The Rise of Social Media and Decline of Mental Health: The Real Outbreak in Generation Z

The internet has hijacked the lives of youth today, also known as generation Z. Social media platform use is a part of the everyday lives of preteens and teens in the United States, and unaware parents are left in the dust of technological advancements in the new generation. Hours upon hours of social media binging have been normalized as teens scroll through Instagram reels, Tik-tok videos, and Snapchat stories. I feel compelled to inform parents of the risks of social media use for adolescents because of the mental health issues I suffered as a teen and the mental health issues that lead to the death of my sister. Many teen girls develop mental health issues due to excessive social media use, and parents are unaware of the danger; social media negatively effects mental health by promoting suicidal thoughts, causing sleep deprivation, and instigating eating disorders. Mental health issues and suicidality are on the rise for generation Z, most specifically for girls, and it is time for parents to uncover the reason why.

The rise of social media use for adolescent girls has negatively affected mental health by encouraging suicidality and promoting self-harm behavior. Suicidal behavior in adolescents has dramatically increased in recent generations. Elia Abi-Jaoude MSc MD, Karline Treurnicht Naylor MPH MD, and Antonio Pignatiello MD, professionals of psychiatry and medicine for the Canadian Medical Association Journal, state, “Similarly, administrative data in the United States show that presentations to hospital for suicidal ideation or attempts among children and adolescents almost doubled between 2008 and 2015, with the highest increase for adolescent girls” ("Smartphones, Social Media”). The current crisis of suicidality in the Unites States is threatening the lives of thousands of adolescent girls. Many parents are oblivious to their children’s suffering mental health until they wake up one day to their child who has committed suicide and is no longer with them. Social media has ripped young girls away from their parents and deteriorated their mental health until they can no longer take it, leading to attempts at suicide. Abi-Jaoude and her fellow professionals continue, “Evidence from a variety of cross-sectional, longitudinal and empirical studies implicate smartphone and social media use in the increase in mental distress, self-injurious behaviour and suicidality among youth; there is a dose–response relationship, and the effects appear to be greatest among girls” ("Smartphones, Social Media”). Evidence from multiple studies reveal the connection of smartphone and social media use with increased mental concerns such as self-harm and suicidality in adolescents, particularly girls. Teen girls are at most risk to suicidality linked to social media use, and many parents allow their girls unlimited access to smartphones that endanger their mental health. It is disappointing that many parents do not bother to research and learn the negative effects social media can have on the mental health of their young, female children. They often allow complete access to multiple social media platforms at a young age, and they allow their children to slip into mental decline that could lead to later problems such as suicidal ideation. Excessive social media use will continue to infect the lives of teen girls unless parents stand up to fight for the mental health of their children.

Sleep deprivation is another danger adolescent girls face while connected to multiple social media platforms daily. Social media outlets often interfere with the sleep schedule of teens, keeping them up late at night scrolling through feeds. Lack of sleep for teens who are still developing is more dangerous than it may seem on the surface. Sleep deprivation has been linked to serious mental conditions such as depression in adolescents. Researchers for the Journal of Youth and Adolescence state, “Adolescence is a time of increasing vulnerability for poor mental health, including depression. Sleep disturbance is an important risk factor for the development of depression during adolescence. Excessive electronic media use at night is a risk factor for both adolescents sleep disturbance and depression” (“Adolescents’ Electronic Media”). The adolescent age group is more susceptible to mental health issues, and social media targets their age group. Researchers have proven that social media use at night can put teens at risk for sleep deprivation and depression. As someone who struggled with depression in high school, I can testify to the fact that nighttime social media use was a key factor in the development of my depression. I am currently in college, but I am part of Generation Z; I understand the risks of high social media use and how it can destroy the mental health of teens. When I was a teen, I had complete access to all social media platforms with zero regulation from my parents. I would stay up late into the night scrolling through media outlets, often averaging four to five hours of sleep a night during the school week. I would wake up the next day for school and often doze off in the classroom; I would wish that I was not there and isolate myself from my peers. Although there were many factors that played into the development of my depression in high school, sleep deprivation as a result of nighttime social media use crippled me from enjoying my daytime hours and held me back from making real life relationships. The mental health of adolescent girls continues to suffer as risks such as sleep deprivation increase the chances for depression.

Perhaps the most pressing risk that social media poses to the mental health of adolescent girls is an eating disorder. During the teen years, girls are developing self confidence in their body. They are often unsure of their changing bodies, so they look to other girls, often older than themselves, as an example to follow in search of validation. Researchers for the Body Image journal state, “Research suggests that emerging adolescence is a vulnerable time for body image development in girls as their bodies change and the influence of media and peers strengthen. Moreover, early adolescents are more likely to engage with photo-based, rather than text-based, platforms” (“I Don’t Need People”). Statistics based on studies of early adolescents show that girls are susceptible to social media and peer influence. They are also more likely to participate in photo-based rather than text-based social media platforms. They compare themselves with the bodies of other girls on these photo-based social media platforms searching for validation of their own bodies, which often leads to eating disorders.

Adolescent girls who are developing their sense of self and confidence during the vulnerable teen years are bombarded with photoshopped and edited pictures of an idealized, fake feminine body; the social media comparison has led my own sister to struggle with an eating disorder that ultimately took her life. Social media has created a false sense of reality founded on unrealistic beauty standards that are shoved into the forefront of social media feeds across platforms. Teens compare themselves to fake images on the internet and wonder, “What is wrong with me? Why do I look like this?” These girls look completely normal and their differences are beautiful despite what society propagates. They feel worthless and disposable because social media has taught youth today that they are only valuable and lovable based on their outward self. My sister Jessica fell into the trap social media has set for girls. She began her struggle with an eating disorder as a teen, comparing herself to perfectly thin girls on the internet. Her struggle continued into her twenties and parenthood. Friends and family dismissed her eating disorder for health dieting, when in reality she was starving herself to the brink of what her body could handle. The vitamins and nutrients her body needed to survive were cut off, eventually leading her heart to stop altogether. Her daughter watched as she dropped to the floor in the living room suddenly the day her heart stopped. Her daughter Scarlett, who was only six at the time, ran to the neighbor’s house for help while Jessica’s newborn baby cried on the floor. The neighbor rushed over to provide CPR, but by the time he arrived, she has been without oxygen for too long. She sat in a coma for months as we wondered when she would wake up. We later learned that the lack of oxygen had caused significant damage to her brain and that she would never recover. She passed away because of the eating disorder she struggled with since she was a teen; her three children have been orphaned. Social media comparison was a leading factor in the development of her eating disorder, and parents need to hear my sister’s story to understand what is at stake for the mental health of their children.

The mental health crisis of Generation Z needs to be addressed and combatted by parents; social media can be perilous for teen girls by increasing suicidality, sleep deprivation, and eating disorders. Suicidality among adolescents, particularly girls, is continuing to increase, and evidence points to social media as a leading cause. Social media has also been linked to sleep deprivation that can cause depression as teen girls stay up late into the night scrolling through feeds. Teen girls are also at risk to eating disorders brought on by social media comparison. The teen years are a vulnerable age for girls to be influenced by those around them because they are still developing their self-confidence and body image. Eating disorders are a serious mental condition that parents and friends often dismiss or are unaware of. The life of my sister was stolen by an eating disorder, and parents need to take action to protect their children from a similar fate. I had hoped that parents would stand up for the mental health of their children and protect them from the dangers of social media, but parents remain oblivious to the internal suffering of their children. Mental health issues such as eating disorders, suicidality, and depression caused by social media need to be taken seriously by parents; more parents need to regulate social media use in the teen years to protect their children. The internet does not have to control the lives of children; parents can fight for the mental health of their children by shielding them from social media influence during their vulnerable teen years. There is hope for Generation Z despite the rising mental health crisis. The battle has begun for the mental health of Generation Z, and parents need to be at the forefront to fight for their children’s future.

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Works Cited

Abi-Jaoude, Elia, Karline T. Naylor, and Antonio Pignatiello. "Smartphones, Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health." Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), vol. 192, no. 6, 2020, pp. E136-E141.

Burnette, C. B., Melissa A. Kwitowski, and Suzanne E. Mazzeo. "“I Don’t Need People to Tell Me I’m Pretty on Social Media:” A Qualitative Study of Social Media and Body Image in Early Adolescent Girls." Body Image, vol. 23, 2017, pp. 114-125.

Lemola, Sakari, et al. "Adolescents’ Electronic Media use at Night, Sleep Disturbance, and Depressive Symptoms in the Smartphone Age." Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 44, no. 2, 2015, pp. 405-418.