European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? HOW IS IT AFFECTING ADOLESCENT’S MENTAL HEALTH?

Kalika Gupta*

ABSTRACT

With the advent of 20th century, several social networking sites also came in forefront. Any website that allows social interaction is considered a social media site, including social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, My Space; gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Second Life and the Sims; video sites such as You Tube; and blogs.[1] Using social media web sites is one of the commonest activities of children and adolescents these days and have become a major means of communication among children, adolescents and adults. Therefore, parents need to understand the implications of using social media and the impact these social media can have in life of their children. Public health experts are in a unique position to help families understand these sites and to encourage healthy use and urge parents to monitor for potential problems like cyber bullying, „Facebook depression‟, sexting and exposure to inappropriate content. Through this article, we are trying make an attempt to explain the negative and positive implications of social media on today‟s adolescent‟s mental health, role of parents and public health in combating these issues among adolescents. Depression, anxiety, inferiority or superiority complex are some of the common mental health problems that can arise due to over use of social media sites.

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