Adolescent mental health often refers to teenagers ages 12 to 18 and their changing ability to cope with the stressors of life, problem-solve, contribute to their community and much more. As the parent of a teen, you understand how important this period of growth and change is for them. Because teens are going through a vulnerable time of biological, emotional and physical changes, they may be more susceptible to mental health conditions.
Positive and negative effects of social media
Social media can provide a space for your teenager to build community with others, stay informed and explore the expression of their personal identity. It also provides a way for people to stay in touch with loved ones who live in different cities or states. Social media may also function as a creative outlet for your teen, a place where they can share what they create, for entertainment or to sell their work, for educational purposes, or to give and/or receive feedback.
Social media can negatively impact your teen by distracting them from tasks they need to complete, like chores or homework. Social media use can also affect their sleep schedule and induce feelings of anxiety or depression. Further, it can lead to negative or diminished self-image due to cyberbullying or continual social comparison.
How social media can worsen existing depression symptoms
The negative side effects of social media are enough to worry any parent of a growing teenager. For teenagers with a mental health condition, such as depression, it’s important to note that social media may impact them more than others. Because social media may affect depression in different ways, parents should know how social media may increase symptoms of depression or contribute to new ones.
Making comparisons between themselves and others, which could be another peer or a celebrity
“Image-driven” platforms, such as Instagram, are very hard on teenagers’ self esteem, especially young girls. Experts write that these platforms are leading teens to report feeling anxiety, depression and worries about their body images.
Receiving comments from others that are hateful or cyberbullying
Numerous studies have found a consistent relationship between cyberbullying on social media and depression among children and adolescents.
Coming across upsetting or triggering content
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory states that roughly two-thirds of teens are either “often” or “sometimes” exposed to hate-based content.
Losing sleep due to the blue light from using a phone screen at night
Child Mind Institute writes that oftentimes sleep deprivation can be exacerbated by social media usage.
How social media may contribute to new depressive symptoms
Just as social media can influence the increase in symptoms of depression in your teenager, it may also be related to new depressive symptoms. Let’s look at a few common occurrences on social media platforms that may result in feelings of depression for your teen:
Experiencing fear of missing out (FOMO) when seeing posts from others
A peer-reviewed article described FOMO as a problematic attachment to social media. FOMO is associated with a range of negative effects on physical and emotional well-being, such as emotional tension, and lack of emotional control.
Isolating themselves by relying more on online connections than in-person relationships
A 2010 study found a connection between passive consumption of social media content and a decrease in bonding, and an increase in loneliness.
Feeling overwhelmed and constantly alert from nonstop social media updates
Social media can greatly hinder your teen’s ability to concentrate during important tasks such as studying or school work. Evidence shows that social media deeply affects teens’ ability to concentrate, learn and perform well in school.
Experiencing quickly changing cycles of emotional highs and lows from online content
TikTok, for example, provides users with an overwhelming algorithm of fast-paced videos that can change from joyful to upsetting in just seconds. An analysis on teen mental health found that TikTok is overall negatively impacting its users, by increasing depressive symptoms such as anger and loneliness, promoting lower life satisfaction.
Healthy ways for teens to use social media
For parents, it can feel overwhelming to feel like you have to track or regulate your teen’s social media usage. By creating simple routines and boundaries that your family agrees to, you may be able to promote and model healthy usage of social media platforms for your teen.
Try starting with a few simple and realistic changes to put in place, rather than starting a social media detox right away. For example, this might look like setting a “no phones at the dinner table” rule, or requiring teens to leave their phones in a different room overnight. Small changes implemented over time may be more likely to stick and slowly become part of a new routine for your teen.
You may consider encouraging open dialogue with your teen about social media usage by sharing some of the positive and negative effects of it. Your teen may have an easier time accepting new rules if they see the whole family modeling them too.
How Lightfully Teen can help today
If you sense that your teen might be experiencing symptoms of depression, please reach out for support. You and your teen are not alone. At Lightfully Teen, our experts understand that social media use can be a serious factor affecting the development of young people. Our licensed clinical experts are not only welcoming, understanding and supportive, but they also value human connection and focus on a personalized approach to mental health treatment. We can provide comprehensive and whole-person-focused care to help teens balance their lives and use social media in a healthier way.
We use an approach called Precision Care Model (PCM) that combines the most effective aspects of many evidence-based techniques. This ensures that each client gets the personalized treatment experience they deserve. PCM centers on four core processes that drive mental health symptoms, like those associated with depression and social media use:
- Difficulty with emotions
- Difficulty with thoughts
- Difficulty with behaviors
- Difficulty with relationships
Change is possible. If you’re ready to take the first step, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team today. We’ll take the next steps together.
