Social Media Addiction Essay

There is no denying the enormous impact social media has made on the world. With early forms seen, such as radio and T.V., social media only really blossomed after the creation of the internet. As with any new technology, there come both positive and negative effects. With social media however, the negative effects are overwhelmingly detrimental to developing adolescents. The presence of cyberbullying and social media addiction are closely linked to numerous side effects such as mental illnesses, sleep deprivation, general health issues, and more (Lenhart 4). Teens are more susceptible to these issues and thus should be more protected than adults as long as they are still developing. Due to the array of different issues, adolescents should process only limited access of social media until the age of 18.

There is a reason why cyberbullying is one of the most highly cited risks of social media. From the outside, most people do not completely understand the effects of

This addiction is the same as any other serious addiction. When social media addicts don’t receive their dopamine “fix”, they suffer the same symptoms as those of suffering from drug or gambling withdrawal (Carroll). Additionally, this addiction interferes with everyday life. Most notably, sleep deprivation and general health problems; these problems are heavily intertwined, however. Those affected can’t put their phones down at night and end up developing insomnia (Ybarra 4). This lack of sleep heavily affects their general health. Then, of course, these problems lead to other issues affecting an addict’s everyday life. For the teenager, this is responsible for some academic problems (Ybarra 3). Finally, It must also be noted that social media addiction also contributes to mental health issues. Social media addiction needs more research, but the data already collected presents a grim image, harmful to the adolescent