by Noah Pilot
Nearly half of the U.S teens admit they spend too much time on social media, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey. Around 45% of the teens surveyed reported spending too much time on social media, an increase from 32% in 2022. However, 74% of the teens surveyed said that social media makes them feel more connected to their friends, with 63% stating that it helps them showcase their creative side. I believe that when you are able to balance social media with your personal life, you can get the most out of social media.
What is Social Media? Social media is an interactive, internet-based platform that enables users to create and share information, ideas, and opinions, thereby forming online communities and networks. According to GWI’s the Global Wellness institution that researches on the wellness industry revealed data that the typical social media user actively uses or visits an average of 6.75 different social platforms each month, and spends an average of 18 hours and 36 minutes using social media each week, which includes browsing social networks and watching online videos on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Most social media apps allow you to post information or content in the form of short-form videos. These short-form videos are used to deliver information or content to users as quickly as possible. These social media apps also have a system called an algorithm, which is a system created by the apps to generate and display content that they believe you will like on their platforms.
Social media has been reported to cause more mental health issues in its users, specifically teens. Social media causes a lot of mental health issues with its users, based on the system on which social media is built. Social media usually has functions that allow you to like other people’s content and support them, while also allowing you to dislike or criticize people behind a screen. This has led to a new form of bullying being developed through social media, which is cyberbullying. Comparing yourself to others online can be both a positive and a negative thing, but I strongly believe it is more of a negative. Most of the time, when you see people online doing things that they are better at than you, it can be hard not to constantly compare yourself to the best and try not to focus so much on other people. But social media makes that very difficult.
Although social media can develop mental health problems for its users, there are many good ways that social media can be used if balanced correctly. For example, being able to communicate with your friends and family from anywhere in the world is amazing to me. I have been able to stay in touch with friends from around the world due to my frequent travel. And to me, social media is the only way that would have been possible. Also, the ability to express yourself creatively on social media is another feature I think is very positive. You can showcase your hobbies or interests on social media.
One social media app that I think does this the best is YouTube. YouTube, although it primarily features short-form content, also offers long-form content. I find these long-form videos to be informative, entertaining, and creative. Not only is YouTube one of the few social media platforms to feature this kind of content, but it also enables you to express yourself creatively and reach a large audience. Balancing social media is also a very challenging task. Since the algorithms of these social media apps are designed to keep you on the apps for as long as possible, that’s what generates the most revenue. Ways to balance and use social media healthily include setting timers when using it, setting restrictions or boundaries when using social media, limiting your screen time usage, and avoiding comparing yourself to others online.
Overall, social media has both positive and negative aspects. And in my opinion, I believe that social media has more positive uses. I think the harms that social media has are very damaging to people who can’t find a balance or control themselves with social media. Since social media is designed to keep you unaware and engaged for as long as possible. But the positives of social media are very good as well. Such as being able to connect with friends worldwide and stay in touch with them. You need to learn how to balance social media and limit the time you spend on it, so that it has a more positive effect on you.
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