friends, the less they felt this way.

  • Social media benefits
  • Social media harms
  • Protecting your teen

Video advice: Social media addiction linked to anxiety and sleep deprivation

A group of teenagers willing to give it all up have been put to the test.


Products and Services

How teens use social media also might determine its impact. A 2015 study found that social comparison and feedback seeking by teens using social media and cellphones was linked with depressive symptoms. In addition, a small 2013 study found that older adolescents who used social media passively, such as by just viewing others’ photos, reported declines in life satisfaction. Those who used social media to interact with others or post their own content didn’t experience these declines.

Social Media and Teens: How Does Social Media Affect Mental Health?

Do the benefits of social media, like finding support online, outweigh the negative affects social media can have on teens’ mental health?

Read enough of the current research and you’ll find that the negatives tend to feel bigger than the positives. While teens can use social media to connect and create friendships with others, they also confront cyberbullying, trolls, toxic comparisons, sleep deprivation, and less frequent face-to-face interactions, to name a few.

You may also like:

There’s a happy medium in here somewhere. The key to helping teens learn to balance social media with real life friendships is to keep the lines of communication open and keep talking. Honest communication shows your teen that you are there to support, not to judge or lecture. It’s also important to walk the walk. Disconnect on weekends and show your teen that there is a whole world out there that doesn’t require a handheld screen. She may miss her phone a lot less than she thinks she will and this is a very good lesson to learn.

Under Pressure: Is Social Media Ramping Up Stress in Unhealthy Ways for Teens and Young Adults?

The pressures of portraying the ‘perfect’ life or navigating cyberbullying on social media can lead to depression and other mental health issues for teens and young adults.

What Makes Social Media Spaces Different for Teens and Young Adults? Research is still ongoing when it comes to social media use and mental health outcomes. And it’s impossible to quantify so far how it affects teens and young adults differently from older adults, explains Candice Biernesser, PhD, a licensed clinical social worker, post-doctoral scholar in the psychiatry department at the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security in Pennsylvania, and media advisor for the Hope for Depression Foundation. But it’s important to consider the unique factors that make social media different for teens and young adults. “These ages represent a vulnerable point during the life course, when mental health disorders often first emerge and an age in which suicide rates are rising — currently the second leading cause of death among youth,” Dr. Biernesser says. Some of these factors are:Teens and Young Adults Are Still Figuring Out Who They AreFeeling a sense of belonging with and validation from their peers is important for teens and young adults, says Brian Wind, PhD, an adjunct professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and chief clinical officer at JourneyPure, an addiction treatment organization.

Anxiety, loneliness and Fear of Missing Out: The impact of social media on young people’s mental health

Rhys shares his view on the impact of social media on mental health.

Join us in the fight for equality in mental health – The rapid growth of social media over the last decade has established an entirely new medium for human interaction. Online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have allowed people in every corner of the world to be connected 24/7. By 2021, it is forecast that there will be around 3 billion active monthly users of social media. From the statistics alone, it’s clear that social media has become an integral (and to a large extent, unavoidable) part of our lives.


Video advice: Social Media Anxiety

With great power, comes great responsibilities. Sometimes, it can even cause anxiety.


Social Media and Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health

Most teens and young adults use social media, and experts are asking if this use can harm mental health. Here’s what you need to know.

Facebook lets users share photos, videos, and articles, information about their lives, as well as chat with friends and more. YouTube allows users to share original videos, such as music, cooking, make-up tutorials, and vlogs (video blogs). Twitter allows users to share their thoughts and personal updates in 280 characters or less, as well as share pictures.

What are the different social media platforms and how are they used?

According to a 2018 survey, 31% of adolescents believe that social media has a mostly positive impact on their life. 1 Adolescence is a time when connections with peers is increasingly important,4 and social media provides opportunities for social connection. It can help young people form communities, keep in touch with friends who do not live nearby, and it can provide a place to get social support. 5,6 Social media can provide a valuable connection to one’s peers.

Understanding Links Between Social Media Use, Sleep and Mental Health: Recent Progress and Current Challenges

Sleep and mental health researchers are increasingly recognising the need to update our approaches to understanding the unique social, emotional and cognitive aspects of social media use, rather than simply considering it as just another hour of total daily “screen time”. In this review, we highlight some recent developments in this area, discuss ongoing challenges facing this field and offer recommendations for future steps. The sleep and mental health research literatures have made recent advances towards a more nuanced understanding of social media use: moving beyond a focus on simply duration of use, towards new insights into the role of content, context and experience of these online interactions. As this research area moves forward, a focus on high-quality measurement—combined with collaborative multidisciplinary approaches that triangulate insight from different methodologies and perspectives—can inform a more holistic understanding of sleep and mental health in today’s connected world.

74. Andreassen CS, Pallesen S, Griffiths MD. The relationship between addictive use of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: findings from a large national survey. Addict Behav. 2017;64(Supplement C):287–93. doi. org/10. 1016/j. addbeh. 2016. 03. 006. Article.

  1. Purpose of Review
  2. Recent Findings
  3. Summary
  4. Social Media, Sleep and Mental Health: a Constantly Evolving Landscape
  5. Sleep Literature’s Approach to Understanding Social Media Use
  6. Mental Health Literature’s Approach to Understanding Social Media Use
  7. Sleep Research: Moving Beyond Hours per Day on Social Media
  8. Mental Health Research: Understanding the “Social” in “Social Media”
  9. Combining New Insights from Mental Health and Sleep Research
  10. Understanding Causality
  11. Rapidly Evolving Social Media Landscape
  12. “Teenagers These Days”

AbstractPurpose of ReviewSleep and mental health researchers are increasingly recognising the need to update our approaches to understanding the unique social, emotional and cognitive aspects of social media use, rather than simply considering it as just another hour of total daily “screen time”. In this review, we highlight some recent developments in this area, discuss ongoing challenges facing this field and offer recommendations for future steps. Recent FindingsThe sleep and mental health research literatures have made recent advances towards a more nuanced understanding of social media use: moving beyond a focus on simply duration of use, towards new insights into the role of content, context and experience of these online interactions. SummaryAs this research area moves forward, a focus on high-quality measurement—combined with collaborative multidisciplinary approaches that triangulate insight from different methodologies and perspectives—can inform a more holistic understanding of sleep and mental health in today’s connected world.


Video advice: Как социальные сети влияют на вас уже сегодня

Your brain may never be the same!


[FAQ]

Does social media cause anxiety in teenagers?

Rates of anxiety among adolescents remained relatively stable from 2005-2019, then jumped in 2020-2021. Research shows that for mental health issues among adolescents, there is no causal connection to social media use, however, for some teens, social media use can lead to or exacerbate anxiety.

How does social media affect your sleep habits?

Summary. Social media usage around bedtime can negatively affect how long and how well you sleep. Looking at social media in bed can make it harder for you to fall asleep. It can also reduce the amount of time you sleep for and leave you feeling unrefreshed the next day.

Is social media use related to sleep quality self esteem anxiety and depression in adolescence?

Adolescents who used social media more - both overall and at night - and those who were more emotionally invested in social media experienced poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety and depression.

How many teens lose sleep due to social media?

Teenagers who were very high social-media users (five hours or more per day) were around 70% more likely than average users (one to three hours) to fall asleep late on school nights and after midnight on other days. Is social media making your child sad?

How does social media affect teenagers mental health?

Growing research finds that the more time spent on social media, the more likely a person will experience mental health symptoms like anxiety, isolation, and hopelessness.

Science Journalist

Science atlas, our goal is to spark the curiosity that exists in all of us. We invite readers to visit us daily, explore topics of interest, and gain new perspectives along the way.

View all posts

Add comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *