theory essay

1. How Social Media Affects Mental Health of
Women aged 16-24
Social media has many different definitions. It is defined by as
internet-based and networked communication platform, that allows
both a personal and public communication. There are many different
social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Use
of social media continues to rise, it is estimated that by 2021, over 3
billion people will be using it.
A study found by researchers at University College London tracked
three years of social media use by 13,000 teenagers, starting when
they were 13. The teens also self - reported about their social media
experiences their mood and well – being.
For example, a 2018 study compared the mental health of 14–17-year-
olds who used social media seven hours per day and the teens who
interacted with it for only about an hour a day. The frequent users
were more than twice as likely to have been diagnosed with
depression and have been treated by mental health professional.
One of my main arguments is that social media has more negative
aspects then positive. The main negative I have for social media is the
inadequacy about your life or appearance. Even if you know that the
images you are viewing on social media or more than likely
manipulated, they can still make people feel insecure about how they
look or what is going on in their life. “it is natural – if often unhealthy
– for humans to compare themselves to others”. The main example
for this is the Kardashians, every teenage girl knows who they are as
they are a big part of social media, seeing their regular Instagram post
showing you how perfect their life is can really effect people, it
suggests to people that their life isn’t perfect and can cause mental
health. “35 percent of teenagers on social media worry about being
tagged in unattractive photos.”
Another argument towards social media is the amount of cyber
bullying, about 10 percent of teens report being bullied on social
media and many other users are subjected to offensive comments.

2. Social media platforms such as twitter can be hotspots for spreading
hurtful rumours, lies and abuse that can leave emotional scars. “so if
we see others making these negative comments with no
repercussions (or even praise or likes), then we are more likely to
engage in those behaviours ourselves” A celebrity has experienced
cyberbullying it is Normani Kordei she is a singer from a band called
Fifth Harmony, she has had constant cyber bullying for the public
“I’ve been racially cyberbullied with tweets and pictures so horrific
and racially charged that I can’t subject myself any longer to the
hate” “I’m not the first black female celebrity to deal with this and
I’m sure I won’t be the last” “Hiding behind a computer and putting
people down especially for the colour of their skin doesn’t make you
cool, it makes you a coward” this also gives a good message as many
teenage girls have been through the same thing, it shows that even
celebrities have to go through hate and people being nasty. Justin
Bieber is another victim of cyberbullying “I’m going to make my
Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate this is getting out of
hand” “if you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to the
people I like” this is very surprising as Justin Bieber is very popular
and famous however with popularity comes hate and people get
jealous causing people to be horrible which can have a massive
impact on people especially depending on the level of hate and how
out of hand it gets.
Social media can have a massive impact on everyday life as it can
make you more distracted especially at school or work, some places
where people don’t enjoy as much. With it being such a popular
thing to do a lot of girls feel pressure to post regular content, get
comments and likes on their post. It gives younger girls the feeling of
popularity and being liked by other people. ”Those who are not able
to achieve this truly impossible level of perfection secretly (or not so
secretly) feel ashamed and defective” This is a negative aspect of
social media as school and work are more important and should be
focused on, it should be a time that you can self- reflect on however
if you spend all your time on social media in these important times
then it could affect your life in the long run, especially if it distracts

3. you to the point where you are not getting the grades you need to
do certain things in later life. “social media has the biggest impact on
those who are most vulnerable, whose self-esteem comes from how
others perceive or respond to them and who want to ‘fit in’”.
Spending too much time on social media and engaging can actually
make you feel lonelier and more isolated, another negative aspect
that is involved with social media.
However, in my view there is a positive in social media as it can give
you a chance to speak to distance family and friends as with the
variety of different medias there is always one that you can keep in
contact with someone. In my opinion this is the only positive of
social media and the only way social media is properly used.
I have 3 celebrities who have struggled with the pressure of social
media, I think this effective to look at as all celebrities have the
image of being on social media showing their perfect lives however
that isn’t the case with all of them.
Selena Gomez is the first person I am going to talk about. Selena is
the most followed person on Instagram with 201 million followers,
however she does not use it. She is very irregular with her post and
most of them are from magazines she has been on before and is all
very low key. “it had become so consuming to me. It’s what I woke
up to and went to sleep to. I was an addict, and it felt like it was
seeing things I didn’t want to see like it was putting things in my
head that I didn’t want to care about. I always end up feeling like
s*** when I look at Instagram. Which is why I’m kind of under the
radar, ghosting it a bit” I think this is important to think about as she
is in the public eye and has millions of followers and she is doesn’t
keep up with the trends and doesn’t want loads of likes, it gives a
good message out to 16–24-year-olds as it shows them how
unimportant social media is.
Kristen Stewart is another celebrity who goes through pressure of
social media however she doesn’t have an official Instagram account,
I think this shows to girls that even if you’re famous you don’t need

4. social media to influence your life “I have private Instagram so I can
keep in touch with my friends because I’m always away” “imagine
sitting here right now and thinking, that’s a good thing to say to the
world? I can’t even understand it” this suggests that she thinks social
media isn’t what you should revolve your life around social media.
Daniel Radcliffe “I don’t have twitter and I don’t have Facebook and I
think it makes things a lot easier” “if you go on twitter and tell
everyone what you’re doing moment to moment and then claim you
want a private life, then no one is going to take that request
seriously” I think this is an important message as it shows that not all
celebrities are focused on social media and what to keep their life
private which is very important as it keeps your mind healthy and
clear.
In conclusion after exploring the different aspects of social media
linked with mental health you can see that all of them are a negative
view suggesting that social media is bad for your health and can be
toxic for many people. It can cause a huge variety of habits and
unhealthy balance in life. The main reason for this is celebrities and
people comparing themselves to them. Throughout the study after
researching different celebrities, I have realised that even some of
the biggest celebrities don’t use social media as they themselves get
can get addicted and can affect their mental health suggesting that it
isn’t a good place to be on and is a good idea to take breaks from the
media regular as it will calm you down and bring you into reality. I
would definitely agree with the theory question that social media
does affect mental health and can cause a variety of different
negative aspects in life, I think it effects 16–24-year-olds the most as
this is the prime age to want to have a ‘perfect life’ and be popular
and liked.
Reference:
Community Links. (N/A). Social media and mental health . Available:
https://www.commlinks.co.uk/about-us/blog/social-media-mental-
health/. Last accessed 5th Jan 2021.

5. BBC Radio 1 . (N/A). 9 celebrities who have struggled with the
pressures of social media. Available:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3pLyvKfqftVkM5qSfRx
9S2C/9-celebrities-who-have-struggled-with-the-pressures-of-social-
media. Last accessed 5th Jan 2021.
Shape. (May 2019). How Celebrity Social Media Affects Your Mental
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https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/celebrity-social-
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2021.
Stevie Chancellor. (November 2019). The Case of Predicting Mental
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Nursing Times . (February 2020). How use of social media and social
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https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/mental-health/how-use-of-
social-media-and-social-comparison-affect-mental-health-24-02-
2020/. Last accessed 5th Jan 2021.
Help Guide . (September 2020). Social media and mental health
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