Unit 2 Draft

 Unit 2 Portfolio: Social Media's Impact - Draft

Since its rise in the early 2000s, social media has proven to be a platform of fostered creativity. With countless platforms, users can share almost any form on content, imagery, or information they choose. This freedom, while allowing for greater connection in society, has exhibited countless negative effects on mental health, particularly in youth. The negative effects have become profoundly worse as social media has expanded and developed. There is no limit to how, what, or when users post; and content is having an even greater societal influence. Social media has many positive features; better connectedness, fostered creativity, and support, but its negative effects on mental health are significant and lack recognition, particularly for young minds. 

Since its creation, social media has been a platform of ideals. Users have complete freedom to create the content they are sharing, which has led to the development of different editing tools, allowing users to freely alter their appearance as they choose. An average person spends 147 minutes a day on social media, but for youth the average is even higher. (Forbes 2023). This is a significant amount of time to consume "the best" and ideals of someone's life, whether it's in experiences or appearances. 

A study published to the National Library of Medicine found that social pressure and social comparison are determining factors in the development of eating disorders and body dysmorphia, particularly for women. Prior to social media, people only had the opportunity for comparison in public, in person, or with those on TV. Now, with the rise of social media, social comparison is more significant from daily exposure and consumption of idealized appearances and bodies.