It's been a long debated point of contention: does social media help or hurt us, especially younger people?
The data tell an interesting story. By 2015, 92% of young teens owned a smartphone. Between 2010-2015, the suicide rates for young girls between 8th-12th grade rose by 65%. Several studies suggest that teens and young adults who spend substantial time on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets show up to 66% more signs of depression than their peers who did not spend much time on the apps.
"Kids spend so much time on social media trying to post what they think the world will think is a perfect life. Look at how happy I am! Look how beautiful I am! Without that they’re worried that their friends won’t accept them. They’re afraid of being rejected," Child Mind Institute clinical psychologist Dr. Jerry Bubrick said.
The data make a compelling argument against excessive social media use in our lives -- particularly in that of teens', whose brains are not yet fully developed and tend to be more susceptible to things like high school bullying and online envy.
"Many girls are bombarded with their friends posting the most perfect pictures of themselves, or they’re following celebrities and influencers who do a lot of Photoshopping and have makeup and hair teams," clinical psychologist Alexandra Hamlet added.
One app that might be most harmful to mental health is YouTube, according to a new study.
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YouTube Linked to Depression and Anxiety
According to researchers from the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP), excessive use of YouTube may lead to increased levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.
The study considered over two hours of YouTube use as "high frequency" and over five hours a day was classified as "saturated use."
It found that those most vulnerable to the effects of the streaming app were under age 29.
“These online ‘relationships’ can fill a gap for people who, for example, have social anxiety, however it can exacerbate their issues when they don’t engage in face-to-face interactions, which are especially important in developmental years,” lead author Dr. Luke Balcombe said.
As of March 2023, the most-watched YouTube channels are:
- T-Series (Indian entertainment label): 222 billion views.
- Cocomelon (U.S. nursery rhymes): 158 billion views.
- SET India (Indian pay television): 140 billion views.
- SONY Sab (Indian pay television): 96 billion views.
- Kids Diana Show (Ukrainian-American children's content): 91 billion views.
- Like Nastya (Russian-American children's content): 89 billion views.
- WWE (American wrestling content): 75 billion views.
- Vlad and Niki (Russian-American children's content): 75 billion views.
- Movieclips (American movie excerpts): 59 billion views.
- Colors TV (Indian general entertainment): 58 billion views.
Most of the top watched YouTube videos are either aimed at young children. The top watched YouTube video of all time is the "Baby Shark Dance," with over 12 billion views.
However a lot of daily content on YouTube features vlogging, or video blogging by well-known influencers narrating their day-to-day lives. This may include luxury travel trips, red carpet appearances, shopping sprees, "gift," unboxing from notable and coveted brands, and fancy dinners out.
There is a darker side to YouTube, too. The study found that YouTube could be doing more to prevent suicide-related content.
"While ideally, people shouldn’t be able to search for these topics and be exposed to methods, the YouTube algorithm does push recommendations or suggestions based on previous searches, which can send users further down a disturbing ‘rabbit hole,'" it said.
The study suggests using artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent disturbing algorithms and monitoring use.
"With vulnerable children and adolescents who engage in high frequency use, there could be value in monitoring and intervention through artificial intelligence," Dr Balcombe said.
