Here is the link to my survey concerning social media engagement amongst youths and the effects this interaction has on their relationships with others and their self-worth. The vast majority of those completing the survey were within the age bracket of 17-25, with the collated responses indicating a correlative trend between high social media usage and levels of jealousy and relationship anxiety. This finding is on par with a number of recent findings that suggest that increasing use of technology and social media is becoming a huge detriment to the mental health of young people (MacMillan, 2017). Facebook and Instagram both scored highest in terms of usage in the survey, with Instagram in particular being found in recent studies to be the worst social media platform for an individual's mental health. Time magazine reported that in a recent survey of 1,500 teens and young adults, Instagram was found to be associated with "high levels of anxiety...depression". The phenomenon of FOMO was also addressed in the research with the "fear of missing out" being a large influencer in incidents of status and relationship anxiety. This generation is facing a mental health crisis not previously seen, and the correlation between this and social media usage is undisputed. It is crucial that social media usage is regulated and that individuals remind themselves that what is posted online is not always a mirror image of truth.
REFERENCES:
MacMillan, A. (2017). Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health. [online] Time. Available at: http://time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/ [Accessed 6 Aug. 2017].
