Social Media Leading to Depression

Research Question: Does technology and social media have any significant effect on

adolescent’s mental health, and if so, what is it?

Proposed Thesis: I argue that social media itself does not negatively impact mental health, but

rather bad social media habits and poor mental health are both induced by one another

along with a platform for bullying which can cause a slippery slope of depression.

Other Thesis: I argue that social media itself does not negatively impact mental health, but rather

bad social media habits and poor mental health are both induced by one another.

Additionally, social media establishes a platform for bullying which can lead to a slippery

slope of adolescent depression.

Aalbers, George, et al. “Social Media and Depression Symptoms: A Network Perspective.”

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, vol. 148, no. 8, Aug. 2019, pp. 1454–1462.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/xge0000528.

The article starts by pointing out the different opinions on social media and its beneficial/

harmful effects on mental health. It goes on to say this issue could involve way more

factors than one may think. The main claim of the argument is that there is a network

connection between active/passive social media use, stress, depressed mood, fatigue,

loneliness, hopelessness, etc. Each of these variables can influence one another and

cause a chain reaction until each one is impacted. Social media does not always have to

be the cause of depression, but it could happen the other way around as well. The main

stasis claim used in my article is “fact” because the article presents the results of a study

conducted on 150 people. At certain times throughout the day, the participants would
 answer questions about their feelings to associate with the amount of social media they

use. Their answers were analyzed many ways to create a web shaped diagram displaying

which habits and feeling are related. The study ended with no concrete conclusion, but

they did find that people who passively use social media tend to have worse feelings than

those you actively use it. I will use this article because it has the most relevancy to the

argument I am trying to prove. It shows how all of the factors impact one another, and

that there is not just one problem.

Asmelash, Leah. “Social Media Use May Harm Teens' Mental Health by Disrupting Positive

Activities, Study Says.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Aug. 2019,

www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html.

Asmelash claims in her article that social media itself might not cause harm to mental

health, but rather we see social media take time away from exercise and sleeping which

are very beneficial to mental health. The main stasis claim is “fact”. Social media is also

the main gateway for cyber bullying, which is extremely harmful to the victims’ mental

health. She mentions that girls seem to be more effected than boys but both are at risk.

Towards the end of the article, she throws out some ideas of solutions to the problem.

She says that instead of looking for replacements to social media, we should find ways to

improve the content young folks are seeing. We should find ways to teach kids to be

resilient against cyber bullies so they would be as effected by what they see.

Additionally, teach the importance of sleep and exercise and make sure time on social

media does not replace those. I will use this article because it emphasizes my point that

social media itself is not causing poor mental health, but taking away from healthy

activities.
Brent, Alexander, and Matthew Downey. “Opinion | There Is a Mental-Health Crisis on

Campus.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 10 Sept. 2019,

www.wsj.com/articles/there-is-a-mental-health-crisis-on-campus-11568157092.

Brent and Downey are both current students at universities and in the article they share

their experience with technology impacting mental health during the stressful years of

college. Brent shares data showing that depression and anxiety rates have increased

recently, and that technology may be the direct cause of it. He points out that the current

young generation has become so accustomed to the instant satisfaction technology brings

that we are not equipped to handle real world problems that require time and effort.

Another issue that teens have is a tendency to compare themselves to others on social

media, when only the best aspects of one’s life are being displayed. Downey talks about

the competitive part of social media and a natural desire for people to get the most likes

and views. The extents people go to in order to be the most viewed has created unhealthy

competition, especially because normal behavior goes unseen. The other sections of the

article talk about how stress in college is due to other things. However, having two out of

four students blame most of the stress on social media shows the importance of finding a

solution to that issue. This article gives me primary sources to use in my project on the

effects social media has.

DROUIN, MICHELLE, et al. “College Students in Distress: Can Social Media Be a Source of

Social Support?” College Student Journal, vol. 52, no. 4, Winter 2018, pp. 494–504.

EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=134341758&

site=ehost-live.
 This article talks about who college students turn to for help when in distress. They

conducted a study with 662 undergraduates from universities to test social resources and

depression symptoms. The main stasis claim is also “fact” in this article as it presents us

with data from a study. The article starts by stating how important it is to have a social

support system when going through college because of how much change is happening.

Having someone, like family and friends, to talk to about a problem is important.

Recently there has been an increasing number of college students turn to social media as

their main resource of social support. While social media can be a great tool for social

networking and some have found it to improve their mental health, others suffer from

depression because of it. The results of the study showed there are quite a few people

that are not sure who they would turn to in a time of distress. It also showed that for the

vast majority of people do not get enough social support from social media alone.

Miller, Daniel., et al. “Does Social Media Make People Happier?” How the World Changed

Social Media, by, 1st ed., vol. 1, UCL Press, London, 2016, pp. 193–204. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1g69z35.20.

This is a chapter in a book that explains the complexity of determining if social media

actually makes someone happy. It starts off by saying happiness is perceived in such a

variety of ways that it is hard to measure. The chapter then talks about social medias

impacts on happiness. They point out that multiple popular news outlets have recently

produced many articles on the negative impacts social media has on mental health, then

say the studies have shown contradictive results. There are so many variables that it is

impossible to form a concrete answer to the question. They mention a few areas that

social media can increase happiness such as increased capacity, ability to strengthen
 social values, and temporary pleasure. The back end of the chapter is similar to my other

articles and talks about the added stress social media brings. To sum up, there will

always be winners and losers of mental health on social media, and social media often

does not show peoples true emotions. The main stasis claim in the article is “definition”

as they try to find the crux of the argument. I plan to use this article to further prove my

point about how one’s mental health regarding social media depends most on the way

they use it. I can also use this in a counterargument and rebuttal to argue against one that

might say social media makes people happy.

Osatuyi, Babajide, and Ofir Turel. “Tug of War between Social Self-Regulation and Habit:

Explaining the Experience of Momentary Social Media Addiction Symptoms.”

Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 85, Aug. 2018, pp. 95–105. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.037.

In this article, the authors examine the problems that occur when users show addictive

habits with social media. They report on a study that focuses on the negative experiences

that come with social media, particularly through the lens of addition. This means they

even find withdraw symptoms, relapse, conflict, and mood swing with someone with

these social media habits. These symptoms appear when someone is so compelled to use

social media, they do so even during times they would be better off not. The main idea of

their argument is that many people give in to the short gratification social media brings,

that they use it way more than they should not realizing the negative effects it causes.

The main stasis claim of this article is fact as they use a study to explain the addictive

tendencies people have on social media. I plan to use this article in my project to show

that people’s social media habits are the main problem and not social media itself.
Parent, Mike C., et al. “Social Media Behavior, Toxic Masculinity, and Depression.” Psychology

of Men & Masculinity, vol. 20, no. 3, July 2019, pp. 277–287. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1037/men0000156.

In this article, the collective authors write about a study conducted to explore the

relations between social media / social network use, toxic masculinity, and depression.

The focus is on the fact that social media is an easy place for toxic masculinity to hurt the

self esteem of some men and allow others to thrive. The first couple paragraphs give

background and general information they had leading into the study. They mention that

more time on social media does not necessarily make you more depressed, but rather the

content you look at and the way you consume it. Toxic masculinity has been a part of

society for a long time, as men have always wanted to show strength by taking the alpha-

dog role. The online platform of social media makes it easy for some men to act

condescending towards others as they hide behind a screen. The study conducted had

402 men as participants to measure toxic masculinity. The participants were assessed on

their online behaviors and feelings to find out what types of social media uses lead to

promote toxic masculinity and depression. The results were skewed showing that men

who have negative interactions on social media from toxic masculinity are at greater risk

of depression. The stasis claims used are “fact” and “definition” as the authors find what

the main issue is through a study. I will use this article to show that the natural instincts

of men can cause negative emotions to develop through poor usage of social media.

Valencia, Misha. “How to Safeguard Children Against Cyberbullying.” The New York Times,

The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/well/family/how-to-

safeguard-children-against-cyberbullying.html.
In this article, Valencia tells the story of a young girl, named Mallory, who was

cyberbullied and her mother who witnessed the effects. The victim had nonconsensual

pictures taken of her at school and they were posted for everyone to see. Then her peers

would harass her with comments by calling her names and even telling her to kill herself.

The worst part her mother explained that her daughter started to believe every untrue

thing anyone said about her online. Even after she had reported the bullying to the

school, it continued because it is so easy for the bully to hide behind a screen. Mallory

ended up committing suicide before she was able to find help. Cyberbullying is scary

because often times there is no way to tell how many people have seen the rumors and

who gossips about you. The article goes on to give warning signs of a kid who is being

cyberbullied and what to do in response. It is important not to ignore it and make sure

the victim knows there is help out there and it will get better. The main stasis claim in

this article is “policy” along with others, but the article gives ways to spot and fix

depression by cause of social media. I can use this article in my project to show how

social media is a great platform for bullying sending the victims into depression.