Is social media harmful to us? Personally, I believe that social media is harmful to us. There are so many social media platforms that can be hurtful and dangerous. Social media can contain a lot of bullying, hate, and so many other things. Social media can affect people in so many ways. It is possible to affect people in a positive way, but I believe people are affected negatively for the most part.

Social media can cause depression, anxiety, addiction, negative body image, social isolation, and other mental health issues in teens and adults. The depression caused by social media can range from 13% to 66% between teens and adults. According Samaritan Behavioral Health, 72% of teens and adults use social media on a daily basis.

Depression and anxiety from social media can be caused by seeing people live lives that you wish to have, having things that you’ve always dreamed of having, and many other things. Addiction can be caused by using social media so much that you don’t want to get off and wanting to use it so much. Negative body image can be caused by seeing photos of other people’s bodies that you wish to have. Social isolation can be caused by substituting face-to-face interactions with social media usage.

Since there is so many ways that social media can be harmful to people, I think it should be fixed. I believe that people should be more kind to others. Not everyone will take that advice, but I think everyone deserves to be happy with the life that they live. No one deserves to feel bad about themselves due to others. Social media should be a safe place for all. I believe that people are the only cause of the harmfulness on social media, so that is the only thing that can be fixed.

For student and staff opinions on the appropriate age people should be allowed to have access to social media, click here for a survey.