The following article is an opinion and does not reflect the views of The Eagle or its staff. All opinions are edited and fact-checked for grammar, style, and argument structure, but the opinions are the author’s own.
It’s no secret that Gen Z is going through a lot. He lived through the pandemic during our most formative years and is just one of the challenges we faced. We were isolated and alone. But we were never really alone, right?
Social media has kept us connected to our peers, for better or for worse. People of all ages can share their thoughts and feelings online, often without filters or seconds. Many people flocked to social media in search of vestiges of relationships lost during the pandemic. Although we were completely isolated, the world was still at our fingertips.
But we lost ourselves in the app. It took me hours of scrolling and comparing. I have seen with my own eyes that social media plays a huge role in the significant decline in mental health of our generation. According to Pew Research Center, reveals that 67 percent of teens use TikTok, 62 percent use Instagram, and 59 percent use or have Snapchat. Pugh also says that over 50% of his teens have a hard time quitting social media.
On social media, first-hand accounts of world tragedies can be found without warning. Young people are seeing extreme violence from war-hit countries like Ukraine through their feeds. Algorithmic decisions, not necessarily choices.
When we were middle school students, we saw an uncensored photo of “” on Instagram.children in cagesWhen children are separated from their parents at the border. Immigrant children lived in a completely different world, and there was nothing we could do about it. Still, we felt sorry for them as we saw them on our feeds.
Violent and sad footage has surfaced on social media, and it’s hard not to watch. However, information overload has dulled our sense of world events and is a source of anxiety for many people. said Katie Day Goode, associate professor of strategic communication at the University of Miami. huffington post, “Social media can desensitize us to tragedy by presenting us with too much information, out of context, and misinformation and disinformation.” We are constantly shown conflict zones, humanitarian crises, and worse. It was inevitably going to catch up with us, and it’s happening now.
But social media also puts us in the forefront of many world events that our children will one day read about in history class. For example, thanks to social media, we can all participate in his groundbreaking 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. We helped spread the petition and shine a spotlight on an issue that many of us had no idea was such a big deal. Social media is also a platform for teaching people how to vote and educating them about political candidates. While it wasn’t originally intended as an educational platform, it has become a source for breaking news, activism, and grassroots organizing.
What can we, as young people, do to help our fellow men? We can write or call our legislators, but they don’t even understand how to use these platforms. . So how can we expect them to regulate? During the 2023 Congressional session, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faces questions from the House Energy and Commerce CommitteeSo, Congressman Richard Hudson of North Carolina’s 9th District asked, “Does TikTok access my home Wi-Fi network?” Surprised, Chu had to explain to lawmakers that any app could access his Wi-Fi network if the device was connected to his Wi-Fi. With our leadership so incompetent, all we see are problems without solutions.
When considering the mental health crisis, we should look no further than the apps on our phones. But is there a way to stop it? Can you limit your social media use? Theoretically yes. But name one teenager, or adult, who you predict will give up their cell phone and its apps.
I know it’s a problem, but I’m too attached to give up Because that’s how apps are made.. To ultimately repair social media addiction and the resulting mental health problems, we must recognize and counter the abuses of these apps. The next time you find yourself in a TikTok spiral, put down your phone and go for a walk or coffee with a friend. Small changes can make a big difference.
Ritika Shroff is a freshman in the School of Public Relations and a columnist for The Eagle.
This article was edited by Alana Parker, Jerinda Montez and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing was provided by Luna Jinks, Isabelle Kravis, and Charlie Mennuti.
opinion@theeagleonline.com
