Social media has had a bigger impact in the years during and after the pandemic than it has in past years, leading to rising rates of damaged mental health especially in teens, according to the nonprofit Mental Health America.
“I think [social media] was just kind of an opportunity to distract ourselves from what was going on in the real world with everything scary going on during COVID,” eighth grader Grace Jin said.
It seems that the worldwide pandemic was a factor in many teens’ decision to get social media, as well as the peer pressure of others around them having it.
“My friends had it, and so I wanted to have it too,” seventh grader Nora Gant said
Even for adults, social media has had an impact, as has the realization that much has changed from when social media was first created.
“The original social media was meant as communication, as a way to communicate with friends,” history teacher Jillian Kemper said
Now, social media has evolved into something more than just a means of communication. The ability to post and say whatever you want has had a huge effect on many people.
“There’s a lot of just the freedom to say whatever you want because a lot of people comment things that they would never be able to say in person,” seventh grader Caroline McCann said.
After a few years of social media, many have realized that it had an impact on them and those around them.
“I think it probably had a negative impact on me in the long run, but during quarantine, it probably felt like it was good. But now I feel like I use it too much,” seventh grader Kellan Hallier says.
Despite this, social media has continued to leave an impression on people in good and bad ways. It has normalized things like cyberbullying, but it has also introduced many people to new things.
“The way I dress, and probably some of my personality, like jokes I make, are related to social media,” Gant said.
Along with providing a way to communicate, social media has made people feel self-conscious of their lives, simply because social media offers the opportunity to make your life seem perfect.
“I think that social media kind of gives you this one-sided glimpse into other people’s lives, and you only see the popular things which can make you think everything in your life should be perfect,” Jin said.
Social media has had many benefits, such as providing people with ways to entertain themselves and connect with others, but it has also given people with ways to bully others with no consequences. Because of this, experts tell us to set limits for ourselves and be sure we don’t get addicted to social media.