As more and more social media sites become available, the younger generation spends multiple hours communicating behind screens and lose the valuable resource to talk face-to-face. With the use of social media, teenagers and adults get the opportunity to network and stay in touch with long distance family and friends. Social media is a great tool to learn about upcoming events in the community or showing off pictures of an important event. However, teenagers are now using social media to compete with each other. Who can get the most likes on a status is an unfortunately relevant question in almost every adolescent mind. The feeling of getting left out and feeling like you do not belong is ruining lives of so many young children. As a young adult, I have seen many cases were social media can lead to depression. The younger generation uses social media as an outlet when they are feeling bored which leads to "22% of teenagers [logging] on to their favorite social media site more than 10 times a day" (ped). Long hours comparing oneself to other friends and not getting face-to-face communication can lead to serious depression and other mental issues.

According to a clinical report, social media can be a key component in furthering a child's life if it is used correctly. Adolescents can have "deeper benefits that extend into their view of self, community, and the world" (ped). In school, students use Facebook as a way to work on homework and group projects. However, social media is more widely used for cyberbullying, sexting, and a term known as "Facebook depression." Facebook depression is when adolescents spend extreme amounts of time on Facebook and develop symptoms of depression offline. This depression can lead to substance abuse and self-destructive behaviors. 

 "The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families" is posted in a Pediatric textbook. Doctor Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, the author, wants parents to understand the dangers of Facebook depression and to try to connect with their children on an emotional level. Parents are advised to talk to their children about online use and issues they could face while also setting boundaries on what websites they can visit and teaching them about privacy settings. Digital footprints will follow adolescents to adulthood and it is better for children to learn at a young age what is alright to post and how to be careful about what information is released. 

Adolescents become depressed for multiple reasons according to webmd. "School performance, social status with peers, sexual orientation, or family life" is a major reason why there is such high rates in depression among children. Children suffering with depression will often stay inside all day and have little face-to-face communication. One in every eight adolescents is diagnosed with clinical depression. Symptoms of depression can range from difficulty making decisions to losing interest in food or compulsive overeating. Sadness and anxiety are also common symptoms in depression. Teens are constantly faced with challenges and are not getting the resources necessary because they are spending multiple hours online instead of communicating and having personal interactions. It is getting harder for parents to catch the signs because they do not spend enough quality time with their children. Webmd provides a ton of medical advice to millions of people. There information comes from extensive research and doctor's opinions. 

Sever depression can lead to suicide. David D. Luxton, PhD, wrote about "Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective." Luxton states that there is an undeniable increase in the amount of activity on social media. However, there is also an increase in suicide rates. Doctor Luxton agrees that it is very difficult to test social media to see if it is a factor in recent spike in rates. There could be other risk factors that may not be accounted for. Many schools and colleges are starting to raise social media awareness and talk about privacy and other issues that may circle this topic. With proper education, this could save lives.

It is not secret that social media can lead to depression. However, the increase in websites designed to make online communication easier leads to more suicides. Some doctors believe that growing up is just more stressful than previous years and that is the true cause to the spike in rates. Feeling left out and not using actual social skills for a young adult will eventually lead to depression that if not taken care of, will lead to suicide. In the future, I hope to look at more Doctors opinions on the spike in suicide rate and look more specifically at what components in social media lead to depression.

