Impact of social media on adolescent mental health

To become a contemporary teenager, his life will not be complete if he is not active on social media. But did you know that the consequences of being a netizen who is actively tweeting in cyberspace are not only losing followers, but can also increase your risk of experiencing insomnia and anxiety disorders?

The impact of social media on adolescent sleep quality

Summarized from various studies, the scientists' analysis showed a strong correlation (relationship, not cause) between social media use and sleep disturbances. Heavier volume and frequency of social media interactions was associated with a greater likelihood of sleep problems. Volume measures the amount of time a teenager spends on social media each day. Frequency measures the number of visits to social media sites during the week, aka how often you log-in to the site and interact with other users.

Teens who spend their time interacting in cyberspace almost all the time, in terms of both high volume and frequency, have a threefold increased risk of experiencing sleep disorders, including insomnia. Researchers have not been able to determine what caused this relationship, but they suspect that many factors play a role behind it.

For example, some people tend to be in a hurry to try hard to maintain their existence in cyberspace, and then this pressure makes them sleep late at night to sort and then upload the best photos on Instagram. Some others choose to switch to other platforms to interact with other users - by starting kultwit or negative comment wars on FB.

These activities ignite the emotional, cognitive, and physiological arousal of the brain, leaving them feeling refreshed and forgetting about sleep. Or maybe, some people are already having trouble sleeping first, so use their social media to kill time until they can go back to sleep.

And even if you are not among the two groups above, becoming a passive netizen is just scroll the midnight timeline so as not to miss update it can still interfere with the body's biological clock (circadian rhythm) through the bright blue light emitted by the devices used to access social media accounts.

When you spend time playing on your phone before going to bed, the bright rays of the phone mimic the nature of the natural light from the sun. As a result, the body's biological clock perceives this light as a signal that it is still morning, and therefore melatonin production is disrupted. In short, hours of playing on your cellphone before going to bed actually make you more enthusiastic, so it takes you longer to finally fall asleep.

In fact, adolescents generally need more sleep than adults. So the use of social media at night can be very detrimental to their health. Research has shown that teens need 9.5 hours of sleep per night but get only 7.5 hours on average. Lack of sleep can make children tired, irritable, stressed, and more likely to get sick - from coughs, colds, flu, to digestive disorders such as ulcers and vomiting.

Adolescents who are sleep deprived are prone to experiencing anxiety disorders and depression

The impact of chronic sleep deprivation can increase the risk of adolescents experiencing depression. The reason is, adolescence is basically a vulnerable period for children to develop long-term mental health issues. Especially when coupled with the fulfillment of the need to always be on line on social media has long been associated with decreased levels of self-confidence, as well as an increased risk of anxiety disorders and depression.

The frequent use of social media among children and adolescents has also been linked by many studies to increased levels of psychological stress. All of these factors can be linked to triggering and / or exacerbating depression in children.

According to Heather Cleland Woods, head of research at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, although social media use generally impacts sleep quality, teenagers who go online late at night are more susceptible to these health risks. This is especially true of the very dedicated individuals who devote themselves to becoming emotionally involved in cyberspace.

The report above is also corroborated by the findings of several predecessor studies. One study published in 2015 in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found that adolescents' frequent use of social media is associated with an increased risk of poor mental health. A study presented at the American Psychological Association meeting in 2011 found a link between active adolescent social media users and traits associated with schizophrenia and depression.

Higher levels of social media use also increase the risk of teens becoming victims of cyber-bullying. Both are associated with an increased risk of anxiety disorders and depression in adolescents.

Not always the impact of social media is negative

Of course, like two sides of a coin, we also know that social media doesn't always have a negative impact. Being an active netizen on various social media platforms can provide positive benefits in how to give users a sense of involvement in society, feel less alone, feel more supported, and have hope.

At the end of the day, the pros and cons of social media's impact on adolescent growth and development will vary from person to person, and again returns to the importance of finding a healthy balance in interacting online and in the real world.