Teen Depression And How Social Media Can Help Or Hurt

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

Bullying by electric forms of contact, better known as cyberbullying, has become an epidemic throughout the world in the last few years. While those affected may not be harmed physically, mentally and emotionally they are tortured and some never recover. For youths who have been cyberbullied, it is reported that they have a higher chance of anxiety and also depression. They are also more likely to have problems in their personal lives and in school. Those affected can have thoughts that lead them to suicide and those thoughts sometimes follow them into adulthood. Also, victims of cyberbullying may take desperate measures and react violently towards others. With the rise of internet usage, social medias and cell-phones, bullying has

Whilst cyber bullying is not physical it’s emotional and psychological effects are devastating for the victim and can often lead to suicide and depression (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies can say things they might not usually say to someone in person, anonymity and less physical proximity act as a wall between the bully and the victim, none the less, the words or rumors’ that are shared are still just as hurtful. Bullies often feel more confident online and they can contact their victims anytime, anywhere, day or night, not just in the school yard (Smith et al., 2008).” (Procon. (24 O). Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/)

Social media is the root of cyber bullying. It is easy to upload someone's private picture or information in front of hundreds, just for the sake of revenge. It is easy to act anonymously online, therefore making it easier to hurt someone without getting caught. Social media is also a place where it is easy to spread false information that no one questions leading to misinformed people. It is just as easy to manipulate on the net than any other place. Social media is also a lurking place for predators. Online one only knows what the person in question decides to include, making it easy to prey on

Initially, social media is commonly used as a weapon to attack others on their opinions or simply because they despite other people. For instance, cyber bullying has caused huge problems ever since social networks have started becoming popular. “Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once,” (“11 Facts about Cyber Bullying” www.dosomething.org). This is more targeted at teenagers and children because they are unaware of the harmful things they might say over the internet. To illustrate, cyber bullying can become a very serious issue when a minor commits suicide. “Bully-related suicide can be connected to any type of bullying, including . . . cyberbullying, and sexting, or circulating suggestive . . . about a person” (“Cyber Bullying & Social Bullying” http://www.bullyingstatistics.org). It’s the parent’s duty to filter the internet. Based on this information, social media is not necessarily safe, anyone can become a victim

Social media is the ultimate platform for bullies. Using social media, perpetrators can bully their victims to the point of anxiety, fear, low self-esteem, suicidal ideations and in some cases to the committal of the suicidal act. Cyberbullying is defined as the deliberate repetition of hostility toward a group or persons with the intent to induce psychological, emotional, or physical harm through the use of digital communication (Niels, Menno, et. Al, 2013). A study conducted in 2014, stated that nearly 75% of school age youth have been the victim of cyberbullying (Giumetti, Kowalski, et al., 2014).

Social media is another way of communication through technology. The social media trend is growing rapidly. It has become a daily routine for most people. Social media is affecting the world in many different ways. It was initially made to be a positive way of communicating, but over the years it has has a lot of negative impacts. One of the most known impacts is cyberbullying. Cyber Bullying is deliberately using digital media to communicate false, embarrassing, or hostile information about another person (Niemer 4). Although many adults experience this issue it is more common in teenagers. “For many teens, he explains, social media is not just a part of their life, it is their social world” (qtd. in Niemer 9). Studies show that 95 percent of ages between 12 and 17 have access to social media and 15 percent had experienced cyberbullying (Horn). These acts have caused depression in most teenagers. “In fact, a number of studies have found a connection between depression and social media victimization” (Miller 387). Some teenagers are afraid to stand up for themselves. The use of social media has caused an increase in fear.

Social media can be a platform where you interact and have fun with friends,or get picked on and stalked by adults. Bullying is a serious problem in the U.S.Because of social media people do not have to be face to face to talk. They feel they can say anything and get away with it.This is called cyber bullying when you bully someone over the internet (Social). If you put abusive posts on someones pictures that can be looked at as bullying (Social).

Bullying has been happening for generation after generation. Today’s society made possible to bully people without being face to face. This type of bullying is called cyber-bullying. Teenagers uses theirs electronics advices as weapons to attack other people with hurtful things though the use of text messaging or social networking websites. Cyber-bullying can “damage a person emotionally” (Media). It can also make them have low self-esteem. In our society today, cyber-bullying is a new type of problem that many teenagers have to face.

The claim opposers say is that social networks and media keep us close together and connected, but has connection really gotten better? Or is this a false sense of connection that social media creates. In a study done at Cornell University, Dr. Strogatz states that social media can make it more difficult for us to distinguish meaningful relationships in the real world. Due to the many easy relationships formed through social media, the brain will focus much of our time and a lot of psychic energy on these less meaningful relationships, and our most important connections will weaken and wither. Along with social implications, there comes physical health as well. Researchers suggest that due to prolonged and constant social media use, chances increase for weight gain, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety. The psychological effects can be devastating to the whopping 1 in 4 people on the Earth today who have a social media account of some form. All thanks to the power of the internet today and the ease of access it comes to many of us today. Another culprit of the implications with social media and the destructive force that is the internet, is cyber-bullying. Bullying isn’t new, but it has definitely changed over the years. Back in the day, children were usually bullied at school or in the neighbourhood. Today, with the increase of Internet, children are now being bullied at all times in all locations. In fact, according to reports at the Washington Post, nine out of ten teen facebook users have stated that they have seen bullying on a social media site. In addition, 54 percent of those surveyed claimed to have experienced bullying on the same exact site. The effects of bullying may appear subtle in the beginning. However, if it persists, the results can be very tragic. One of the most serious of these consequences is suicide. This can be in result of some people unequipped with

Furthermore, The amount of bullying on social media is outstanding! Some targets of social media bullying have said the bullying follows them everywhere. According to, “What is Cyberbullying?” “60% of targets said that their online experiences as a target of cyberbullying affected them at school, home, and with friends, and reported experiencing feelings of frustration, anger and sadness.” Another quote from “What is Cyberbullying?” “81% said that cyber bullies think it is funny.” Something that a bully thinks is funny can really harm someone's life and well being.

Cyber-bullying involves the use of technology to cause distress, harm, and torture to the victim. This involves sending abusive or intimidating messages, emails, and pictures through the use of several technological avenues. Traditional bullying involves physical aggression to a victim through using abusive verbal language and physical beating. Cyber- bullying seems to have surpassed traditional bullying because of the increased advance in the world of technology. Most bullies have turned to technology as their tool of propagating their actions. With the expanse of world-wide-web and technology as a whole, cyber-bullying may reach a point where it is no longer possible to control it. This uncontrollable nature of cyber-bullying makes it more harmful than traditional bullying.

More importantly, cyberbullying has deeper influence than physical bullying because it may involve in a wide range of audiences within short time period and give high pressure to victims psychologically. For the traditional physical bullying, it refers to the physical altercations or perhaps verbal abuse from others, so victims of traditional physical bullying might feel safe at home, which can be limited the bullying in the place. Even though someone is injured due to physical bullying, the wound is curable, and won’t leave a trace. However, the cyberbullying is a kind of bullying popping up in cyber space, so the victims can be attacked from anywhere at any time through the network (Yalda, Psychology in Action), so the victim would leave an incurable shadow. In 2006, an American Educational Research Association study shows that the number of people who prefer to harass other online was twice as the number of people who would bully others face-to-face (Scott). Some researchers made further analysis with 7200 U.S. 6-10th grade students and shows that that “The cyber bullying victims exhibited higher rates of depression regardless of frequency” (“Bullying Statistics”). If a person browses Facebook or Twitter and watches some

Despite the positives, there are many negatives associated with social media. Using social media can make a person more vulnerable to predators and cyber bullying. In this age, “Cyber bulling is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically suicide” (“American Academy of Pediatrics”). Cyber bullying impacts society in a negative way because it is harming young teenagers’ minds. Bullies, torment, threat, harass, and even embarrass their victims by using different forms of social media. Using social media can also decrease privacy for an individual. People often give out their personal information not knowing who can see it. To average internet users, “A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses” (“ProCon”). Furthermore, Social media can also lead to brain disorders and can cause people to have a hard time interacting with people face to face. “Social networking entices people to spend more time online and less time talking to a person face to face.” (“ProCon”)

One negative effect that social media has on teens is cyberbullying (Henkin). Teens bully others about simple things such as their looks and their relationships. They even start to judge their lifestyle. They are bullying others that are younger or older than they are. There is a big difference with teens on social media and in reality. Cyberbullying can be seen anywhere. On social media it gives them the free time to do and say what they want to others because they won’t do any of that in reality. Cyberbullying is the leading