Social Media Use and Young People’s Mental Health

Social Media Use and Young People’s Mental Health I. Introduction A. Humans are social creatures, and many young individuals use social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Messenger, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, for hours (Nesi, 2020). B. Young males and females are vulnerable to social media usage since they own electronic devices and have Internet connectivity. C. The findings from my literature review will be used to develop proper strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of social media usage among young individuals. D. The research brief primary focus is on how social media influences young people’s mental health. II. Literature Review: This brief review of studies focuses on how the use of social media affects young people’s mental health. As it stands today, electronic gadgets and reliable Internet connectivity have become ubiquitous. Many youths have replaced physical interactions with their friends and families with social networking platforms, such as TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Twitter.  A. Social media and young people’s mental health. 1. The number of individuals using social media has an annual growth rate of 9%, and in 2019, it was estimated to reach 3.484 billion (Karim et al., 2020). Social media has become an important part of people’s lives. 2. Naslund et al. (2020) used a qualitative research method and found out that people living with mental disorders, such as psychotic disorders, depression, and other mental illnesses, used social networking platforms at a higher rate than others. For example, older and middle-aged adults’ usage of social media was over 70%, and young people more than 97% (Naslund, Bondre, Torous, & Aschbrenner, 2020).  B. Social media and interpersonal relationships among young people. 1. Researchers used cross-sectional and longitudinal methods to study how social media affects the youths. They found out that social media increase mental distress and promote adverse interpersonal relationships (Abi-Jaoude, Naylor, & Pignatiello, 2020). 2. Valkenburg et al. (2022) used systematic, narrative reviews, and meta-analyses and identified that social media fosters inconsistent physical interactions and leads to the isolation of many young individuals (Valkenburg, Meier, & Beyens, 2022).  C. Digital technologies ownership. 1. A qualitative study by Jacqueline Nesi portrays that a larger proportion of youths spend their time on social media since they have electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. For instance, children aged 2 years and below spend an average of forty-two minutes on social media daily (Nesi, 2020). 2. Young et al.’s (2020) cross-sectional correlational study shows that it has become difficult for young individuals to keep off electronic gadgets, which contributes to avoidant attachment (Young, Kolubinski, & Frings, 2020). D. Socializing online is the new norm.1. Young adults and teenagers spend most of their time socializing online, which has potential adverse mental health consequences (Kaur &a...