Social media and its influence on mental health of youth 

Mental health is the most important and crucial part of a person’s everyday life. If it gets affected, then one’s functioning as a human being also gets affected, resulting in different responses from the brain and body. Mental health issues are those that affect a person’s thinking, emotions, behaviour, or overall functioning of the brain. In such instances, the brain gets impaired by the realities of daily life. This not only affects older people but also the youth. 

There are many causes and influences behind these mental health issues, such as drug abuse, which affects the growth and development of the brain, especially in those below 25 years of age. Trauma and domestic abuse, especially when inflicted on a young child, affect the child’s development and perception of the world, along with academic and social pressure among the youth. 

The factors mentioned above do influence mental health issues, but the digital world has also accelerated that influence multi-fold. Social media, a global hub that connects people all over the world in real time, offers a wide range of content like health-related issues, beauty content, human-based content, and lifestyle issues, all of which are included among the causes and influences affecting mental health in the youth. 

The case of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old schoolgirl who died by suicide following her interaction with harmful content encouraging self-harm, suicide, and depression on platforms like Instagram showed how social media can cause withdrawal from society and oneself. This heightens depression and anxiety, making people feel lonely and abandoned by their loved ones. This was the case with Molly, who never sought help for her mental health issues. 

Louise, another young woman who sought body-changing procedures due to motivation from social media trends, underwent a liquid BBL procedure from a non-professional. This resulted in an infection that caused severe sepsis. She was later taken to the hospital, where doctors told her they might have to amputate her leg to save her life. Thankfully, she survived with all her limbs intact but was left with psychological trauma from the events she experienced. 

There is also the case of a 19-year-old boy who dropped out of college to pursue higher earnings through “drop-shipping”, after being influenced by social media influencers his age showing off Ferraris and other luxuries while doing the same thing. He later realised the façade of it all after losing his savings. Ashamed to face his friends and family, he fell into depression. 

Even though social media is filled with content far removed from reality, some people still feel helpless when they see how others appear to be living successful lives, while they see themselves as complete failures. Some people begin indulging in harmful behaviours just to live a “social media life”, causing anxiety, depression, and even suicidal behaviour when things take a bad turn for them. 

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