THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUNG PEOPLE
- 19 May
A UK snapshot poll suggests that "Instagram and Snapchat are rated as the worst social media platforms when it comes to its impact on young people's mental health", the BBC, reports.
The online survey posed questions to 1,479 people between ages 14 to 24 to rate which social media platform (of YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter) negatively impact their users.
The ratings were to be based on anxiety, depression, loneliness, bullying as well as body image and respondents were asked to score each platform on 14 issues pertaining to health and wellbeing.
The poll suggested that YouTube has the most positive impact on mental health, followed by Twitter and Facebook. However, Instagram and Snapchat had the lowest scores.
Chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health study, Shirley Cramer, said:
"It is interesting to see Instagram and Snapchat ranking as the worst for mental health and well-being -both platforms are very image-focused and it appears they may be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in young people."
Due to the findings of the poll, public health experts are suggesting that the following checks should be made on social media, as measures to tackling mental health problems in young people:
- Pop-ups warning people that they have used social media for a long time
- Social media platforms identifying users with mental health problems and quietly signposting where support can be gotten
- Platforms to highlight when photos have been manipulated digitally
What do you think?
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For more details, visit the BBC.
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