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Mental Disorders: The Impact Of Social Media On Young Adults

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“Every time I close my eyes, it’s like a dark paradise.” Quotes much like this one found on the popular social media site Tumblr are beautiful and sad at the same time. Young adults use sites like Tumblr to glorify their pain as a way to cope with it. Much of social media today is filled with stories of triumph and stories of loss all focused on one specific mental disorder: depression. Young adults today are becoming increasingly aware of theirs and other’s depressive states and are more willing to talk about it. The disease has become more accepted in today’s society. In conjunction with this trend, teenagers are being diagnosed with major depression more rapidly than in past decades. Depression is not as uncommon as it used to be. So, how …show more content…

Robert Kraut, a researcher from Carnegie Mellon University found, in a study he conducted in 1998, that when people use the Internet for extended amounts of time they tend to feel lonelier and more depressed. In a different study, The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families, researchers found that teens suffering from “Facebook depression” are at a higher risk for developing depressive tendencies such as social isolation. They are also more likely to turn to sites and blogs like Tumblr for “help.” However those sites promote destructive behaviors like substance abuse, unsafe sex and cutting. Many investigators have speculated reasons for why social media may cause depression in young adults. Brandon H. Hidaka, B.A., states that the rise is attributed to a new cultural emphasis on superficial goals like money, relationship statuses, and appearance. On social media teens are able to put out their best qualities. People who use social media put their best foot forward: their best pictures and statuses of success. To onlookers it may seem that these teenagers have perfect lives. Social media platforms have made it easier for young adults to compare themselves and their lives to others and demoralize themselves. Those habits are self-destructive and dangerous to teens …show more content…

Modernity is changes in a country’s society and the culture becoming more modernized. The increase of obesity and a shift in sleeping patterns are changes in society that contribute to the rise of depression. With regards to the deteriorating health of modern teens, Brandon H. Hidaka, B.A., suggests that obesity could be a factor to a rising prevalence of depression. He also claims that poor body image, from diseases like obesity, anorexia and bulimia, are associated with distress and disappointment. A poor body image can negatively affect a young adult’s mind into thinking they are not beautiful enough and therefore not good enough for their friends and families. Sleep is also a contributing factor to depression. According to Depression As a Disease of Modernity the average American adult used to sleep around 8 hours in 1960. Now the average adult sleeps for around 6 hours and 40 minutes during the week and about 7 hours on weekends. Reduced amount and quality of sleep are predictors and signs of depression. The same study also suggests that the rates of depression are higher in modernized countries with better health and socioeconomic statuses. It is counterintuitive that the rate of depression has risen in the United States because of its wealth. Modern times have brought on many problems such as poor body image, sleep deprivation, and

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