{"id":2750,"date":"2021-01-08T18:08:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T23:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/scribemag\/?p=2750"},"modified":"2022-04-21T15:24:17","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T19:24:17","slug":"refresh-at-your-own-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/lifestyle\/refresh-at-your-own-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Refresh At Your Own Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Cassandra Spurrell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in front of screens, young adults have been struggling with mental health, discovering who they are as people and trying to keep up with their online presence all at once. Behind the screen is a different person that is suffering in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media is a distraction \u2013 so much time goes by without realizing it. It can also be a distraction to help you deal and cope with mental health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram can make a huge difference in a person\u2019s mental health. \u201cA lot of problems stem from Instagram and a lot of tension and anxiety that they [teens] feel,\u201d Najma Abdi, B.S.c, M.Psy. (Candidate) said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know that even spending a few hours a week on any electronic media, but specifically social media is already linked to things like lower self-reported happiness, self-esteem, and just lower mental health issues in general,\u201d Anna Bonato, a pre-licenced professional therapist in Brampton, Ont. said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being on social media can be fun and exciting \u2013 getting to laugh at funny and relatable pictures and videos and share them with friends. A big downside to that can be cyber bullying, according to a July 2019 study \u2018Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going on social media and seeing all the rude and hurtful things people can say about another individual is always a let-down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery time I posted a video on Tiktok I really did get anxiety because I was always worried about the people I didn\u2019t know judging me,\u201d said Alexis MacDonald, an 18-year-old who went viral on Tiktok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Tim Mossholder<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Just as bullies hide behind a phone or computer screen, so do other people\u2019s emotions. When online, you mainly see the good parts of people\u2019s lives that make people think that an individual is living their \u201cbest life.\u201d In reality, they\u2019re just trying to put up a fake persona for their followers, the 2019 study showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teenagers lack face-to-face communication skills. Always being alone and not interacting with others, they forget how to act and what to say around people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere has been an increase in social media use, and so they\u2019re seeing a lot of correlations with this lack of in-person socializing and more time to spend behind these fake personas on social media and just in general, not socializing with other people,\u201d Anna said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being able to see emotion from others and having to reciprocate is what allows us to have healthy communication skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using too much social media can result in a higher chance of developing attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Extreme use of social media can affect the way you concentrate on things like schoolwork, home tasks, conversations with people, and more. A 2018 survey<\/a> from researchers at the University of Southern California found a link between social media use and the development of ADHD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who are more naturally impulsive or predisposed to developing ADHD have a greater chance of developing it if they use too much social media, according to Anna. Self esteem is also at risk. Going through Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, young adults see many celebrities or other influencers’ bodies and wish they looked like them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese people are going to identify what beauty means to them and this is where eating disorders come into play \u2013 a lot of the comparisons, a lot of how you look, and what seems to be ideal in the standard of ideal beauty,\u201d Najma said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to measure up to a certain level of beauty is where young adults and teens start wondering if they’re good enough. This can trigger depression and loss of self-worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, lack of emotion can also contribute to a decrease in communication which can lead to isolating yourself. Feelings of not being good enough can take a big toll on mental health and add more stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the ages of 15-18, teens are still figuring out who they are. The influence of social media is so overwhelming and addicting that teens can lose themselves in the digital world. We have all experienced it \u2013 we see a celebrity and their large house, a fancy car, an expensive watch, and we think, \u201cI want that. I want to be<\/em> that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media and its addictive nature can complicate the process of discovering one’s own identity, especially when their views become tied to someone online. \u201cThey lose touch with who they are,\u201d Najma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many are not engaging in face-to-face conversations, not taking in what is happening around them because they are so captivated with the latest news on celebrities or trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think maybe even more importantly is as a society, just being constantly engaged, having our brain, our nervous system, constantly wired and engaged with checking things out. I think the danger there is the human brain has never existed in this kind of value before, where there is literally no down time, and I think [it\u2019s dangerous] for teens, especially where the brain and the nervous system are in developmental processes,\u201d Rhonda said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everything about social media is negative. Being able to connect with others around the world is important. Understanding different cultures, learning about new things young people see and hear as well as helping them find their own voice and learning how to express themselves are all positive outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much time you spend offline is also key to a healthy balance of social media and life. Learning to be present with others is a vital practice for social interaction. \u201cI think it\u2019s about having balancing practices, about recognizing that nothing is purely good or purely bad; it\u2019s how we use these things,\u201d Rhonda said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The effects that social media can have on teenagers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",1920,1078,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash-170x120.jpg",170,120,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash-300x168.jpg",300,168,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash-768x431.jpg",696,391,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash-1024x575.jpg",696,391,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash-1536x862.jpg",1536,862,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",1920,1078,false],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",150,84,false],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",218,122,false],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",300,168,false],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",324,182,false],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",485,272,false],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",696,391,false],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",1068,600,false],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/dole777-EQSPI11rf68-unsplash.jpg",1920,1078,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Scribe Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/author\/scribemag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The effects that social media can have on teenagers","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2750"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2750"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3237,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2750\/revisions\/3237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}