SOCIAL MEDIA:DAMAGINGTHE MENTALHEALTH OFTEENAGERSBY: MADY MCDONALD

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Social media permits users to connect to one

another ­ to participate in a social network that

includes friends, other connections, invites,

updates, events, etc.

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1 0 U S E S &G R A T I F I C A T I O N S F O RU S I N G S O C I A L M E D I A

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SOCIAL INTERACTION

2 INFORMATIONSEEKING

PASS TIME

ENTERTAINMENT

COMMUNICATORYUTILITY

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CONVENIENCE UTILITY

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EXPRESSION OFOPINION3

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10RELAXATION

INFORMATION SHARING

SURVEILLANCE/KNOWLEDGEABOUT OTHERS

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- I GOR PANT I C , ( 7 )

HOWEV E R . . ."Several studies have indicated that

the prolonged use of social

networking sites , such as Facebook ,

may be related to signs and

symptoms of depression . In addition ,

some authors have indicated that

certain social networking site

activities might be associated with

low self-esteem , especially in

children and adolescents"

70%

SOCIAL MEDIA

of teenagers

ages 12 to 17

use

(6)

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T E E N S WHO A R E O N S O C I A LM E D I A F O R MO R E T H A N TW OH O U R S A D A Y R E P O R T P O O R

S E L F - R A T E D M E N T A LH E A L T H , P S Y C H O L O G I C A L

D I S T R E S S , S U I C I D A LI D E A T I O N O R U NM E T N E E D

F O R M E N T A L H E A L T HS U P P O R T

E L I Z A B E T H P A Y N E ( 1 2 )

No Use/Not Daily <= 1 Hour 2-4 Hours 5+ Hours

11% 10% 20% 28%

Percentage of Ontario Students in Grades 7-12 RatingTheir Mental Health as "Poor" According to Daily Use of

Social Media (9)

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MEDIAMULTITASKING

Media multitasking involves

using one form of media in

conjunction with another.

Young individuals incorporate

media surfing into everyday

daily activities and they do so

while using multiple devices

at once.

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" P E O P L E W H O J U G G L E

M U L T I P L E M E D I A D E V I C E S

H A V E A L O W E R D E N S I T Y O F

G R A Y M A T T E R I N T H E

A N T E R I O R C I N G U L A T E

C O R T E X , A R E G I O N O F T H E

B R A I N I N V O L V E D I N

C O G N I T I V E A N D E M O T I O N A L

P R O C E S S I N G ”SUMATHI REDDY , (11 )

MEDIA USE AT NIGHTTeenagers spoke about the pressure they felt to make themselves available 24/7,and the resulting anxiety if they did not respond immediately to texts or posts. Teensare so emotionally invested in social media that a fifth of secondary school pupils willwake up at night to log on, just to make sure they don't miss out. (10)

DAMAGING SLEEP AND INCREASING RISK OF ANXIETY & DEPRESSION

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"THE GROWTH IN TIME SPENT ON THEINTERNET IS DRIVEN BY THE GROWINGNUMBER OF CONNECTED DEVICES WE

HAVE WITH US ALL THE TIME"

SUSAN KRASHINSKY, (4)

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WHY I S HEAVY USE OFSOC I A L MED I AAS SOC I A T ED WI THWORSE MENTA L HEA L TH ?

3 FAC TORS AT P LAYHEAVY USAGE MAY INFLUENCE IMPORTANT

ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL HEALTH, WHICH IN

TURN AFFECTS MENTAL HEALTH. HEAVY USERS

OF SOCIAL MEDIA OFTEN REMAIN SLUMPED IN

A CHAIR , SHUT UP IN THEIR ROOM, GLUED TO

THEIR SCREEN. THIS SOMETIMES MEANS THAT

THEY ARE SKIPPING MEALS OR STAYING

SEDENTARY FOR EXCESSIVE PERIODS OF T IME.

THIS IS WORRYING GIVEN THAT REGULAR

EXERCISE AND A HEALTY DIET ARE BOTH

LINKED TO GOOD MENTAL HEALTH (5 )

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RESEARCH SHOWS THAT "PAS S I V E -USE " OF

SOC I A L MED I A MAY BE BAD FOR MENTA L

HEA L TH . PAS S I V E USE RE F ERS TO QU I E T L Y

OBSERV I NG OTHER PEOP L E ' S SOC I A L MED I A

PROF I L E S AND P I C TURES . S TUD I E S SHOW

THAT TH I S L EADS TO ENVY AND

RESENTMENT , WH I CH CAN LOWER S E L F -

E S T E EM AND WEL L BE I NG . ( 5 )

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0 3 "Active use" of social media had beenlinked to poor mental health. Active userefers to the practice of regularlyposting pictures, videos, status updates,comments or posts. In doing so, manyyoung people engage in strenuousimpression management, f i l tering realitywith the purpose of seeking theapproval and admiration of others. Thiscan be very damaging to a youngpersons self-esteem if posts and photosreceive few l ikes or comments. Thewhole process may lead young peopleto question their value over others,result ing in unhealthy self-scrutiny ofbody image, physical appearance andgeneral l i festyle. This leads to self-doubt and self-loathing. (5)

SHOULD PARENTS

JUST THROW AWAY

THEIR TEENS'

CELLPHONES AND

LOCK UP THEIR

LAPTOPS?

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"WE'RECOMMUNICATING,

BUT WE'RE NOTCOMMUNICATING

DEEPLY. THAT'STHE DISCONNECT"

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Catherine Steiner­Adair, Harvard Medical School clinical psychologist, (8)

T H O U G H T H E R E I S N O O N E S I Z E F I T S A L L A P P R O A C H ,

H E R E A R E 5 R E S E A R C H - B A S E D T I P S

THE COMBINATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS AND NORMAL

ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT CREATES A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR TODAY'S

PARENTS

SUPPORT TEENS' SOCIAL

LIVES ONLINE AND OFF

BALANCE BREADTH AND FOCUS IN

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

FOSTER EMOTIONAL AND

ATTENTIONAL SELF­AWARENESS

PRIORITIZE OFFLINE

CONNECTIONS

WATCH FOR TROUBLE

AND INTERVENE

Catherine Steiner-Adair, Harvard Medical School clinical psychologist. (#)

(3)

" INACTION ON THESE ISSUES ISHARMING THE PHYSICAL ANDEMOTIONAL WELLBEING OFYOUNG PEOPLE IN THIS

COUNTRY ,

SO . . .

WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?"

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WORKS CITED

(1)  “Teaching Kids to Be Smart about Social Media.” Aug. 2014, http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/social­media­

smarts.html

(2) “Facebook and Mental Health: Is Social Media Hurting or Helping?” Mental Health, Dual­Diagnosis, & Behavioral

Addictions, 14 Jan. 2016

(3) “Five Tips for Helping Teens Manage Technology.” Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, 25 June 2014

(4) “Four Ways Canadians Are Consuming Media Differently.” The Globe and Mail, 4 Dec. 2014

(5) “Here’s Why Social Media Harms Your Teens Mental Health.” Huffington post, 14 Sept. 2016

(6) Jazlyn. “10 Ways Social Media Affects Mental Health.” Top 10 Facts, Degreed Blog, 29 Apr. 2015,

http://blog.degreed.com/10­ways­social­media­affects­our­mental­health/

(7) Pantic, Igor. “Online Social Networking and Mental Health.” Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking,

vol. 17, no. 10, Oct. 2014, pp. 652­657

(8) “Portrait of an e­Family: How They’re Making Their Hyper­Digital Lives Work.” The Globe and Mail, 22 Aug. 2013

(9) “Social Media and Student Mental Health: What’s the Connection?” Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Aug.

2015

(10) “Social Media is Harming the Mental Health of Teenagers. The State Has to Act.” The Guardian, 16 Sept. 2015

(11) “Teen Researchers Defend Media Multitasking; Doing Homework with Music, Texts, Tweets Works Better For

Some.” Wall Street Journal, 3 Oct. 2014

(12) “Teens’ Poor Mental Health Linked to Social Media Use.” The Ottawa Citizen, 8 Aug. 2015

(13)  Whiting, Anita, and David Williams. “Why People Use Social Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach.”

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 16, no. 4, 30 Aug. 2013, pp. 362­269

IMAGES

All graphics are from the Canva template. The photos are from royalty free websitesand are listed in the order they appear in the presentation

1 ­ https://pixabay.com/en/girl­mobile­smartphone­society­701247/

2 ­ https://pixabay.com/en/macbook­laptop­computer­technology­925595/

3 ­ https://pixabay.com/en/smartphone­iphone­cellphone­hand­1399669/

4 ­ https://pixabay.com/en/children­walking­road­distant­1149671/

5 ­ https://www.pexels.com/search/phone%20laptop/

6 ­ https://www.pexels.com/photo/laptop­computer­turned­on­while­in­dark­area­30814/

7 ­ https://pixabay.com/en/macbook­macbook­air­computer­1001303/ 

8 ­ https://www.pexels.com/photo/person­smartphone­office­table­3368/

9 ­ https://www.pexels.com/photo/macbook­pro­beside­black­framed­eyeglasses­on­

brown­wooden­surface­187107/

10 ­ https://www.pexels.com/photo/man­holds­digital­tablet­in­his­hands­6363/