Social media, one of the most important aspects to society today, has spun mankind on its head with a new innovative way of social networking. Social media is any website or application that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking (Google). In recent times, people have observed certain aspects of social media and have started to notice some mischief that it has caused. Although social media has become one of the most relevant topic amongst society, this paper will focus on the harms of Snapchat, which many aspects of social media can also apply. Snapchat, a recently new application that allows users to send pictures to each other, has become a social sensation for adolescents. The application launched with its original intent of just sending pictures to each other, but then a new feature was added to application. This new feature was called a “Snapchat story” and as people started to utilize the feature as much as possible, people began to see the self-harm and commotion it began to cause. As a Snapchat user, I understand there are many great things that have come out from Snapchat. The ability to send picture and videos of your daily experiences to your friends is remarkable, but you may not realize the total harm that the Snapchat stories feature causes. The purpose of this article is not to bash Snapchat, but to inform you about how Snapchat stories have done more harm to individuals, than good for them. As Snapchat stories started to evolve, many people started to post more and more about things that would impress their friends. This has led to the phenomenon of Fearing of Missing Out (FOMO) which is a desire to constantly check what others are doing (Strehlke). This has caused a withdraw from living and a focus on the “exciting” experiences of others. The story feature of Snapchat has led to a downfall in our society, preventing people to actually live and instead focusing on other’s through social media applications like Snapchat. Snapchat stories have deteriorated the self-esteem of individuals with regards to the fear of missing out through, an addiction to the feature, an increase in mental harm, and a decline in social interaction, therefore users should consider disregarding the Snapchat story feature.

Social media and Snapchat are an intertwined combination, when it comes down to the nitty gritty. Snapchat is a social media application, so they both share many qualities cause people to have lower self-esteem and fear of missing out. These social networking mechanisms have shaped the way of life for the millennials. Since millennials are very tech-savvy and connected, they depend on social media applications. But the main issue with that is they have become too dependent on social media. The fact of the matter is millennials do not know how to function without social media and this has created them to have addictions, mental health issues, and social isolation. 

Social media has become one of the most addicting habits haunting society. In a restaurant, you can simply look over to the table next to you and see a family all looking down at their phones to check what they are missing out on, when really they should be enjoying their time together. It has become a routine for people to wake up, check social media, bored, check social media, eating, social media, sitting alone, check social media, before bed, check social media. The addiction of checking up on others through social media comes into play with self-esteem because they are negatively related to each other. People who tend to check social media more often than others are more likely to have a lower level of self-esteem because they are not that satisfied with their life. Many of these effects of social media are similar to the negative effects of Snapchat.

As Snapchat has become more prevalent, addiction has been identified as a common side effect. Users have fallen into a manipulative trap that makes them consistently refresh their Snapchat story feeds. The Snapchat corporation has created users to have an addiction to the application, addiction to check what others are doing, and addiction to advertise what they are doing to impress others. People have become addicted to the application because it gives the user so much insight about their friends right at the touch of their fingertips. By allowing people to share their daily experiences, it creates controversy when people feel excluded and jealous, and therefore leaves some people with lower self-esteem (Utz). In a study to predict the relationship between addictive use of social media and self-esteem, the results were able to conclude that there is a negative correlation between addiction of social media and self-esteem. Cecilie Schou Andreassen conducted a survey and tested different demographics like age, sex, and educational level, and these factors were able to determine that lower aged women are more likely to be addicted to Snapchat and have negative self-esteem (Andreassen). From the evaluation, one can conclude that people who use social media frequently are more inclined to have an addiction to the application and therefore they could have lower self-esteem.

With the addiction that the Snapchat application has created itself, it has created a fear of missing out, so whenever people are scared they are missing something going on, they go and check the application. The fear of missing out has inhibited users from enjoying life because they run to the application every time they are concerned something is going on without them. The previous study discusses the affects that the application has on its users. As self-esteem has started to become a bigger issue amongst some, the addiction of constantly checking other people’s Snapchat stories does not help. The research found that many people use applications like Snapchat to obtain higher self-esteem, or hide from their lower self-esteem (Andreassen). The reason this occurs is insecurities set in and people do find certain thing in social media that boost their self-esteem, so in the back of their mind they know a like on social media boost the individual’s self-esteem and confidence so they constantly crave this type of satisfaction. The users also run to the application because it gives them a sense of security to see what everyone else is doing. Individuals are addicted to see what others are doing because they don’t want to miss out on anything. Having the ability to see what others are doing at the touch of your hands is very tempting and many are unable to avoid this temptation. These people are not able to enjoy life because they are so wrapped up on what they are missing that they cannot even focus on what is right in front of them. 

Ever since Snapchat stories have become more popular, the application has caused young people mental harm and psychological distress. An adolescent’s intense use of Snapchat can correlate with low self-esteem. In a survey to identify specific factors that affect mental health, users used previous experiences and judgements to determine Snapchat as a threatening place. The participants identified the threats through judgements of their experiences with themselves and others. They were then able to identify insecurities, anxieties, and low mood that Snapchat has led them to experience at points in time. The judgements were specifically related to mental health because the participants related the cyberbullying and negative emotions used against them in the application to the application itself. One of the participants described her feelings toward social media applications as, “it’s like especially (tough) when you write your own opinion on something like that, like everyone’s getting ready to criticize you and say you’re wrong” (Singleton). Sarah, the young girl who was interviewed, expressed her true emotions about her insecurities from social media. Whenever Sarah wants to post something on social media, she is insecure about what her peers are going to judge her on and this leaves to her have mental distress.

 Adolescents struggle with the use of Snapchat and other social media application because many want to express their own opinions freely, but they begin to feel insecure and anxious when they post something. Other adolescents criticize the wrong in people and what they post in social media rather than expressing positive emotions. The negative experiences of social media have hurt mental health and therefore brings down self-esteem. In a study conducted by Valerie Barker, she looked into participant’s motives to use social media and how that affected their overall self-esteem. The results indicate that most of the participants who reported high collective self-esteem reported that their motive was to communicate with peer through social media. The participants who reported negative collective self-esteem used social media as an instrumental interest for social compensation and learning (Barker 212). Social media should be used in a way to communicate to others, a purpose of lurking the internet for more social information has a more likely chance of low self-esteem.

Mental health also affects users of Snapchat through the fear of missing out. In an examination on the effects of Snapchat on our mental health, Snapchat has made it more difficult to focus on what is going on around us. The application creates us to be more consumed in other people’s lives than our own because people become very anxious and concern that they are could potentially be excluded. Snapchat has also brought out negative emotions of its users like insecurity, anxiety, depression, stress, doubt, and many more. These emotions are brought out when users post Snapchat stories because the concerns of what the reaction will be and what others are doing override the original intent of the app, which was to share happy experiences with friends. Many people also cannot go without the thought of being without their phones, this controls their life and constantly takes away from human interaction. This fear that someone is missing out on something so trivial hurts one’s mental mentality through the social anxiety from the Snapchat story. 

While some may view Snapchat stories as a way to socialize with your friends at the touch of your hands, it really has created more social isolation than anything else. Snapchat stories have created people to become more focused on other people and their experiences rather than their own. The inability to live a life focused on oneself is detrimental to one’s self-esteem because when someone has their attention focused on peers, they have feelings of jealous and resentment (Utz). That person views their life in comparison to others and no two people will ever experience all of the same experiences. In a Ted Talk performed by Allison Graham, she discusses how Snapchat disconnects people from society. This social media platform has enabled people to become less social, so they hide behind the screens of Snapchat because their insecurities override their willingness to express their true selves. As Graham mentions, “The people on the screen are more important to them”, this is what has shaped our society to become isolated. When friends and families go out to dinner, you will sometimes see a table full of people just looking at their phones. They do not even bother to have a conversation and focus on what others are doing rather than enjoying the time and people they have right in front of them. This is what has been deteriorating our society and as Snapchat still continues to evolve, the story feature could potentially do more danger. The lack of social interaction that has led to the fear of missing out through people focus on everything else that is going on, rather what is going on right in front of them in their life. A study at the University of Michigan, came to the conclusion that people who tend to check applications like Snapchat more frequently have lower self-esteem because they are scared of what they are missing out on. The fact of the matter is people who check their phones feel a loss of touch with society and are just worried about everything they are missing out on, instead of what is right in front of them. 

With the addiction, mental harm, and social isolation caused from Snapchat’s low self-esteem and fear of missing out, Snapchat users should distance themselves from the story feature. The snapchat story feature has done more harm to individuals than actual good. This has led individuals to mental health issues, isolation from society, and an overwhelming addiction creating individuals to distance themselves from people and society and hide in a virtual world of loneliness. Social media addiction has harmed individuals through consuming them and creating an addiction to constantly check what others are doing and constantly impress others through post. This consuming addiction has led people to focus on other people than themselves. There have also been tons of mental health issues from social media. Many people have social anxiety and depression from social media because of material posted and sometimes people will comment back negative things on the material posted, which really hurts self-esteem. One of the biggest setbacks from social media is the social isolation that is caused. The social isolation has harmed our society because it has caused many people to focus on their own virtual worlds rather than appreciating the world around us. Instead of holding conversations, people just look down on their phones, and by doing that now it may lead you to be alone forever. Next time you check or post on social media or Snapchat, just think, “Is this really benefitting me in any sort of way?” “Am I posting to impress or am I posting to share a happy memory?” And last but not least, “Would I appreciate this more if I was off my phone?”
