THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MENTAL HEALTH

FITCHE MAE J. MACULATA

KISHA DUBRIA
MARK EDISON ORIGINAL

A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT OF SAN AGUSTIN

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

GRADE 11

DECEMBER 2023
 Chapter 1

ABSTRACT

Adolescents increasingly find it difficult to picture their lives without social media. Practitioners need to

be able to assess risk, and social media may be a new component to consider. Although there is limited

empirical evidence to support the claim, the perception of the link between social media and mental

health is heavily influenced by teenage and professional perspectives. Privacy concerns, cyberbullying,

and bad effects on schooling and mental health are all risks associated with this population's usage of

social media. However, ethical social media use can expand opportunities for connection and

conversation, as well as boost self-esteem, promote health, and gain access to critical medical information.

Despite mounting evidence of social media's negative effects on adolescent mental health, there is still a

scarcity of empirical research on how teens comprehend social media, particularly as a body of wisdom,

or how they might employ wider modern media discourses to express themselves. Youth use cell phones

and other forms of media in large numbers, resulting in chronic sleep loss, which has a negative influence

on cognitive ability, school performance, and socio-emotional functioning. According to data from several

cross-sectional, longitudinal, and empirical research, smartphone and social media use among teenagers

relates to an increase in mental distress, self-harming behaviors, and suicidality. Clinicians can work with

young people and their families to reduce the hazards of social media and smartphone usage by using

open, nonjudgmental, and developmentally appropriate tactics, including education and practical

problem-solving.

INTRODUCTION

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, allowing us to connect, share, and communicate

with others on a global scale. Humans are naturally social species that depend on the companionship of

others to thrive in life. Thus, while being socially linked with others helps alleviate stress, worry, and

melancholy, a lack of social connection can pose major threats to one’s mental health.

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will serve as an overview and examination of prior research conducted on heavy social

media use and its impact on mental health. The subsections in this chapter will include the prevalence of

social media usage, lack of social media use recognizable as a mental health diagnosis in the Diagnostic

and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), mental health education through social media, and

San Agustin Institute of Technology

Valencia City, Bukidnon
current treatment gaps. The final subsection will examine system theory and integrative theory, which is

relevant to the research topic.

Body Image and Eating Disorders

The constant exposure to carefully curated images on social media can contribute to body dissatisfaction

and negative body image. This, in turn, can lead to the development or exacerbation of eating disorders

and other mental health issues.

METHODOLOGY

This provides a detailed account of the methods and steps taken regarding how this study was conducted.

Specifically, this chapter focuses on the design of the study, sampling methods, instrument construction,

data collection procedures, protection of human subjects, research hypotheses, and data analysis. The

researchers used a mixed-methods approach toward assessing whether mental health providers are

aware of social media’s impact on mental health. The quantitative portion of the study was descriptive in

design, while the qualitative piece pertained to the Grounded Theory methodology. This mixed method

survey subjected participants to both open and closed questions, allowing them to contribute their

thoughts, instead of limiting them to a specific

range of answers. With the limited research regarding mental health practitioner’s response to the

increase of mental health symptoms, the mixed-methods design provided a platform to identify barriers,

insight, and possibly future feedback for mental health education. A limitation of this research design is

that with mixed method surveys, some participants may not have provided as much information in the

open-ended questions, as that required more effort and time. The researchers have limited the number of

qualitative questions to help mitigate this limitation.

San Agustin Institute of Technology

Valencia City, Bukidnon
 Demographics for the 95 participants of this study. Findings within this table show that three quarters of
the participants identified as white,leaving a quarter of the participants non white. A majority of
participants of this study were female, with very few male respondents. With regard to the age group,
two-thirds of the participants were between 18 and 34 years old . participants that were licensed made up
one third of the responses whereas two thirds of participants quarter of the participants lived in
California while a little more than three quarters resided outside of California . a little more than a
quarter of participants have received training on the impact social media has on mental health . finally a
quarter of participants agreed that their agency values the intergration of social media and mental
health.for new female . with regard to the age group ,two thirds of the participants that were licensed
made one-third of responses ,whereas two-thirds of participants were non-licensed. A little more than a
quarter of participants have received training on impact social media has on mental health. Finally a
quarter of participants agreed that their agency values the intergration of social media and mental health
. for further breakdown refer to.

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San Agustin Institute of Technology

Valencia City, Bukidnon