
Conclusion
While I did not discover what exactly it is about social media that effects mental health, I found some interesting connections. For example, most of the survey participants strongly agreed or agreed that the beauty standards created by social media made them feel insecure. Meanwhile, every post that included a person from my content analysis had someone that fit those beauty standards. Additionally, there was a plastic surgery ad shown to me by two different accounts. If these types of ads are shown to someone too many times, that could start messing with their head. This doesn't just play into insecurities, but it could also play into anxiety and depression. Someone may feel anxious or depressed wondering "why don't I get that many likes/nice comments?" or "why don't I look like that?"
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At the end of the day, social media could quickly become a slippery slope of toxicity. It all depends on how you use social media. There are many positives to social media as well; like the sense of community you can find and an escape from reality. It all depends on how you decide to use social media.
My Final Take-Away: Don't be afraid to delete social media when it becomes too toxic for you.
Attributes:
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Graphics created by Abbi O'Brien
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Photos provided by Wix
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Screenshot of the Instagram post from user @glashchick
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Literature Review by Abbi O'Brien (sources used to make this are credited on the link)
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Video by Abbi O'Brien (sources used to make this are credited at the end of the video)