In health class recently, we have been studying the impact of media on teens’ mental health. I used to think that social media would improve teens’ mental health by helping them communicate, but now I think that social media is a really big threat to teens’ mental health. Social media has many stigmas on how you should look, what “pretty” means, and that girls should be skinny. These stigmas are everywhere–tv shows, movies, social media, and even the people around us (without even knowing it). Stigma happens from a lack of understanding of something, through ignorance and misinformation. It can also happen because some people have negative attitudes or beliefs (prejudice). This can lead to discrimination. Stigma can also happen through mental illnesses, for example bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a illness that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration. There as stigmas saying that people with bipolar are just moody, and so on. We need to prevent this stigma by educating people properly about these illnesses and be aware of our surroundings (people, words). It is also important for teens to understand mental health conditions (common ones like depression/anxiety). This is because these mental health conditions has become prevalent among the new generations, where social media is ubiquitous. In order to get treatment, it is best for teens to understand what is happening and understand what other people are facing too. In this unit, I have learned a lot about the impact of media on teens’ mental health. We need to understand the harm of media to teens, reduce stigma, and help teens understand mental health conditions.
