Social media and psychology

Social networking sites – such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn – are defined as technology-enabled tools that assist users with creating and maintaining their relationships.

When one receives feedback from others, the individual obtains more reflected self-appraisal which leads to comparisons of their social behaviors or "highlights" to other users.

I argue that the price we pay for being constantly inundated with information is a loss of our ability to be contemplative and to engage in the kind of deep thinking that requires you to concentrate on one thing.

With such a high increase in a short time, research regarding social media's impact on well-being and psychology is needed now more than ever.

by the Child Mind Institute,[24] Miller states that "several studies, teenage and young adult users who spend the most time on Instagram, Facebook and other platforms for have shown to have substantially (from 13 to 66 percent) higher rates of reported depression than those who spent the least time", what the study shows how Facebook and Instagram, platforms showcasing daily lives and or lifestyles, or less fulfilling or less satisfied or more flaunting base or superficial.

In "How Social Media Affects Your Teen's Mental Health: A Parent's Guide," Kathy Katella states, "According to a research study of American teens ages 12-15, those who used social media over three hours each day faced twice the risk of having negative mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety symptoms.

Teenagers and young adults see these ideal lifestyles and make these assumptions about their personal lives, questioning their values and sense of belonging, bringing forth this aspect of depression.

For example, on Facebook and Instagram, these platforms allow comments on posts or stories, indicating hateful and nasty comments/bullying that can cause mental health issues.

In light of the recent emergence of online social networking, there has been growing concern of a possible relationship between individuals’ activities on these forums and symptoms of psychopathology, particularly depression.

Kleppgang et al. (2021) found that adolescents who used social media or played video games for more than three hours a day experienced a higher proportion of symptoms of depression.

The questions that were presented to the participants asked them to identify any symptoms of depression they have experienced, the frequency of which they used social media, and their gender.

For example, some studies have found that people experiencing feelings of inferiority may share these spontaneously on social media rather than seeking face-to-face help with medical professionals.

Current research for this issue had been applying on ages between 13 and 18 and it was for the outcome depression, anxiety or psychological distress, assessed by validated instruments.

Betul and colleagues,[38] As found in a journal article from the American Academy of Pediatrics cyberbullying can lead to "profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and, tragically, suicide."

Results of a study by Hinduja and Patchin examining a large sample of middle school-aged adolescents found that those who experienced cyberbullying were twice as likely to attempt or be successful in committing suicide.

Furthermore, the authors suggest that anxious people behave more actively on social media sites because they are motivated to seek positive feedback from others.

"[51] Of the various concepts comprising self-identity, self-esteem, and self-image, specifically body image, have been given much attention in regard to its relationship with social media usage.

[53] In one study looking at over 150 high school students, survey data regarding online social networking use and body image was collected.

This has increased the negative effects of the beauty standard[56] that many women and young girls struggle to live up too with social media causing it to become worse for them.

According to the study done in Italy with students that were 11, 13, and 15 years old, “Girls reported higher cyber-victimization and problematic social media usage than boys (9.1% vs 6.0% and 10.2% vs 6.1%, respectively).

Studies are showing a connection between narcissism and motives for social media, such as seeking admiration for content and increase following.

It has been implicated that narcissists find their content to be of higher quality and therefore share more information on their social media platforms due to a feeling of superiority.

[63] There have been many studies to date, all typically using predictive analysis and surveys that require participates to self-report social media usage.

Primack et al. (2017) found that there is a correlation between heavy social media use and an increase in depressive symptoms in children, based on their longitudinal research.

At its core, social media is a place where people compare themselves and constantly attempt to better their online appearance as evidenced by the aforementioned study conducted in the Washington Post.

This is because they are using it as an escape or that they are viewing social media through their lens and our developing mental health problems when they see people that have perceived better lives than them.

Blake Hallinan and Jed R. Brubaker (2021) discuss the significance of the "like" button on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as an online form of evaluation.

[69] To understand how social media users interpret likes they receive on their accounts, the researchers conducted in-depth interviews consisting of twenty-five self-identified artists who actively use Instagram to share their artwork.

The interview consisted of questions regarding the participants' artwork, experience, and knowledge of Instagram, and their interpretation of the networks like button.

The results suggested that social media usage during television viewing made individuals feel like they were watching the shows in a group setting.