Social Media Upheaval Can Be Evil

Social+Media+Upheaval+Can+Be+Evil

 

 

 

 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA UPHEAVAL CAN BE EVIL

According to Pew Research Center, 69% adults and 81% teens in the U.S use social media. Many people use social media including me, and I think social media does have an impact on my mental health because it lowers my self-esteem sometimes. I will often compare myself to other girls on Tiktok. 

I believe that social media can have a huge impact on someone’s mental health. For me personally, I rely on many different social media platforms to communicate with my friends and keep up with their day to day lives. I love getting to see what they have been up to, what their hobbies are, and many other things. On the other hand, at times I can fall victim to social media’s trap. As a woman, I find myself comparing myself to others. Wondering why I don’t have what they have? Why don’t I look like them? Why doesn’t my home look like theirs? As I scroll through social media I have to remind myself that people only post what they want others to see,” Teacher Ms. Macdonald said. 

 

 

 

 

According to Zia Sherrell’s article “Medical news today” in a 2020 survey of more than 6,000 individuals aged 10-18, researchers found that about half of them have experienced cyber bulling. Being cyber bullied can bring your self esteem down, and if you already struggle with depression it can make it a lot worse.

Social media has a direct impact on mental health, especially with adolescents or people who generally have self esteem issues or battle with depression. The reason for this is because we live in a social media driven world where people are constantly comparing themselves to what they see online. This makes it so we are constantly chasing the desirable. As for increase in negative thoughts, this can be an issue depending on what the consumer decides to have surrounding them. That being said, social media can be a platform for positivity as long as there is a balance,” Teacher Ms. Melo said. 

 

 

 

 

There are different things you can do at school if you need help with cyberbullying.

 

 

 

 

 

According to English teacher Ms.Taglia, “Students can go to the social worker and admin (principals) if they are victims of cyberbullying. I’d also suggest they talk to a teacher they trust for support. All of these people are available throughout the day and may even be available via email after school hours.” This can help the student open up and it can help avoid future mental problems.

“I think cyberbullying is active on the majority of social media platforms. I am not sure how each teacher is bringing awareness to this.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at my class, I monitor comments on Google Classroom to ensure that there is not cyberbullying on google classroom. If a student tells me they are being bullied on social media accounts, there are protocols for teachers to do to ensure bullying stops,” English teacher Mr.Humphreys said.

The reason social media has such an impact on mental health is because this world we live in is a social media driven world. People compare themselves to everything. Their room, their bodies, their life, their everything.

 

 

 

 

 

But social media is fake. It’s just a picture, it’s not how their actual life is. Their life isn’t perfect. Freshman Curtis Lacey said he thinks there is an impact but social media is a great way to stay in contact with your friends and talk to them on a daily basis. He thinks social media has an impact on your mental health, also because there is a lot of bullying on social media.

 

 

 

 

 

On Snapchat you can snap your friends and on Tiktok you can send funny/relatable Tiktoks to them. On Instgram you can send funny or relatable memes.

According to Lawrence Robinson and Melinda Smith, M.A.’s article “Social Media and mental health”It says ironic for a technology that’s designed to bring people closer together, spending too much time engaging with social media can actually make you feel more lonely and isolated- and exacerbated mental health problems such has anxiety and depression.”

Freshman Jazmine Cordero said she thinks social media has a huge impact on someone’s mental health because there’s a lot of rude people on social media. People on social media are very ruthless. But she also likes it because she can talk to her friend. 

 

 

 

 

Sophomore Lily Mangum said she thinks social media has an impact on your mental health because she feels like people compare themselves to other people and it lowers their self esteem.

 

 

 

 

That is how social media can impact someone’s mental health. Students should think about the effects before they decide to spend time on social media.

 Cyberbullying has been going on since the internet was a thing. It has affected all students; middle schoolers and high schoolers mainly.

Cyberbullying can lead to depression and even thoughts of suicide. It can even lead to other problems.
According to Gulnaz Khan “Victims of cyberbullying are at risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, low self-esteem, poor school performance, and an increased risk of suicidal behavior.” This can be a big impact for a victims future. Cyberbullying can also lead to frequent mood swings. This can also impact the mood of the people around them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes victims of cyber bullying keep quiet about what is going on with them out of embarrassment. The only way to deal with this epidemic is to confront it and stand up for yourself and your friends.