Jaksch 1

Stephan Jaksch

DSP for Writing

2 June 2015

Relationship Between Mental Health and Social Media Use

You take a photo of your exhilarating zip lining experience in Costa Rica and

share it with your hundreds of friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even

Snapchat. Likewise, while you lounge at home on a lazy Saturday night and view a post

about your friend taking a seven day cruise to Alaska, you begin to feel as if your life is

less meaningful and interesting. Social media promotes the idea of “social comparison”

(Walton), comparing our own lives to the lives of others. Generally, as social media use

increases, mental health decreases, however, this relationship is only a correlation and

does not imply causation.

Social media sites such as Facebook are designed around the concept of knowing

what people are experiencing on a daily basis. When other teenagers view what their

peers are doing in their lives, they automatically compare it to their own. This “social

comparison” whether it be “upward, downward, or neutral”, is connected to depression

and other mental health issues (Walton). Even if people use social media to look down on

others in order to boost their own self-esteem, there is still a correlation with depression.

Similarly, the adolescents that use social media utilize it as a device to define their self-

worth according to Dr. Charles Sophy (qtd. in Stein). Teenagers compare the lives of

their peers to their own and this can be detrimental to that adolescent’s perception of

themselves. Social media documents the “highlight reels” (Walton) of ones life, leaving

out the uninteresting moments and days. Thus, the actual life of a teenager does not
 Jaksch 2

measure up to his or her friends’ “highlight reels” because their posts and photos are an

altered view of their reality. All of the adventurous vacations and large celebrations are

included online while the mundane weekend nights and study sessions are left out. Those

who use social media could then feel inadequate as their life does not seem as exciting

compared to their friends. We subliminally compare our boring and dull moments with

the noteworthy and exciting ones of our peers that are posted online. Thus, adolescents

question their own lives and the choices they make, which could lead to mental health

issues.

Even though depression and depression like symptoms increase when social

media use increases, this does not signify that social media causes decreased mental

health. According to Dr. Karrie Lager, we are in the “infant stages” (qtd. in Stein) of

comprehending the link between social media use and mental health. More

experimentation needs to be carried out in order to understand how social media

intensifies underlying issues that are already present within people according to Dr.

Charles Sophy (qtd. in Stein). The basis of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites

is that they allow people to compare their lives to each other. Once these sites are used

regularly, mental health problems can become exaggerated in people as they get fixated

on crafting a better image of themselves online and focus on relating every detail of their

lives to those of friends so that they can become more accepted. Social media can be used

to escape from reality and enter a virtual world in which a person can vent and share what

they would like. Facebook and other social media sites are outlets for stress, just like

exercise or food for some people, and when used too much to combat stress can become

detrimental to their wellbeing. According to Dr. Adi Jaffe, to understand the full
 Jaksch 3

relationship, it must be determined if social media use causes depression or if adolescents

with depression are just more likely to use the Internet (qtd. in Stein). Social media may

be where teenagers who already have mental health issues engage to in order to avoid the

troubles and problems of reality. However, this depression may have been started by

social media through the idea of “social comparison”. Even though both social media and

mental health issues are linked together, it does not necessarily signify causation.

Conversely, when taken as a whole, social media creates a larger positive impact

on a person than it does a negative one. The rise of the Internet and thus the rise of social

media has launched the world into a new age of communication and connection.

Facebook is an “engaging teaching tool” (Baron) in which people with similar interests,

hobbies or other connections can congregate and learn about other people, their

background and their culture. Social media sites are transforming how humans interact

around the world. Strangers can meet new people from different nationalities, which in

turn circulate ideas and news. Furthermore, the rise of mental health issues may “have

nothing to do with keyboards, social media, or the net” (Baron). Just because social

media sites have become popular in this decade, alongside the rise in mental health

issues, does not signify that social media causes depression. Instead, the increase in

depression and antisocial behaviors may develop through any other factor.

Since the rise of social media, teenagers especially have become more addicted to

their phones, tablets and computers, while these same teenagers have had an increase in

mental health issues. The likes, favorites, and retweets on social media posts boost the

self-esteem of people artificially. Some people measure their self-respect with the
 Jaksch 4

quantity of positive feedback they receive on these sites and until more testing is

completed, the link between mental health issues and social media will not be solidified.

905 Words
 Jaksch 5

,Works Cited

Baron, Dennis. "Facebook and your health: A Dr. Grammar Special Report." University

of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. N.p., 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 7 June 2015.

<https://illinois.edu/blog/view/25/57626>.

Stein, Emma. "Is Social Media Dependence A Mental Health Issue?" Huffington Post.

N.p., 7 May 2014. Web. 7 June 2015.

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/07/social-media-mental-

health_n_5268108.html>.

Walton, Alice G. "New Study Links Facebook To Depression: But Now We Actually

Understand Why." Forbes. N.p., 8 Apr. 2015. Web. 3 June 2015.

<http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/04/08/new-study-links-

facebook-to-depression-but-now-we-actually-understand-

why/?linkId=13420199>.