The complicated relationship between mental wellness and the online world.

1. Mental
Illness,
&
Social
Media.
Virginia
Toole
Film
240
The complicated relationship between
mental wellness and the online world.
Image
via
Eric
Gross
Teens

2. “20% of Canadians will personally
experience a mental illness in
their lifetime.” (CMHA)¹
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by
Jcomp -­‐ Freepik.com

3. The amount of time individuals spend on smartphones
and social media is continuously growing and become a
even bigger part of our society.
Of adults ages 18-34, 84% use smartphones, which is up
by 80% since 2013. (Krashinsky)²
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by
Jcomp -­‐ Freepik.com

4. But how are
younger teens
dealing with
technology?

5. According to research and findings by 18 year old
Alexandra Ulmer, some teens and young adults work better
when they are multi tasking with various tasks.
"What our research is suggesting is that maybe our brains
as adolescents and digital natives have adapted to this
media influence and because we've grown up with it we're
able to cope with all these different stimuli”. (Reddy)³
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by
Creativeart -­‐ Freepik.com

6. A recent Ontario study indicates that 80 per cent
of young people use social media on a daily
basis, with almost 50 per cent using it for over
two hours per day.(Whitley)⁶
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7. How can Social Media positively
and negatively affect Canadian
teens’ mental health when they
live in such a media saturated
world?
But the important question is …

8. “Children are totally immersed in a virtual world which is
damaging both to the way they see themselves and the way
they perceive the real world; some young children are
finding it hard to unpick reality from fantasy.” (The
Telegraph)¹⁰
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9. Based on research preformed
by the Center for Addiction
and Mental Health, students
who frequented social media
often reported poorer mental
health than the students who
were less frequent users of
social media.(CAMH)⁴
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via
Virginia
Toole

10. Of 753 surveyed students,
those who used social media
for more than 2 hours per
day reported lower self
reported mental health and
similar distress. (Payne)⁵
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Freepik

11. There are several factors
that can be linked to
these statistics…
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12. Image
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The reclusive nature of social media can be attributed to poorer
mental health. Spending increased time alone, missing meals,
getting behind on school work or not spending time with friends
and family.(Whitley)⁶

13. Designed
by
Teksomolika -­‐ Freepik.com
Teens compare the unrealistic social personages of their
peers to their own lives. Feeling that they are
inadequate, uninteresting or unpopular.(Whitley)⁶

14. “Girls are socialized more to compare themselves to other people,
girls in particular, to develop their identities, so it makes
them more vulnerable to the downside of all this.” (Ehmke)⁷
Dr. Steiner-Adair:
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15. Constantly portraying a hyper
happy and enthusiastic version
of a teens life on social
media can obviously be
exhausting and can create a
great deal of psychological
strain. (Whitley)⁶

16. Cyber bullying is also a concern for
young teens and their mental health…
Being bullied and abused online can
obviously affect teens self esteem
and mental wellbeing
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17. There are of course benefits
to social media…
Image
via
Virginia
Toole
“Social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace
offer multiple daily opportunities for connecting
with friends, classmates, and people with shared
interests” (O'keeffe,
Clarke-­‐Pearson)⁸

18. Larry Rosen (Professor of
Psychology at California
State University) suggests
that parents monitor their
children's social media
use, with communication
about both the advantages
and disadvantages. (Pilieci)⁹
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by
Pressfoto -­‐ Freepik.com

19. As the research suggests, the amount
of time spent on social media sites
and apps can contribute to poor
mental health and psychological
distress. Thus, a healthy balance and
use is important.

20. Bibliography
1. Fast
Facts
about
Mental
Illness
-­‐ Canadian
Mental
Health
Association.
(n.d.).
Retrieved
October
16,
2016,
from
http://www.cmha.ca/media/fast-­‐facts-­‐about-­‐mental-­‐illness/#.WAPDXJMrL-­‐Y
2. Krashinsky,
S.
(2014,
December
04).
Four
ways
Canadians
are
consuming
media
differently.
Retrieved
October
17,
2016,
from
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-­‐on-­‐business/industry-­‐news/marketing/four-­‐ways-­‐canadians-­‐are-­‐consuming-­‐media-­‐
differently/article21949630/
3. Reddy,
Sumathi.
"Teen
Researchers
Defend
Media
Multitasking;
Doing
Homework
with
Music,
Texts,
Tweets
Works
Better
for
some." Wall
Street
Journal
(Online),
New
York,
N.Y.,
2014.http://search.proquest.com.proxy.queensu.ca/docview/1610794735?accountid=6180.
4. Social
media
and
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mental
health:
What's
the
connection?
(n.d.).
Retrieved
October
17,
2016,
from
http://www.camh.ca/en/research/news_and_publications/CAMH-­‐Discovers/summer-­‐2015/Pages/Social-­‐media-­‐and-­‐student-­‐mental-­‐
health.aspx
5. Payne,
Elizabeth.
"Teens'
Poor
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Health
Linked
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use." The
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Aug
08
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21
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http://search.proquest.com.proxy.queensu.ca/docview/1702249271?accountid=6180
6. Whitley,
Robert.
"Here's
Why
Social
Media
Harms
Your
Teen's
Mental
Health
..."
Huffington
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14
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Web.
21
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2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/robertwhitley/social-­‐media-­‐mental-­‐health_b_11893462.html
7. Ehmke,
Rachel.
"How
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Child
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21
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2016.
http://childmind.org/article/how-­‐using-­‐social-­‐media-­‐affects-­‐teenagers/
8. O'keeffe,
G.
S.,
and
K.
Clarke-­‐Pearson.
"The
Impact
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on
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Adolescents,
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(2011):
800-­‐04.
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9. Pilieci,
Vito.
"National
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Is
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Media
Harming
Our
Mental
Health
..."
National
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25
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21
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http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/is-­‐social-­‐media-­‐harming-­‐our-­‐mental-­‐health-­‐researchers-­‐wonder
10."Excessive
Social
Media
Use
Harms
Children's
Mental
Health
..."
The
Telegraph,
5
Oct.
2015.
Web.
21
Oct.
2016.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11943810/Excessive-­‐social-­‐media-­‐use-­‐harms-­‐childrens-­‐mental-­‐health.html