Social Media Harm News – Social Media Justice Group

How Social Media and Mental Health Dictates Self-Esteem

What is the connection between excessive social media exposure and various body dysmorphia conditions?

More people are online than ever before – particularly using social media networks.

And believe it or not, many users base their own self-esteem and gauge their attractiveness off the feedback they get from their social media peers.

When they perceive themselves as less than acceptable, a condition called body dysmorphia can take control and have rapidly negative consequences. Social media use doesn’t cause the psychological condition of body dysmorphia, but it certainly can enhance the risk potential.

Excessive exposure to social media -- particularly sites that rely on user-generated imagery -- can mean victims come into contact with a variety of edited images that can set an almost impossible standard of acceptable beauty or attractiveness in both males and females.

“Constant exposure to altered images can lead to an unhealthy pressure to achieve unrealistic body types, which can result in body dysmorphic behaviors,” reveals The Lexington Online. Particularly in a COVID-19 pandemic, a victim’s exposure to social media may increase dramatically, and their risk for psychological problems increase along with it.

Intense body dysmorphia may lead to the following serious health conditions:

Anxiety and social anxiety disorders;
Obsessive-compulsive disorder;
Major depression or mood disorders;
Suicidal ideations;
Eating disorders;
Substance abuse; and,
Other similar conditions

Many believe that these social media networks have a responsibility to warn users of the potential for negative reactions leading to conditions such as body dysmorphia and many others.

Parents of Teens Suffering from Psychological Harm Due to Social Media Usage Are Coming Forward

Recent reports claim social media use causes significant psychological harm to children and teens

U.S. News & World Reports reveals that Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, calls for action to battle the growing mental health crisis among youth that’s been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research and data in the following categories demonstrates the need for swift action:

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that the percentage of adolescents aged 12-17 suffering a major depressive episode increased from an estimated 8% in 2010 to 15.7% in 2019

An October 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals the percentage of high school students seriously contemplating suicide increased from 13.8% in 2009 to 18.8% in 2019

Surgeon General Murthy’s advisement team cites early estimates that suggest more than 6,600 deaths by suicide occurred among the 10-24 age group in 2020

What’s more, a CNBC article cites a Wall Street Journal report that showed Facebook® documents show just how toxic Instagram® is for the mental health of teens–particularly teen girls.

According to the report results:

32% of teen girls and 14% of boys confessed that Instagram® made them feel worse about their bodies
Of teens reporting suicidal thoughts, 13% of British users and 6% of American users linked the issue to Instagram®
The key elements of the social media image sharing platform that potentially do the most damage are essential to the channels makeup

“Facebook® knows Instagram® is toxic for teens, but they don’t care,” says Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Montana.

And while Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram might not care about young teens, Shield Justice Watch does.

¹https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-12-07/surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health

Harvard Says That Social Media’s “Toxic Content” Can Damage Teens

According to the Harvard Online Review, “Leaked documents from Facebook show that the company has known for at least two years that its Instagram app is making body image issues worse for teens, particularly girls.”

We’ve known for years that social media platforms—especially image-based platforms like Instagram—have very harmful effects on teen mental health, such as teens struggling with body image, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

Instagram, with its content tailored to each user’s engagement patterns, has the potential to draw vulnerable teens into a dangerous spiral of negative social comparison and hook them onto unrealistic ideals of appearance and body size and shape.

The surprising element of this exchange is that clinicians and parents have been sounding the alarms about this for years.

Instagram responded in a blog post that the company knows that social media “can be a place where people have negative experiences” and that they’re working to lessen the impact of the problem, but added, “Issues like negative social comparison and anxiety exist in the world, so they’re going to exist on social media too.”

The problem with Instagram’s response is that:

Instagram is peddling a false narrative that the platform is simply a reflection of its users’ interests and experiences, without distortion or manipulation by the platform.
But their very business model is predicated on how much they can manipulate users’ behavior to boost engagement and extend time spent on the platform, which the platform then monetizes to sell to advertisers.
Instagram is literally selling users’ attention and so the company knows that strong negative emotions, which can be provoked by negative social comparison, keep users’ attention longer than other emotions

Instagram’s algorithms are expressly designed to push teens toward toxic content so that they stay on the platform.

¹https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/facebook-documents-show-how-toxic-instagram-is-for-teens-wsj.html

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