NR 326 Week 3 Assignment; Mental Health Therapies - Social Media Impact on Adolescent Mental Health

Reviewing the Impact of Social Medial on Mental Health in Adolescents Shirley Rivera Chamberlain University College of Nursing NR 326: Mental Health Nursing Allison Chen DateReviewing the Impact of Social Medial on Mental Health in Adolescents Introduction Social media has become an important part of everyday life for adolescents; they cannot imagine their life without it. Although it is of great importance to adolescents and young adults there are dangers that come with it that have caused concern among mental health professionals and parents. The following will illustrate the impact social media has on the mental health of adolescents and young adults. The terms adolescents and young adults are used interchangeably throughout the paper and include the ages between 13 and 17. Article Summary Gupta et al. (2022), tells us “Sexting, privacy concerns, cyberbullying, and negative impacts on education and mental health are dangers connected with social media use in this population.” In the study presented on the impact of social media in adolescents, it notes that smartphone use in general can be harmful due to sleep deprivation in this age group. This is linked to detrimental impact on cognitive ability, school performance, and socio-emotional functioning. Combined, social media and smart phone use is linked to increased mental stress, self-harm and suicidal ideation. Cooperating with adolescents to navigate social media is something that can mitigate the potential risks that come with the use of it. Social media is here to stay and guiding our adolescent generation can ensure it is used in ways to benefit them instead of harm their mental health. There are many aspects to be considered when talking about social media and adolescents. The usage of the internet in adolescents is at an increased rate of 46% in 2018 (Gupta et al., 2022). In social media use particularly, 97% of adolescents are using applications such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter with the following percentages: YouTube (85%), Instagram (72%), Snapchat (69%), Facebook (51%), Twitter (32%), Tumblr (9%), or Reddit (7%) (Gupta et al., 2022). The number of adolescents that are using social media is not alarming considering the use of smartphones, however it is alarming to know that the use of social media is correlated to depression in this age group. There are several reasons for this. For example, in the realm of social media, peer friendships can be more frequ