Research Paper Example: Social Media and College Students' Mental Health

There is something so fascinating about social media. It gives people the ability to glance into people's lives to see their expensive exotic trips, how many friends they have, and the elaborate parties they were invited to. As well as how many people follow their account, like their posts, and comment on their posts. It also gives us access to a feed page of posts and videos that were specially selected for us. This feed is filled with models and celebrities with perfect bodies, insane new diets to help you lose twenty pounds in a week, and influencers who always seem picture perfect. Minutes on social media can easily turn into hours and that essay that was due at eleven fifty-nine is going to be impossible to complete in time. Although, the time spent on social media is only the fraction of the problems that it causes students. Being constantly immersed in a world where everyone’s lives seems so much better than our own, can be detrimental to our well-being. College students who use social media on a daily basis can end up suffering through their mental and emotional well-being which inhibits their collegiate success.

There is a significant amount of research that indicates a link between emotional well-being and mental health issues and social media for college students. Those who spend more than three hours on social media are put at a higher risk for mental health problems. (Clark) “Social media worsens feelings of low self-esteem, loneliness, and stress, while increasing rates of depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and suicidality, according to the research published in Current Psychiatry Reports” (Dennon). It has the ability to impair participation in normal life, incite addictive behaviors, and reduce life satisfaction and happiness. Amongst college students “anxiety and depression are most prevalent. Some studies report that 41.6% of college students report anxiety as a top concern. Others say one in five students report high anxiety and social media use may be contributing to those statistics” (Zwart). The fact that social media has people seeking likes and peer approval takes a toll on one’s emotional wellbeing. As a result real life friendships may be sacrificed at the expense of online relationships that usually fail to meet social needs

There is a connection seen between social media, FOMO, and depression. FOMO is defined as the “fear of missing out”  and is a well known phrase on the internet. “uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling that people are missing out on what their peers are doing. Or, they are more in the ‘know’ about something better than you as an individual know” (Yoho). It is normal to occasionally have these feelings, however, intense feelings of FOMO are the general signs of dissatisfaction with life. “The fear of missing out on what others perceive as a more idyllic life is strongly correlated with discontent, social isolation, and mental health issues. Additionally, it’s common to set unrealistic expectations of life after scrolling social media. Jealousy, envy, and other relational discord soon follows” (Zwart). When we go on social media it is easy to think that everyone is living their life to its fullest potential, but this perception isn’t true. Previous studies have linked FOMO to a wide range of mental health conditions such as anxiety and low quality sleep due to inattention and hyperactivity. These health conditions can make college students experience difficulties when it comes to completing their work on time or all at affecting their success.

Students who struggle with their emotional well-being due to social media are more likely to have difficulties with their collegiate success. Social media is a well known distraction for college students. “When it comes to academic performance, the effect of social media on college students appears as unfinished assignments, lack of attention to detail, and neglect of work. Some of the mental health issues (...) [such as anxiety and depression] lead to poor academics, too, in addition to lack of sleep from late night scrolling and posting” (Zwart). Regarding college student’s emotional well-being, excessive social media use can lead to back pain caused by improper posture, irregular sleep patterns, mood swings, and eye straining. These health issues make effective studying difficult and thus can lead to failing grades. If a student struggles with their mental health due to social media to an extent that becomes too much to handle, it can lead to them dropping out and not getting their degree. This will have long term effects such as having a hard time entering many career fields and struggling financially.

Collegiate success is greatly impacted by a student’s mental and emotional well-being and social media usage is definitely a contributing factor. All college students want to be successful in all aspects of life at college and it is important to understand what can negatively affect this. Social media is a very powerful tool as it connects us with people who may live thousands of miles away. It is designed to get a psychological response out of us to continuously open the app several times during the day. Although it is important to understand that spending hours of the day scrolling through and liking images could be affecting our overall well-being. With that being said, the use of social media should not be prohibited amongst students, but the time spent should be limited and school should always be prioritized. Doing so will reduce the chances of one’s mental and emotional well-being being affected by the world that is social media.