SOCIAL MEDIA IS DRIVING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN TEENS

Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. are entertaining outlets for many. One can spend hours scrolling and never get board. However, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, recently issued a warning via an official advisory report, that highlights a serious problem with these social media outlets. The Surgeon General warned that these platforms, among others, are contributing to depression, anxiety, and other problems in our nation’s teenage population, driving a mental health crisis. Photo Credit: Pexels.com The advisory report highlights growing concerns regarding the effects of social media use on adolescent mental health. The advisory urges policymakers and social media companies to help manage social media usage among children and teens, in hopes to curb the growing mental health crisis. “Teen depression started to rise around 2012, a time that coincides with the popularity of smartphones,”Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and the author of “Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future,” said in an interview per NBC News. He continued, stating that during this time, “‘likes’ on posts became common, and the algorithms started to become more sophisticated to keep...