Discuss two health problems caused by social media and suggest two potential solutions.

Reading List

1. If you are answering question 1, you must use the following source in your essay.
2. You should independently find additional sources that support your points.

Buda, G., Lukosevicitue, J., Salciunaite, L. and Smigelskas, K., 2021. Possible Effects of Social Media Use on Adolescent Health Behaviors. Psychological Reports, 124 (3), pp. 1031-1048. [Online] Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0033294120922481

ANSWER

Health Problems Caused By Social Media and Potential Solution

Introduction

Social media has become the increasingly utilized domain to communicate and interact. Irrespective of these benefits, it exposes individuals to various health issues. Depression and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are common health problems linked to social media usage. Based on the exposure to these illnesses, there is a need to create awareness about the adverse effects of social media and offer suitable healthcare to those affected. These strategic measures will enable them to make informed decisions when using social media platforms.

Depression

Depression is one of the health problems commonly associated with social media usage. Young people are suffering from mental issues due to online social media (Keles, McCrae & Grealish, 2020). As most young people immerse themselves in social media, they are becoming exposed to depression. They spend most of their time on various social media platforms viewing images and videos that potentially affect their self-esteem. They develop adverse feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction because they cannot achieve the status evidenced in the contents incorporated on social media. For example, if social media users see their peers living high-end lives, as evidenced by images and videos on social media, they develop negative moods and feelings. This translates to depression associated with an inferiority status. Notably, social media users have found themselves suffering from Attention Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

ADHD

The frequent and heavy usage of social media has been associated with attention deficit hyperactivity among teenagers. This segment spends most of its time glued to social media platforms. They miss out on key opportunities like having ample sleep and engaging in different physical activities. Research indicates that social media exposes individuals to sleep peculiarities and poor physical activity levels (Buda et al., 2021). This makes them manifest ADHD-like symptoms like inability to concentrate on tasks and excessive talking. Further research indicated a significant but modest relationship between increased usage of social media and subsequent symptoms of ADHD (Ra et al., 2018). This means that people, especially adolescents exposed to heavy social media usage, are prone to evidence ADHD symptoms. This lies a major concern towards ensuring that social segments are protected from exposure to this condition amidst the alarming usage of social media.

Potential Solutions

One of the crucial ways of handling these health problems is to create awareness to ensure that social media users make informed decisions when using these platforms. Educating and training users about these adverse health outcomes will enable them to make excellent decisions. For instance, ensuring that teenagers understand that social media images do not represent people’s actual lives will protect them from depression. Notably, informing people of the need to limit time spent on these platforms will enable them to have adequate sleep and find time for engaging in physical activities. This reduces associated exposure to ADHD symptoms. Another valuable way is to offer quality healthcare for affected persons. For instance, psychologists and counselors should offer appropriate guidance to persons with depression and ADHD resulting from social media usage. This will enable them to take better responsibility for their lives.

Overall, depression and ADHD are some of the common health problems associated with social media usage. Considering the adverse outcomes attributed to these conditions, it is vital to create awareness on limiting social media usage to escape these illnesses. Also, care providers like psychologists and counselors should provide quality care to enable these individuals to overcome these challenges and take better control of their lives.

References

Buda, G., Lukoševičiūtė, J., Šalčiūnaitė, L., & Šmigelskas, K. (2021). Possible effects of social media use on adolescent health behaviors and perceptions. Psychological reports, 124(3), 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120922481

Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851

Ra, C. K., Cho, J., Stone, M. D., De La Cerda, J., Goldenson, N. I., Moroney, E., … & Leventhal, A. M. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. Jama, 320(3), 255-263.