Under Pressure: Is Social Media Ramping Up Stress in Unhealthy Ways for Teens and Young Adults? - Everyday Health

How has social media changed the lives of teens and young adults?

It’s popular. If you’re in this age group, you and your friends are likely using it. According to data published in April 2021 by Pew Research Center, 84 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds are active on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or another social media site. That’s more than adults of other ages, and up from just 7 percent of teens and young adults in this age group reporting using social media in 2005.

In 2018, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reported survey results show up to 90 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 have used social media.

For some, these virtual platforms can boost social support and connectedness, says Carol Vidal, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, who has conducted research on the impact of social media on mental health among adolescents.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example — particularly while shelter-in-place and lockdown orders were in effect — social media has offered another way for people to connect with family and friends, says psychiatrist Patrice Harris, MD, medical editor in chief at large of Everyday Health and a former president of the American Medical Association.

But at a younger age, it can be difficult to step back and recognize that most things posted to social media are only the highlights of others’ lives — and don’t include everything that happens...



Read Full Story: https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/under-pressure/are-the-stresses-of-social-media-too-much-for-teens-and-young-adults/

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.



Tags: