Social Media Is Harming the Mental Health of Teenagers. the State Has to Act”

ARTICLE ANALYSIS

In the article “Social media is harming the mental health of teenagers. The state has to act” the author discussed issue on the effects of the digital landscape the mental health of teenagers. The argument on this topic is negative because the article is discussing about the negative effects of social media on mental health of teenagers. The author used both inductive and deductive manner because based on paragraph two, it starts with specific point to general point while on t paragraph three, it starts with general point and ends with specific point.  The author’s purpose for writing this article is to inform readers about how social media affected the mental health of teenagers. The author’s tone on this article is subjective which is biased because the author has a negative attitude towards social media has been affecting mental health of teenagers by increasing risk of anxiety, stress and depression than those who spent the least time on social media. The author’s intended audience to read this article is teenagers and parent.

     The author’s present her first reason by mentioning that digital landscape has put increased pressure on teenagers today. She supports this by using personal experience by June Eric Udorie (not her real name).She mention that her 14-years-old sister always needed to load her Snapchat stories one more time, or to reply to a message that had come in tow minutes age because she didn’t want her friend to feel ignored. If June refused, saying she could respond in the morning, her sister will said “You’re ruining my social life” to June.

Besides, another reason is teenagers who engage with social media during the night could be damaging their sleep and increasing their risk of anxiety and depression. She support this reason using a strong evidence by providing a research findings about negative effect of social media on teenagers. The study found that teenagers spoke about pressure they felt to make themselves available 24/7, and the resulting anxiety if they did not respond immediately to texts or posts. Teen are so emotionally invested in social media that a fifth of secondary school pupils will wake up at night and log on, just to make sure they don’t miss out.

 Moreover, she also mention that teenagers need more sleep than adults do, so night-time social media use could be detrimental to their health. She supports this using research findings that shown teenagers need 9.5 hours of sleep each night but on average only get 7.5 hours. A lack of sleep can make teenagers tired, irritable, depressed and more likely to catch colds, flu and gastroenteritis.

 Another reason is how the pressure of social media disproportionately affect teenage girls. This reason supported by research findings by the National Citizen Service. According to National Citizen Service, rather than talking to their parents, girls seek comfort on social media when they are worried. The survey also suggests that girls are likely to experience stress more often than boys-an average of twice a week.