Social Media in Education

Teenagers on Social Media

It is the tale as old as time; older generations have a problem with how younger generations are going about their lives. We can date panic over new technologies to Socrates, who had anxiety over the new tradition of documenting information for fear that it would reduce the power of memory. Thomas Jefferson feared the loss of community as large populations moved from rural to urban living for industrial jobs. Many new technologies like radio, newspapers, and television have caused consternation.

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The newest technology that has influenced so much of the younger generations is social media. Social media can be used to keep in touch with friends and families; create and share content; and learn new information. According to a study done by Pew Research Center that concluded in May 2022, 97% of teens use the internet daily to some extent. Of the 1,316 teenagers that participated, 46% of them have shared that they use the internet 'almost constantly.' Although popularity of what apps/websites is ever-changing, the fact still stands that social media influence on teenagers is not going anywhere.

Mental Health and Social Media

Connecting to what I said earlier, history repeats itself with many skeptics of the social and emotional toll new technology is taking on today's youth. There has been much talk on a negative connection between social media and mental health with teenagers and young twenties. However, there is data proving otherwise. 

An article by Scientific American has an interesting take on studies that have already been conducted about social media's affect on mental health. A handful of psychological professionals used a technique called specification curve analysis, a tool that examines the full range of possible connections at once. Basically, it removes the factor of cherrypicking one result and looks for a more holistic picture of adolescent well-being. With data being looked at from this lens, the well-being of youths only varied by 0.4% - not even half of a percent changes from one teenager to the next. There are many factors that lend in larger negative associations of well-being like smoking marijuana and bullying. On the contrary, there are positive behaviors like getting enough sleep and regularly eating breakfast that are more strongly linked to well-being that technology use. There are so many factors that create a balanced and functional life, not just one. The data found in this analysis give more realistic findings to what it means to be a human and all of the layers it takes to create balance in life.

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To piggy-back off of that, Dasha Nicholls, studying adolescent mental health at Imperial College London, found parallel information. She studied data from a study done of British 9th, 10th, and 11th graders. In the initial part of this study, teenagers were asked a variety of questions like relationships they carry at school, if they complete assigned work, how much sleep and exercise they get, if they are bullied, etc. The results were aligned with the previous study that showed social media in isolation cannot determine low mental health. Nicholls says that mental well-being is not effected by checking social media alone by teenagers "not being cyberbullied, sleeping more than eight hours a night and getting some exercise." The findings from both studies encourage a holistic look into teenagers lives with multiple factors that work together in creating strong mental health.

Beating the Stigma

As I look at this data that opposes what I have been told for so long about social media negatively affecting mental health, my thinking has definitely shifted. It is encouraging to learn the weight social media holds in our life can just be another factor that has to come in moderation. Sleep, diet, social media, exercise and friendships are all parts of our lives that we need to have a healthy relationships with in order to keep strong mental health. 

References

Ayu E., Navi. "Happy Korean Drama GIF" [Digital Image]. (2021). Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/Aa172NBCArV02UWgZo/giphy.gif.

Bene. "Animation Technology GIF" [Digital Image]. (2017). Retrieved from https://media.giphy.com/media/l3q2uGtWN3yawwBzO/giphy.gif.