The Effects of Social Media on the American Gen-Z Population

An Inquisitive look into the correlations between youth delirium and the rise of mental disorder in relation to Social Media.

Connor East - 3/28/2023 The Community College of Vermont Tech Writing & Research (ENG-2135-VO01)

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Introduction:

What is this topic, and why did the Author Choose it?

Humans were never supposed to have access to a massive web of communication and information, which we now know as the Web and, or the Internet. Given the scope of the topic though it is improbable to discuss the entire concept, so let's talk about one of the most pervasive communication technologies, Social Media. I hope to show you the major negative impacts of Social Media on youth development and answer the question “What can be done to mitigate the impacts?” One somewhat surprising but relevant statistic is that 32,841,000 people were born between 1997 to 2004 In the U.S. meaning they have grown up with some level of social media access (infoplease). Given that the internet is still a relatively new creation that means it has not gone through rigorous psychological trials; and yet we allow children access to social media and a sloth of information without understanding its effects on the developing brain. To begin, this paper let’s discuss the current day social media as a whole. Current Day Social Media and user statistics?

In current year, 2023, the major Social media applications that exist consist of Instagram, Facebook, TikToc, Youtube, and Snapchat (Dixon). All of these platforms allow users to post content that is scored based on engagement. The distribution of content based on engagement is an overtly flawed system though as it results in the distribution of rage bait content and unrealistic content standards becoming the forefront of Social Media Applications. Social media target age demographics fall into the age range of 18 to 24 (Orbelo). Given the fact that the 18-24 age bracket has the highest usage of social media when correlated with the fact that brain development and maturing ends somewhere in your mid-to-late 20s (NIH) means that a large quantity of social media users' brain development is impacted by the rage bait and unrealistic standards algorithmically brought to the forefront of media. This impact results in individuals having a lowered sense of self-worth, depression, and anxiety as we will discuss later in this paper. Social Media's Effects on Community and Individuals' Sense of Self.

Individual and Group connectivity:

It is without a doubt that Social Media allows others to connect in ways they never could in the past. Social media allows for cross-Continental communication which allows us to contact anyone with the touch of a button. According to a 2015 study by Pew Research, 8 in 10 teens (83%) state that social media helps them connect with both their close and distant friend groups in ways typically reserved for private interactions. The main issue results from oversharing and the lack of authenticity shown by users curating the media. Approximately 53% of individuals pooled had witnessed posts about gatherings they had not been invited to which led to a negative reaction (Lenhart). A separate study found GenZ had higher levels of loneliness than previous generations which results in an overuse of Social Media (Trinko). Some individuals misuse Social media as a form of escapism from their lives which can harm one's self-image and have mental consequences. (Auxier). The pressures of perfection and its effects on mental well-being: Some of the negative traits of social media relate to human dispositions such as Perfectionism and Self Criticism For example, those who rate highly in Rigid perfectionism tend to use upward social comparison which often leads to a greater sense of self-dissatisfaction in one's looks (Etherson) which may result in an increase in eating disorders such as anorexia or binge eating disorder (Vogt).

## Social Contagions and GroupThink:

Social Media and its Effects on Trends Ideology and Creative Expression:

Something interesting to note is that globally we have been seeing a rise in mental disorders. Some speculate this increase is partially the fault of said mental disorders becoming “Popular” on social media (Haltigan). Two prominent examples of the popularization of mental disorders would be Tics and DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Tics and DID both saw a major uptick in diagnoses after popular creators on the platform TikTok came out with their, typically, self-diagnosed illnesses. Some other similar issues related to the concepts of Gender identity, sexuality, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and autism spectrum disorders (Haltigan). Some of the major giveaways that these disorders are social contagions is the fact that the disorders typically show in ways contrary to generally set rules in the DSM; an example would be that Tik Tok related tiks are typically verbally complex while typically Tourette syndrome only reaches verbal complexity in 15% of people (Haltigan).

In a similar vein to social contagions, we have Groupthink. Groupthink can come in two forms: general and manipulative. Both rely on the fact individuals will agree with and or go along with the group so as to not feel ostracized and or shunned from their group (Blanding). Social media-based group-think is predicated upon the belief that individuals will conform to the algorithm in order to gain social validation, which results in a loss of individuality This when run congruent to the concept of homophily, homophily means an innate desire to be attracted to those who present as similar to ourselves, results in eco chambers (Tub-Brown). The main reason these echo chambers and their socially divisive nature must be called out is that Social media's base audience is teenagers. Teenagers' brains are still in their developmental stages which means they are malleable and or flexible which could be used by influencers to negatively impact their audience (Abrams).

Successes and Failures of Social Media:

The Positives and Negatives of Social Media-Based Community: According to a study of college students and their significant others, it was found that individuals who were in long-distance romantic relationships experienced strains in both their relationships and university commitments. Interestingly individuals who are in long-distance relationships have an even harder time adjusting to college than their single peers. Interestingly to note is that being in a long-distance relationship also heightens the sense of loneliness one feels on campus (Waterman) which is an interesting concept to note given earlier we discussed how loneliness is a prevalent issue among Social Media users. Next, we will discuss Community as a whole. The relationships that we build online are important but the issue comes in the form of never knowing who you are talking to. An example of this would be the television show the circle and how people have the ability to hide behind personas. The fact that they are hiding allows them to be more confident and straightforward as how they act is not a reflection of them but of the “persona” (and or façade) they are hiding behind. This leads to backstabbing and exposes the unauthentic nature of online Profiles (Hagar). It's not all bad though, It also allows others to support each other through hard times or change other individuals' perceptions through authentic content.

** Frequency of Teenage Social Media Use:  **

According to a report released by common sense media, it was found that those between the ages of 13-18 spend on average nine hours a day specifically on entertainment-related content while those between 8-12 spent an average of six hours on entertainment media. The same study also concluded that males spend on average 56 minutes a day playing video games while women spend 40 minutes more on social media than boys in their age group. This is incredibly interesting because, as we had discussed previously, women are the minority of social media users as a whole. (Stomp Out Bullying).

Depression and Anxiety Statistics:

Has there been an increase in the amount of Depression and Anxiety :

In recent decades clinical depression has increased at an alarming rate and with it suicide as well. The two highest populations that attempt suicide are non-Hispanic Alaska natives and Caucasian individuals with a disproportionate suicide attempt rate within the male gender (CDC). The methods listed are the use of a firearm, suffocation, poisoning, and other. When compared with the fact women are more likely to be depressed than men it would only be natural to assume it would be the opposite way around with women leading suicide but, the data doesn’t back that only showing us that depression affects each sex differently (Haltigan).

Since 1999 almost all of the states within the U.S. have seen an increase in suicide attempts. 12 states had an increase of somewhere between 38-58%, 11 states had an increase from between 31-37%, 16 states saw an increase of 19-30%, 11 states saw an increase from 6-18%, and only one state saw a decrease in suicide attempts by a single percentage. (CDC, 2018). Another thing to mention is that individuals with a non-fully matured brain are more likely to respond to negative stimuli negatively when compared with their adult counterparts. An example of this would be the fact that teens have an increased chance of developing stress-related mental health issues; the most common being Anxiety and depression respectively (NIH).

Is Social Media to Blame? :

Social media is partially to blame but it is not the sole contributor to the issue. The main issue that ties Social Media and suicidal ideation together is simply due to pre-existing psychological issues such as perfectionism (Haltigan). These pre-existing issues result in a lack of inauthentic communication which further leads to social and or perceived isolation, and as such individuals become lonely (Trinko). The online social communication that these isolated individuals have is often inauthentic (Hagar) which can lead to further mental dishevelment and the addition of group-related mental disorders particularly in women (Etherson). All of these facts further force individuals into a corner where they fight and eventually hate themselves which can lead to suicidal ideation. Now we must take a look at the sex of the participants in the previous studies, Overwhelmingly women tend to be more depressed but their suicide attempts rarely succeed due to the choice of weapon whereas males tend to choose weapons that are permanent and quick. This choice could be related to gender norms or other social factors (rice).

Final Thoughts:

Throughout this paper, we have discussed how individuals in the GenZ population are in general more depressed and anxious than previous generations, the people genZ look up to, Suicidal ideation, online bullying, and more. In the end, the answer to how we can fix the issues caused by social media is still vague; however, individuals should take up the following mantra. We as individuals must take responsibility for our mental well-being which includes leaving one's comfort zone.” This mantra can be boiled down to say that if individuals feel that their devices help them then they should continue to use their devices but, they should go do things that make them feel uncomfortable such as introducing themselves to others. The reason behind doing this would be to improve one's outlook on both the world and themselves. Our view of the world is so large that we as a population simply can’t see the things most important and or closely related to our goals and aspirations. By limiting the scope of our interaction, IE: meeting others in real life, we will further improve our mental well-being.

I hope this paper has been informational and well received by you, reader. I wish you the best of luck navigating the rocky terrain which is today's access to information! Thank you for reading.

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