
Most teens in America have some form of a social media account, rather it be to talk to friends/family, look at pictures, or keep up with worldly news (WebMD). I am interested in this topic because I have grown up in America, with social media all around me. By high school and the start of college it has blossomed into an everyday routine. Teens throughout America are being blind sighted with the psychological effects social media has on the brain. There have been studies conducted where social media did cause an effect and ones that didn't. However, each study needed to have the same independent factors, dependent factors, and as well as the control to be considered legitimate. With these research opportunities, social media has been observed to create self-esteem issues in teens. These esteem issues derive from the need of acceptance by their peers. "Research has also shown that there is definitely a causal path between social media use and lower well-being in general" (WebMD, Scott Campbell). As the reliance on social media has grown, I have been interested in psychological disorders because of their effect regarding teens as they embark into their development to be adults. So, how is social media negatively effecting teens with their psychological state? I will clarify the psychological disorders that social media inflicts on teens in America and how it effects them.

Psychological effects/disorders are defined as of, pertaining to, dealing with, or affecting the mind, especially as a function of awareness, feeling, or motivation (Dictionary.com). Having the pressures of peers and social media around teens, these pressures on their mind tend to start to dwindle their wellbeing as a whole. Mozes, a researcher and author for WebMD, found that most teens who are avid social media networkers are vulnerable to be diagnosed with psychological disorders. In his research, he tested teens and based it on how often they were on social media and what time they were able to turn off their connections and go to sleep. He also questioned them about what their pressure level was to be available to respond and/or look at posts at all times. Most teens were unable to go to sleep at night because they had a fear of missing out and having to face judgment from their peers. "Teens who feel a round-the-clock compulsion to participate on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter may pay a price in lost sleep. They may also face a higher risk for depression and anxiety, new research suggests" (Mozes). In this quote, Mozes explains how social media can impact teens negatively. These teens were the most susceptible for these disorders because of the inability to get a good night's rest and the pressure they are feeling from themselves and their peers to stay connected. They also stated that they didn't want a peer to need them and not be able to respond when needed. These teens were more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and self-esteem issues because of this lack of sleep.

Mozes gives a good, knowledgeable insight into how sleep can effect teens psychologically. With less sleep because of the connection to social media accounts, these teenagers were more irritable and tired throughout each day. Researchers agree with this definition of psychological disorders because of the research that has been conducted. Each experiment proves different aspects of social media and how it effects sleep. So, without sleep, teens are missing vital body functions and brain activity (National Sleep Foundation). During sleep, teens' brains go into a state of brain activity that doesn't happen while awake (National Sleep Foundation).With these issues, their school and home performance were directly impacted. Being able to sleep will help each teen be able to function throughout life better, for example, being able to eat and manage stress and pressures what life entails, which will help with their performance in school/work and at home (National Sleep Foundation). Throughout adolescence, teens should be getting eight to ten hours of sleep for optimal function and behavior (National Sleep Foundation). Sleep does impact lively hood directly because of the bodies need to rest. Without adequate hours of sleep because of social media, teens can become depressed, anxious, and unaware of the world around them, producing psychological disorders.

Teens dependent nature on social media and their self-esteem dwindling (loss of self-confidence), cyberbullying can come into account. Teens with these symptoms allow themselves to be brought down emotionally and mentally, which give a good window for cyberbullying to occur. Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of intimidating or threatening nature (Dictionary.com). "A meaningful proportion of teens, however, is being exposed to interpersonal violence, aggression, mistreatment, and harassment while online -- through what has been termed ''cyberbullying,'' defined as ''willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices'' (Hinduja and Patchin 2009:5; 2012). Via these tools, one can send hurtful and denigrating messages and content to a specific target, to third parties, or to a public forum that many other online users visit" (Hinduja and Patchin). With this quote, it proves that social media does cause cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is also a main cause for psychological disorders throughout teens in America. Overall, teens and their dependency on social media does effect the likelihood of cyberbullying occurring. Which also ups the likelihood of psychological disorders occurring in these teens.

Cyberbullying and online harassment are two issues that are most directly related to mental disorders in teens. A teen that has or is being cyberbullied, has a great chance of developing anxiety, depression, severe isolation, and suicide (O'Keefe). Researchers agree with the definition of cyberbullying because of the disorders they can provoke. "Facebook depression" is an ongoing problem with teens throughout the United States. They are spending so much time on social media that they are showing depression symptoms when no longer on the sites. Teens show these symptoms because they are not getting the attention and communication with their peers that they desire. When teens are in this state, they seek for help. They turn to risky online sites and into severe isolation (O'Keefe). These depression symptoms are also a part of cyberbullying because of the impact and stress that peers put on each other. Many teens go online to get praise from their peers. For example, to get "likes" on posts and pictures on Instagram or Twitter. When the teen doesn't get this recognition from their peers it could lead to self-esteem issues, which then could lead to depression and other severe psychological problems. This side-effect could take a serious toll especially when the teen is still young.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, set my Congress, states that the child must be thirteen years of age before able to sign up for any social media account. If younger then thirteen, they need parental allowance. "In 1998, the U.S. Congress enacted the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), requiring the Federal Trade Commission to regulate commercial Web site operators of sites targeted at children or who have actual knowledge of a child's participation. The framework that they provided includes processes to ensure that Web site operators obtain 'verifiable parental consent' prior to the collection and use of information on children under 13 years old" (Matecki, 2010; U.S. Congress, 1998; U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 1998). However, the pre-teens are being allowed to have social media accounts without parental supervision. These children are downloading each app and creating each account without parental allowance or even knowledge from the parent. This allows the young teens to be exposed to this social media frenzy much sooner than the generations before. Having children on social media accounts at an earlier age can cause an early onset of low self-esteem. With this low self-esteem accruing in the younger years, the teen has more availability to be cyberbullied. This can also lead to an early onset of other psychological disorders.

 Amelia Strickland conducted research about how teens and young adults are more narcissistic and have lessening chance for acquiring depression because of social media. Having narcissistic personality disorder means the individual has a sense of high-importance therefore adheres to a less chance of depression (Strickland). This research shows that narcissism is also influenced by the time spent on social media. Narcissism is often seen in teens younger or at the age of 13. These teens are being exposed to social media in early years. Therefore, these teens are in a higher range to develop a source of anxiety or self-esteem issues because of their 'high horse' expectations that are not being met. She explains the side of social networking that causes anxiety. Teens and young adults are worried throughout the day when they couldn't constantly check their email or social media accounts (Strickland). Teens were more susceptible to this worry because of their dependence on staying connected and the judgment with their peers. Narcissism adheres to psychological disorders because the teen is on the 'high horse' expectation standpoint. These stances provoke stress, anxiety, and other psychological disorders. So, when the teen is focused on social media and is narcissistic, these factors coincide with each other to provoke psychological disorders.

People in America could believe that either social media does effect the brain of a teenager or that it doesn't cause any effect. In each side of this argument, teens have control of changing the inevitable. The value of the teens being able to change these outcomes proves that there is control over the situation. The value of being able to control how the situation plays out is good because the more control, the less change of developing psychological problems. Throughout studies, researchers have found that social media only starts to effect the brain when the teen is dependent on their social media account and dependent on the need of attention from their peers. This research doesn't find any psychological problems with the teens until that certain point of 'need' is reached. They are trying to prove that when social media is just a part of a life, it will not affect psychological issues in teens. Other research that has been conducted is what the aftermath is of having that dependency on social media and needing that feedback from peers can cause on the teenage brain. A solution to psychological problems caused by social media is preparing times for social media and times that is forbidden. There is a great amount of credible evidence for each side of this research question. Having both of these research options allow the researcher to pick which one they would like to focus on. I decided to focus on the aftermath of social media on the teenage brain because of my interest in psychological disorders and what seems to cause them throughout America.

