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Effects of Social Media on Mental Health
Effects of Social Media on Mental Health
Is social media good or bad for mental health essay
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From "thintastic" blogs to suicide stories, social media has become not only a source of conversation but a gateway to harmful suggestions that many teenagers see and believe to be allowable, when in fact the situations proposed are dangerous to those who attempt them. Statistics show that 20% of anorexic teenagers will die prematurely, and 80% of teenagers who commit suicide are depressed (South). Social media has glorified and brought to attention eating disorders, depression, and suicide among teens that might otherwise not become a statistic in these critical categories. Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among teenagers. With 80% of teen females and 15% of teen males being or attempting to be anorexic, it is surprising that it is not higher up on the list. Anorexia is the most common negative view shown on media. On the social media site Tumblr, pro-anorexic blogs have become a popular trend to follow and many show images of models with captions reading "I want to be able to sit down and have my thighs not touch," (My Pro). The truth is, however, that the average model is 23% under their ideal weight. The average US model weighs 117 pounds and is 5'11" while the average US woman weighs 140 pounds and is only 5'4". This causes perspective to see those far too skinny as beautiful and the normal weight to seem more than it is. In a recent study when asked if they were overweight, 75% of the women answered yes and only 25% of them were. (Perfect) Social media has swayed beliefs of the past by making the thin want to be thinner and those who believe themselves to be overweight feel as if reaching their correct BMI is impossible. Up to 80% of those who are anorexic also suffered from a major form of depression. Due... ... middle of paper ... ...kins, Kristal. "Megan Meier: Mistaken MySpace Suicide." Vengeance — — Crime Library. N.p., 17 Nov. 2007. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. "My ProAna Lifestyle ^.^." My ProAna Lifestyle ^.^. Im_fat.tumblr.com, 25 Aug. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. “Perfect Illusions.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web.04 Apr. 2014" "South Carolina Department of Mental Health." Eating Disorder Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. “Teens That Use Facebook Are 5 Times More Likely to Smoke, 3 Times More Likely to Drink and Twice as Likely to Use Marijuana." CHOOSE HELP. N.p., 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. Wade, T. D., and Kohn A. Gonzalez. "EDV - Key Research and Statistics." EDV - Key Research and Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. Waithera, Christine. "5 Social Skills Social Media Has Destroyed." 5 Social Skills Social Media Has Destroyed. N.p., 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Hudson JI, Hiripi E, Pope HG, Kessler RC. The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.Biological Psychiatry. 2007; 61:348-58.
Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
Anorexia is a mental illness that can be identified by its victims starving themselves in order to drop weight to dangerous levels. Most often, anorexics will restrict their food or exercise excessively in order to decrease their body weight. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. This is mainly due to suicide and the complications that occur consequently from starvation. These complications include heart and kidney failure as well as osteoporosis and muscle atrophy. Females may also stop menstruating. The gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems may also be affected. Thus, Anorexia has detrimental effects on a person’s physical and mental health.
As the "ideal" women’s body has become progressively thinner over the past decades, the eating disorder anorexia has become progressively more prevalent. Anorexia is a disease in which a person eats nothing beyond minimal amounts of food so that her body weight drops dangerously. It is no wonder with all of the cultural messages of thinness being aimed at women, that 90-95% of anorexics are female, 25.7% of all female ballet dancers are anorexic, and that the percentages are similarly high for female models and athletes (Malson, 1998). Six to eight percent of young women have been diagnosed. For some the disease takes a devastating and irreversible course; 20% of anorexic patients will die and as many as half of those will be from suicide (Sullivan, 1995). It is an extremely painful disease with many emotional hardships for all involved. Anorexia, like many psychological disorders in the DSM-IV, has medical, biological, personality, and social components and implications.
Eating Disorder Statistics. South Carolina Department of Mental Health, 2006. Web. 26 July 2010. .
NEDA. (2014, July 9). National Eating Disorders General Statistics. Retrieved from National Eating Disorders Association: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/ResourceHandouts/GeneralStatistics.pdf
Today, America is plagued with eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Compulsive Eating Disorders. Each has its own characteristics that distinguish the illness yet there are some similarities that they also share. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as with most mental illnesses, eating disorders are not caused by just one factor but by a combination of behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal and social factors. Shockingly, they also report that in the United States, there are as many as 10 million females and 1 million males that are battling with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Additionally, another 25 million are struggling with binge eating disorders (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org). Typically, psychological factors such as depression and low self-esteem contribute to eating disorders...
"Health Consquences of Eating Disorders." NEDA. National Eating Disorders Association, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.
Anorexia may not be noticed in early stages. The Anorexic usually chooses to wear layered and baggy clothes to hide the “ugly fat body” .An Anorexic may have ritualistic eating patterns such as cutting food into little tiny pieces and weighing themselves. These can be found in people who are on a healthy diet, but in Anorexics these behaviors are extremely exaggerated. Other warnings are deliberate self-starvation with weight loss, fear of gaining weight, refusal to eat, denial of hunger, constant exercising, sensitivity to cold, absent or irregular periods, loss of scalp perception of being fat when the person is really to this. Some other associated features are depressed mood, somatic sexual dysfunction, and ...
41% of social media-using teens have had at least one negative consequence as a result of using a social networking website. Pew Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011.... ... middle of paper ... ... Impact of Media on Children and Adolescents: A 10-Year Review of the Research.
Long, M.D, Phillip. "Anorexia Nervosa." Mental Health. World Health Organization, 2011. Web. 20 Apr 2011. .
Social media is so popular that according to a recent article published by forbes.com, “72% of American adults are currently using social media sites; that figure has gone up 800% in just 8 years”(Olenski). Social networking was originally created to simply reconnect people with old high school pals, but in recent years it has evolved into a completely different operation. When social media first originated it was also intended for adult usage, which has in recent years expanded into the usage of all ages. Social media can create a negative affect on lives because it has been proven to be a dangerous addiction, for it takes away interpersonal relationships that are essential in life, and it has been proven to prevent people from being productive in life.
Wynne-Jones, J. (2009) Facebook and MySpace Can Lead Children to Commit Suicide, Warns Archbishop Nichols. Telegraph.co.uk, 1 August 2009. Available at：
Social media or cancer? Just like cancer, social media slowly withers away people’s brains, especially in teenagers, when they consume almost everything they read. Social media has grown exponentially while attracting the young minds of teens and molding them without teens knowing. They latch on to things that they feel comfortable with, because they are still trying to find who they really are. Today, social media is used by almost every teenager in America. Sites like Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, and Facebook can affect them in a negative way, making them feel worse about themselves or even changing who they really are. Social media can seem harmless to many teens, but it can actually hurt them and cause mental health issues.