Stack 1

Tarler Stack

Professor Knudson

UWRT 1104

19 November 2018

Social Media: Anxiety Inducer or Anxiety Reliever?

Over the last couple decades, social media has become an exponentially larger part of the

lives of just about everyone in a modern society. Many people who have never known a world

without the internet are starting to become adults and enter the workforce. From the looks of

things, social media and the internet are here to stay, no matter what the consequences end up

being. Many of these potential consequences relate to mental health, particularly that of the

teens and young adults that have developed a reliance on social media. From the few studies

done, it appears that these consequences may be significant, though not necessarily always

negative. Anxiety is one of the many mental health issues affected by social media, and further

analysis of the connection between anxiety and social media is necessary to determine how

dangerous social media can be. In the United States alone, 40 million people suffer from some

sort of anxiety disorder (Egen). The scary part is the fact that that number only applies to

citizens aged 18 or older, ignoring the the rampant presence of anxiety in adolescents. How

exactly is anxiety, particularly in today’s youth, affected by social media?

Firstly, there has been some research done on this topic already. Although minimal, it

does give us starting point to begin to understand the correlation between social media and

anxiety. Chloe Berryman and her colleagues did a study on this, and found the results highly

inconclusive. Berryman and her co-writers inform the reader that “our results revealed that,

overall, social media use is a poor predictor of mental health problems and concerns about social
 Stack 2

media precipitating a mental health crisis may be unwarranted”. The lone exception to these

results was vaguebooking, which in short is making posts that provoke reactions from the

audience. Vaguebooking was found to have a statistically significant effect on loneliness and

suicidal thoughts (Berryman et al. 312). Other evidence seems to suggest a correlation between

positive and negative interactions and lower and higher rates of anxiety, respectively

(Cuncic). However, the inconclusive results lead to a lot of ambiguity in the field of experts

searching for answers. Social media has not been prominent for anywhere near long enough for

proper studies to be done. Nobody knows what long term effects of an addiction to social media

are because there simply hasn’t been enough time for any long term effects to show up. Not only

that, but many people that suffer from serious anxiety, as high as 30 percent, never seek

treatment for their disorder (Egen). Predictions are the only thing that can be done, and despite

the convincing statistical evidence behind them, it is impossible to know anything for sure.

The most common division of anxiety disorders and perhaps the one most affected by

social media is social anxiety disorder (Egen). Those affected by social anxiety need to be

especially careful in their use of social media. As Alan Cuncic points out, people with social

anxiety disorder that overuse social media may end up with fewer and/or weaker connections

with people, and they will focus too much on the things that they do not have that others show

off on social media. This perspective is dangerous as it can lead to increased stress, worsening

of disorders such as depression and anxiety, lack of sleep, which on its own can worsen anxiety,

and even an entirely new disorder called Internet addiction disorder (Cuncic). There is also

discussion about another new disorder that is not yet officially recognized, social media anxiety

disorder (Fader). Sarah Fader discusses this new disorder that can not have possibly existed a

mere 20 years ago. Fader lists its symptoms as “interrupting conversations to check your social
 Stack 3

media accounts”, “withdrawal from friends and family”, “loss of interest in other activities”,

“overwhelming need to share things with others on social media sites”, and “severe nervousness

or anxiety when you are not able to check your notifications”, among others. These things can

have a detrimental impact on both the enjoyment of life and serious jobs, schoolwork, or

relationships (Fader). This information may make social media sound like the worst thing to

ever happen to the world. However, if used in moderation and with careful thought, social media

can actually be beneficial. Social media can be used as a source of support for those who need it,

actually reducing their anxiety and helping them recover from particularly difficult anxiety-

related events. Many suffering from social anxiety see social media as the only way they can

actually open up to people and establish friendships, allowing them to practice social skills in an

environment that lets them feel safe and helps them feel less alone (Cuncic). Social media can

be a legitimate tool used to help the millions struggling with social anxiety disorder, but extreme

caution must be taken to ensure that the results are positive. The best solution is likely to get

parents more involved in the online activity of their children. If parents are trained to know what

their children should avoid on social media, they can help protect them from engaging in things

that could be dangerous for their health.

The last topic that will be discussed here is sadly also the last thing that happens to

millions of young people struggling with anxiety, suicide. Suicide claims 30,000 lives annually

in the United States and almost a million worldwide (Luxton et al.). David Luxton and his co-

writers demonstrate that it is frighteningly easy to come across pro-suicide content on the

internet, and people in danger may stumble upon that information and take it seriously. Suicide

is a very touchy subject that many people avoid discussing, but an increase in awareness may

very well be what the world needs to prevent it, especially on widely used social media.
 Stack 4

Cyberbullying through social media is one of the most dangerous things, as it significantly

increases suicide rates for both the victim and the bully (Luxton et al.) Luxton and his co-writers

also bring up the concept of a suicide pact, describing it as “an agreement between 2 or more

people to die by suicide at a particular time and often by the same lethal means. A suicide pact

that has been formed or developed in some way through the use of the Internet has been referred

to as a cybersuicide pact”. Many people struggle to really grasp how real anxiety is and how

easily it can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions. Stories of past and current victims on the

internet are easy to come across and can do a marvelous job at putting things in perspective. One

in particular, conveyed by Benoit Denizet-Lewis, tells the story of a teen from North Carolina

named Jake. Jake had always struggled with anxiety, but he was able to handle it for the most

part, until one day seemingly at random all it all cumulated into one outburst that lasted for

months and barely left him alive (Denizet-Lewis). This kind of thing can happen to anyone; they

seem fine and one day all of a sudden they just crack. It may not be a one time thing either, and

they may continue to get worse until they end it the worst way possible. Jake was very close to

that point, and he attempted taking prescribed medication to get better, but “none seemed to

work — and some made a bad situation worse. An increase in dosage made Jake “much more

excited, acting strangely and almost manic,” his father wrote in a journal in the fall of 2015. A

few weeks later, Jake locked himself in a bathroom at home and tried to drown himself in the

bathtub”(Denizet-Lewis). Jake went through multiple suicide attempts over the course of his

breakdown, and although not inspired by social media, is an eye-opening example of just how

extreme anxiety can be (Denizet-Lewis). Jake is very lucky to be alive today, but the lives of the

future dominating generation should not be left up to luck. Social media isn’t all bad though. In

some cases, social media can be a lifesaver for people on the brink of ending it all. Many search
 Stack 5

engines have implemented features where the national suicide prevention hotline is displayed

after searches that seem to suggest suicidal thoughts (Luxton et al.). There are also plenty of

suicide prevention websites and chat rooms that have been used to genuinely save lives. The

issue is the fact that not everything on the internet or on social media is positive, and one wrong

click can lead to horrifying results. Parents being more involved in the online lives of their

children may be a solution to this, adding an extra layer of protection from the seemingly infinite

negativity on the internet.

In conclusion, there really is no conclusion. Social media just has not been around for

long enough for sufficient evidence to be collected about its relation to anxiety. Only

speculation can be done, and although it can be deep and quite possibly very accurate, it is only

speculation. However, we do know that anxiety is an extremely real issue, particularly in young

lives. If social media does impact it as studies seem to suggest, then it needs to be pinpointed

exactly how social media impacts it and actions need to be taken to get children to stay away

from the anxiety-inducing areas and embrace the positive ones. Speculation is a good thing in

that it gets people to try new things, and if those things work, it may very well lead to a solution.

Nearly every expert agrees that parents need to be more involved in both the real and internet life

of their children to keep them safe. Social media is certainly a very dangerous place for a teen

struggling with anxiety, but it also may be the place that, if used correctly, saves his/her life.

Works Cited

Berryman, Chloe, et al. “Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young Adults.” Psychiatric

Quarterly, vol. 89, no. 2, June 2018, pp. 307–314. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11126-017-9535-6.

Cuncic, Arlin. “Social Media and Social Anxiety Disorder” Verywell Mind, Dotdash, 12 June 2018,

www.verywellmind.com/social-network-use-and-social-anxiety-disorder-4117143.
 Stack 6

Denizet-lewis, Benoit. “Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe

Anxiety?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017,

www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/magazine/why-are-more-american-teenagers-than-ever-suffering-

from-severe-anxiety.html.

Egen, Sean. “8 Facts About Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders.” Addiction Treatment | Elements | Drug

Rehab Treatment Centers, Elements Behavioral Health, 17 Dec. 2016,

www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/mental-health/8-facts-anxiety-anxiety-disorders/.

Fader, Sarah. “Social Media Obsession and Anxiety.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America,

ADAA, 2018, adaa.org/social-media-obsession.

Luxton, David D et al. “Social media and suicide: a public health perspective” American journal of

public health vol. 102 Suppl 2,Suppl 2 (2012): S195-200,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477910/.