Social media is designed to draw in, engage, and addict its users, and today it is a societal norm. Social media has been perceived to be fun and harmless on the surface. However, recently, it has become more common knowledge that there are long-term implications of always being connected to social media. Social media use has caused many adolescents to have more symptoms of poor mental health, like depression, anxiety, and poor self-esteem. These symptoms affect their well-being and cause more thoughts of suicide due to the depression symptoms. It is important to address how social media companies should be held responsible for their platform's addictive algorithms, which contributes to increased depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents.

When social media was first released to the public, it was a revolutionary form of communication that enabled instant communication between anybody around the world. Users of Social media can update their friends and family about their lives all in an instant, no matter where they are. However, Social media has not had the same effect to many users, including adolescents. However, at the time, it was unknown that social media would addict the entire world to their platforms and hinder socialization while causing a massive mental health crisis. This concern has arisen similarly to how people reacted to children watching television or other media, but Social media is different. Social media negatively impacts the mental health, academic performance, and social life of developing adolescents because of Social media’s intentional addictive design through their use of targeted advertising and algorithms.

With body image issues on the rise among adolescents, Social media does not help in preventing low self-esteem during adolescent’s critical development periods. Social media has also caused many adolescents to have increased feelings of depression, anxiety, fear of missing out, and low self-esteem. When it comes to fear of missing out, many will see the highly curated highlight reels that people post on Social media that do not reflect reality, which can make people who see those kinds of posts feel like they are missing out on something when in reality their life is probably not much more different than their life. Social media can lead to more social comparisons, by comparing someone’s highlight reel to the user's everyday life which contributes to those negative feelings. Additionally, users on social media will often use filters to change the photos in the way the user sees fit. Also, many apps automatically apply filters without the user's input, creating a false sense of perfection. On top of this, many users will buy fake "likes" to make themselves look and feel better about themselves online, which further creates this false sense of reality. When people on social media see these fake versions of people and potentially a fake fanbase, it results in low self-esteem due to comparing an unachievable result to the user’s real life that is free from filters and photo-altering applications. Also, the cause of these effects may be attributed to increased levels of social isolation due to the amount of time spent on social media (e.g., Facebook), which results in heightened depression symptoms. Increased symptoms of depression and anxiety among adolescents have increased their suicide rates. Ever since the rise of smartphones began around 2012, Researchers have found that there has been an increasing correlation between smartphone and social media popularity and suicide risk factors and suicide (Magner 5).

By nature, humans are driven to feel like they belong and are connected to their peers. When social media does not meet this psychological need, it results in more depression and loneliness symptoms. This is important for humans in general, but especially so for adolescents, as they are still developing and need these psychological needs to be met to develop their identity as they approach adulthood (Magner 5-6).

When it comes to how problematic social media use affects adolescents in the academic setting, according to this source, the study shows that adolescents who have a high usage of short-video social media (e.g., TikTok) can result in cycles of addictive behavior while using the platform, which can get in the way of adolescents' academic tasks which hinders their academic performance, such as grades and extracurriculars (Xu et al. 12). Short-video social media content, and likely, other forms of social media, can hinder academic performance in adolescents. Also, social media can cause sleep problems and academic burnout in adolescents, which can further harm their school performance and their grades (Wei et al. 1). Furthermore, increased social media use among adolescents results in lower levels of self-control due to the addictive nature of the platforms (Angela Fabio et al. 8). This is especially problematic when you consider how the sheer amount of short-video social media users are adolescents. In the study, it has been reported that 90.73% of young adolescents surveyed said that they regularly use short-video social media. For older adolescents, 87.84% of them use short-video social media. Compared to adults, 73.6% said they used short-video social media; a vast majority of adolescents use this kind of social media, completely excluding non-video-centered social media platforms (Xu et al. 9).

The time society spent in the COVID-19 lockdowns hastily accelerated internet, smartphone, and social media use, especially among adolescents. COVID-19 limited social interaction besides that on social media. The study shows that during the lockdown, adolescents who used highly visual social media (e.g., TikTok, Instagram) to excess showed a higher risk of social media addiction compared to other adolescents who did not use such platforms (Marengo et al. 4). Because of the amount of isolation experienced by almost all of society during that time, it accelerated these feelings of depression and anxiety, especially when mixed with increased social media use and social media’s addictive algorithms.

Now, why does social media even addict people? More specifically, adolescents. The addictive effects of Social media comes from the very way that the applications are designed. Firstly, social media platform algorithms are designed by a tiny group of engineers, primarily located in California. These individuals work with the few popular social media companies to design social media to make the user spend as much time as possible on the app to maximize profits (Bhargava and Velasquez 322). Social Media companies, combined with their addictive algorithms, collect the user's data and sell it to advertisers to target advertisements toward the user that wil; most likely cause the user to interact with the advertisement. When the addictive and highly curated algorithm is combined with the targeted advertisements, it makes the companies the most money, incentivizing them to make the Social media algorithms and their platforms as addictive as possible. Additionally, the addictive nature of Social media targets the adolescent/developing brain. Because adolescents have worse risk management due to their developing brains, they are more likely to spend more time on Social media than adults with fully developed brains.

On the contrary, many say that Social Media can benefit adolescents. For instance, social media can help many adolescents reduce social isolation and improve their social skills. Many adolescents experience higher levels of stress and pressure due to academic demands and other aspects of their lives that could induce stress. Social media was a way to let go of some of that stress and allow them to relax at the end of the day. Additionally, Social media has helped adolescents foster social connections and increase online social interactions, which can help with self-esteem and help prevent the onset of mental health conditions (O'Reilly 202). However, despite Social media's benefits to adolescents, the negatives still outweigh the positives. This is because Social media's escape is the very thing that addicts the user to the app, which creates more problems for adolescents in the long run. Social media addiction causes more stress and increased depression and anxiety symptoms due to social comparisons and fear of missing out; despite that Social media can prevent such symptoms in many cases; it depends on how the user uses the platform, whom they interact with, and how addicted they are to it.

A few potential solutions to this mass adolescent social media addiction could be to regulate social media companies and to what extent they can design their apps to addict people, have parents regulate their teenager's social media use, find an alternative mode of communication and sharing of personal events that is not as harmful to adolescents as Social media, and propose legislation to incentivize Social media companies to find alternative sources of revenue instead of the advertisers that they currently sell the user's data to, such as a subscription-based model, similar to "X" but removing the addictive algorithms entirely. The implementation of some if not all of the solutions to this problem will help improve adolescents' mental health and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety that social media, directly and indirectly, caused them.

Social media use has caused many adolescents to have more symptoms of poor mental health, like depression, anxiety, and poor self-esteem. These symptoms affect their well-being and cause more thoughts of suicide due to the depression symptoms. Furthermore, Social Media addiction can hinder their ability to succeed in education spaces. Also, the next generation will be negatively affected by being raised around addictive technology and Social media. We must strive to make changes in legislation to make social media companies responsible for their addictive design approach to social media that makes the lives of many adolescents and potentially their adult lives worse, with symptoms of depression and anxiety lingering in their lives. Social media is not going anywhere, therefore we must strive to make Social media a better place for the youth, as it is imperative that they are given the best chance to succeed as they approach adulthood.

Works Cited

Angela Fabio, Rosa, et al. "Problematic Smartphone Use Leads to Behavioral and Cognitive Self-Control Deficits." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 12, 17 June 2022. MDPI, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127445. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

Bhargava, Vikram R., and Manuel Velasquez. "Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction." Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 3, July 2021. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2020.32. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

Magner, Melissa. "Social Media's Effect on Mental Health: How America's Youth are More Vulnerable to its Negative Implications." Pop Culture Intersections, 4 Sept. 2018. Santa Clara University Library, scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/20/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

Marengo, Davide, et al. "Smartphone and social media use contributed to individual tendencies towards social media addiction in Italian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic." Addictive Behaviors, vol. 126, Mar. 2022. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107204. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

O'Reilly, Michelle. "Social media and adolescent mental health: the good, the bad and the ugly." Journal of Mental Health, vol. 29, no. 2, Apr. 2020, pp. 200-06. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2020.1714007. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

Wei, Xin-Yi, et al. "Does adolescents' social anxiety trigger problematic smartphone use, or vice versa? A comparison between problematic and unproblematic smartphone users." Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 140, Mar. 2023. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107602. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

Xu, Ziyan, et al. "Adolescent user behaviors on short video application, cognitive functioning and academic performance." Computers & Education, vol. 203, Oct. 2023. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104865. Accessed 25 Feb. 2025.

AI has the potential to bring a lot of good into the world, however, it can also be detrimental to society. Here's why, firstly, the internet and technology in general has already been taking care of more of our cognitive load, we know less things by our mind only and rely on technology to complete tasks, things like basic maths, driving directions, and cooking recipes to name a few. Now this doesn't seem bad for us, if anything it may make our lives easier having to think less. However, it becomes a problem when we take away technology, which we aren't going to always have, 

We live in a society where it is normal to spend many hours per day on our cell phones. It has become so normal because of social medias lure to get people to use the platforms, and the addictive nature of said platforms. Social media sites tap into our dopaminergic system by creating anticipation of finding "that one post" or "that one video" that makes us laugh and feel good. The hunt for content is addictive, not the content*.

The other big issue with the way social media is designed in the modern era, is that it is very overstimulating to my brain. It makes other activites that aren't nearly as stimulating feel mind numbingly boring in comparison. This leads to decreased productivity, and an inability to focus. For students especially, this can make procrastination easier and focusing harder. Like why would I want to do something that takes a long time to get a reward when I can get the reward just from scrolling on TikTok for a few seconds. From the standpoint of gaining the reward quicker, which one would you choose?

I will go into more detail in future blog entries, but that is the simplified version because I am too tired to continue writing this crap.

*Content itself obviously can be addicting depending on the person's tastes in content and what they fancy. You know what I mean, we all like that one movie/show/youtuber etc.

The five-day school week is far too long. By the end of the week so many students are exhausted and don’t have the time or the will to invest in themselves. Some students want to pursue a hobby, or they want to spend more time with their friends and family. Nowadays, students, especially those in high school, are stressed out with their classes, extra-curricular activities, and for some, working a part-time job. If schools were to switch from a five-day to four-day school week, students would benefit socially, physically, and mentally from an extra day to spend on themselves. They would also get a break from the stresses of their classes, extra-curriculars, and part-time jobs.

A four-day school week will help students with their mental health and stress. Nowadays, because of higher parent expectations for students, competitive college applications, and more work from teachers, students are stressed more than ever before. Students must balance school, clubs, sports, if they are a senior, college applications, and some have a part-time job on top of that. Poor mental health and stress on Gen Z has been at an all-time high, and having to do 5 days of school per week on top of having a personal life is very challenging. It would certainly help if students can get an extra day per week to just unwind, or at least do their work at home. Having ample time to rest has been scientifically proven to improve cognitive function and lower stress, which can increase productivity while at school.

If schools were to switch to a four-day school week, then not only can students be more productive and relax more, but they can also work on themselves and pursue hobbies. For instance, students can take that extra day to work on their physical fitness, spend time with family and friends, and find hobbies. A lot of students do not have the time to just do something they want to do. When people do things or hobbies that they want to do, it helps lower stress, and it allows them to feel more relaxed. Students are always told what to do every day and some may rarely get a chance to do something they would like to do for once. If students can participate in activities that allow them to unwind and relax, then in turn they will be more productive and will score better on exams.

Despite all the benefits to a four-day school week, some may argue that a reduced school week will not prepare students for the typical Monday through Friday work week that many adults experience; while that is a good point, many workplaces are also switching to a four-day work week to improve productivity in their offices. On another note, some argue that productivity may go down in schools if a reduced schedule is put into place. Many students may not take the time to be more productive with their time and spend it in non-productive ways; however, this is very subjective, and most students would likely just enjoy the extra day to themselves, even if that means they will not be doing anything productive with it.

In conclusion, there are many benefits to a four-day school week. The extra day that students could get has the potential to decrease stress, improve focus, and increase productivity.