Social Media In America

Scrolling down a feed on social media has become one of the most common hobbies of today. It has become so relevant that some turn to it as a distraction and it becomes more of a routine to pick up the phone, then to engage in conversation at social events. Although social media was intended to be used as a way to communicate with friends and family, it has vastly become a negative influence on some younger people. In this technology era, people do not just use social media to chat with people, you can now see updated trends, articles, challenges, and so much more. That being said young adults, teens, and adolescences are being affected by how they use, see, interact and interpret social media in a way that can influence a person 's mental

That being said many people turn to the internet and social media as a way to help with their mental health. With an advanced spectrum of mental health disorders, those who have no access to care, are left self-diagnosing, and researching ways to help themselves. Turning to Facebook pages labeled 'depression ' could give useful information, or negatively influence the person reading by scrolling by something they do not agree with. A problem with today 's society and the way we have access to the internet is you can look anything up at any moment. In a report by American Academy of Pediatrics, they list out risks by using social media. One risk that stood out was the online harassment, because it gave in great detail the psychological outcome that could lead to suicide. With having the ease of access to internet at such young ages, parents need to be involved in their child 's life at all times. Something I found interesting is, if you were to go to google and search 'suicide ' results of the search show definitions, methods, and media coverage. Children who have access to this sort of information could influence their mental health in a way that could be life threatening from what they have experienced by using social media at such a young age. Where I work, I hear a lot of stories from the doctors and their experiences dealing with younger clients. Recently with the new show "13 Reasons Why" Psychiatrists, therapists, and other doctors have seen an increase of clients come in with similar scenarios from the show. Brenda Masterson, a adolescent therapist working at Human Behavior Institute, had a discussion with me on the impact of the show and the impact it had on the clients and increase of suicide attempts (Masterson). She explained "clients have had 'suicide boxes ' left on their desks at school" which caused an uproar of