Chasing Likes, Losing Connection: Youth Mental Health in the Digital Era | by Riya Patel | Freedom of Thought: Expand Your Mind! | Jun, 2026 | MediumSitemapOpen in appSign up<br>Sign in

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Chasing Likes, Losing Connection: Youth Mental Health in the Digital Era

Exploring how constant connection, digital validation, and online culture are reshaping mental health for young people.

Riya Patel

3 min read·<br>Just now

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Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on UnsplashWhat’s Going On?<br>Most modern-day adolescents are practically glued to their phones, or electronic devices. In other words, youth are beginning to rely heavily on social media. There may be some positive impacts such as building connectivity and making friends. However, while this newly developing technology may help raise confidence and build community, there are many negative impacts on childrens’ mental and possible emotional health. These include cyberbullying, social comparison, late-night scrolling, and negative impacts on brain development.<br>Negatives<br>Cyberbullying<br>First and foremost, cyberbullying is a major negative impact of social media. This happens mainly through negative output coming from others, like rude comments and online gossip about individuals. This can cause increased anxiety and may lead to stronger cases, such as suicide. To elaborate, cyberbullying involves hurting someone online using personal information and communication devices. There are many forms that cyberbullying may occur in. Some possible guises are sending harassing messages, posting negative comments on an online platform, threatening or intimidating someone via online sites, and more. This can can cause low self esteem, anxiety/distress, or mental illnesses. “Cyberbullying can be a serious threat to children’s mental health, and it often goes unnoticed because it happens behind screens when kids are on social media, texting or playing video games,” states Ariana Hoet, a PhD executive clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation and pediatric physchologist at Nationwide Children’s hospital. She also explains, “It can lead to anxiety, depression, trauma and even suicidal thoughts. Kids’ mental health starts with us adults, and we must be proactive and talk with kids about their digital lives, setting clear expectations and being a trusted source of support when they need help.” There are many ways that adults can take action to support and control situations like these, including communicating with their children about the harmful effects of cyberbullying, the importance of appropriate online behavior, the importance of privacy, and more.<br>Self Esteem<br>Also, posting online can cause social comparison and body dissatisfaction. Young children tend to compare themselves to others, thinking negatively about themselves and setting unrealistic expectations for themselves. This lowers their self-esteem and highers feelings of inadequacy. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Frequent users of appearance-focused platforms experienced reduced self-esteen and heightened levels of anxiety and depression, with social comparison behavior worsening these effects. Adolescents’ body image was further influenced by peer and parently validation, with peer approval playing a critical role in shaping their self-perception.” Teens take their social lives very seriously, meaning that their perception of their own lives is mainly centered around others’ social lives and expectations.<br>Press enter or click to view image in full size

Photo by Ethan Hasenfratz on UnsplashChemical Imbalance<br>Lastly, social media can result in late-night scrolling with dopamine-triggering occurrences and lights that “hijack” your brain’s reward system. To specify, getting a like, comment, or view on a post or online communication sight invokes a large amount of dopamine that results in long-time online activities. In addition, by creating an endless flow of content and artificial light, sites bypass your natural self-control mechanism and trick you into thinking you need to stay involved and engaged. The blue and green light produced from electronic screens prevent your brain from producing melatonin, which is the hormone that informs your body that it’s time to sleep. All this causes your brain’s prefrontal cortex to fatigue, making it easy to continue scrolling, following the endless trail of artificial happy feelings instead of waking up to reality.<br>Last Thoughts<br>In conclusion, based on the evidence provided above, social media mainly has negative effects on the mental health of adolescents. It can cause cyberbullying, social comparison, and late-night scrolling. So next time you hop onto a...