Social Media's Impact on Mental Health

To start off my first real blog, I think its extremely important to address how new media has changed our childhood and forced unrealistic ideas into our heads. As a teenage girl, I of course have my own typical teenage insecurities. However, these have been amplified through the use of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms. Whether we like to admit it or not, many of us have become consumed and addicted to these platforms. It is so easy for me to continuously scroll and enjoy a quick hit of social media, while forgetting all about my other worries in the world.

During lockdown in the spring of 2020, this was the ONLY thing I did. Stuck inside all day, I was forced to rely on my phone to keep me entertained. I believe the vast majority of high schoolers experienced this too. I would scroll past Tiktok videos teaching me the five BEST ways to lose weight, or I would stare at a skinny girl on my Instagram for way too much time, picking at myself and how different I looked in comparison. This toxic sequence began to comfort me because it motivated me to change. I wanted to look like that girl on Instagram. I NEEDED to look like her. Of course, I followed the rules Tiktok programmed for me. It was a recipe for my happiness!

Um. No. Incorrect. What felt initially like a recipe for success and happiness was actually a recipe for disaster. A year later, I'm realizing that the girl in that post is not my role model and perhaps edited that photo in a variety of ways. And the Tiktok accounts on losing weight that I followed aimlesly were not from educated health experts. It was so confusing for me. Online, everything seems so believable and easy, but this is not reality. Real life exists off the screen. Humans are not walking Instagram posts with filters and facetune. We are natural people with imperfections. Sometimes, it feels like the screen is yelling at me to change. It's yelling at me to hate my body and want HERS. But why? Instead, we should yell at the screen to leave us alone!