Our mental health appears to be under siege now maybe more than at any time before. In particular, the use of social media and its links to depression, anxiety, stress, cyber-bullying and body image concerns is troubling. What is the impact of social media on how we see ourselves?
In his book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt (2024) provides perhaps the best description of the damaging effects of social media today. Some of his research findings are highlighted in a YouTube presentation.1
Dr Haidt, a social psychologist and New York University professor, offers data from research among Generation Z (Gen Z, generally defined as those born between 1996 and 2013). He observes that since the 1980s, there has been a decline in play- based childhood in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (and possibly the developed world where English is widely used). In tandem, the rise of the smartphone in the first decade of the 21st century ushered in social media platforms whose influence on the children and youth of the time began to grow.
The result of these trends appears to be linked to a sharp decline in mental health among Gen Zs as the percentage of mental illnesses has increased since 2010. A comparison of US undergraduates (aged 18 to 22) in 2010 and in 20202 showed:
- Anxiety rose by 134%
- Depression increased by 106%
- Anorexia increased by 100%
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increased by 72%
- Schizophrenia increased by 67%
- Bipolar disorder increased by 57%
- Substance abuse and addiction increased by 33%
Dr. Haidt also reported the prevalence of anxiety specifically for adult age groups since 20103:
- From ages 18-25, an increase of 139%
- From ages 26-34, an increase of 103%
- From ages 35-49, an increase of 50%
- From ages 50+, a decrease of 8%
Recent research among Singapore youth may support these findings. In 2024, the National Youth Mental Health (NYMH) Study found that one-third of youth aged 15 to 35 reported severe levels of depression, anxiety and stress.4
While there may be other contributing factors in Singapore (e.g. the tendency for children in Singapore to grow up emotionally neglected5), the incidence of depression and anxiety among Singapore youth seems related to social media exposure as well. Those who were exposed to social media more than three hours a day were 1.5 times more likely to be severely depressed and 1.6 times more likely to be severely stressed.
Unrealistic beauty standards
Besides excessive social media usage, two other risk factors—body image concerns and cyber-bullying— were also found to be related to depression, anxiety and stress. I shall focus on body image concerns in this article.
Body image is essentially the outcome of how individuals evaluate their bodies. Besides their perception of how their bodies look to themselves and others, body image can also be influenced by their understanding of what their bodies can do, an awareness of how their limbs move through space, an estimation of body size, an evaluation of individual parts of their body, culturally-driven ideals (e.g. thin-ideal and athletic-ideal) and eventually how they feel about their body and physical features. A negative body image results when dissatisfaction emerges from this evaluation.
The NYMH study found that about 20% of the youth had moderate to severe concerns about their body image. Individuals with moderate to severe body image concerns were 4.9 times more likely to experience severe depression, 4.3 times more likely to experience severe anxiety, and 4.5 times more likely to suffer from severe stress.
The results suggest that excessive exposure to unrealistic beauty standards on social media may influence adolescents and young adults to be dissatisfied with their body. They feel they do not measure up to the idealised physical shapes and appearances posted on social media. The effect is serious enough to be stressful and depressive for a significant segment of society exposed to social media.
Moreover, the rise of the digital phone enables the taking and sharing of pictures easily. Filters and photo-editing apps can also be used to create the “perfect selfie” or enhance appearances, especially when people want to post pictures but are unhappy with their less-than-glamorous or perfect appearances. Given that only 2% of the world have symmetrical faces, heavy social media users with poor self-esteem and body image insecurities who constantly compare themselves with others may become increasingly dissatisfied with their imperfections, leading to shame or anxiety. Body dysmorphic disorder, characterised by an overwhelming concern for one or more physical flaws, may then emerge.
Moreover, the rise of the digital phone enables the taking and sharing of pictures easily. Filters and photo-editing apps can also be used to create the “perfect selfie” or enhance appearances, especially when people want to post pictures but are unhappy with their less-than-glamorous or perfect appearances.
It is important to note that not all effects of social media are negative. For some, exposure to physical images can inspire fitness and health. Online support groups are also available to help others combat negative self-image.
In addition, studies have indicated that excessive social media usage is not the sole cause of a negative body image.6 It has also shown up among children as young as seven or eight years old,7 or when there are problematic parent-child relationships, e.g. parents who criticise their children’s physical features8 and cultural ideals. Biases or preferences of family and peers, education and even faith traditions can all influence how individuals view themselves. Low self-esteem is often another vulnerability for a poor body image to take root. When a child’s negative view of themselves is persistent and their identity is shaped accordingly, poor mental health may show up in the form of eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder or depression. Professional help should be considered when these conditions become apparent.
QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Do you have body image concerns?9
- Do your feelings about your body interfere with your relationships, work or activities?
- Do you take extreme measures to avoid seeing your body?
- Do you compulsively check and re-check your body, e.g. weighing yourself, measuring your body parts, pinching your skin or repeatedly examining yourself in the mirror?
- Do you feel the need to apply heavy makeup when you go out in public?
- Do you use hats to cover your hair or baggy clothing to hide your body?
- Do you pluck, shave, wax or laser away facial/body hair excessively?
- Have you had excessive plastic surgery?
- Do you use harsh or unkind language to describe your body? (e.g. “I’m so ugly”, “I’ll never be accepted by my friends”)
- Do you intentionally damage your skin?
- Do you experience powerful negative emotions when you think about your body?
If you have answered yes to more than a few of these questions, it is possible that you have body image concerns.
QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS
What is your parenting approach regarding your children’s use of social media?
- How much are your children exposed to and influenced by social media?
- How do your children define their self-worth? Is it by their appearance, their peers’ approval or elsewhere?
- Do you seek to positively promote your children’s emerging strengths and character traits (rather than highlighting their perceived flaws)?
- Are you ready to monitor and limit social media exposure so as to engage your children in other activities to promote positive body image and self-esteem?
- What is the quality of your relationships with your children? Are your children secure with you and do they value you as their role model? Are they raised on healthy affirmations and validated based on their person, effort, achievements and strengths (rather than their appearance)?
Dilemma of today’s parents
Christian parents need to remember that God values our heart more than anything else (1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 4:23) and that mental health (and health in general) is God’s ideal for us. But it can become a battleground for our children’s spiritual growth and mental health if they are not secure in the love of their parents and do not learn to value what God values.
In an increasingly digitalised world with its accompanying social pressures facing current and future generations, the difficult challenge will be to nurture the heart of the child away from the appeal, attractions and addictions of the secular world and to desire integrity, wholeness and love for God. We all need to be convinced that God values us from the inside out instead of the secular world’s practice of looking outside in.
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L58niidJM0
2 Source: American College Health Association [ACHA-NCHA II]
3 Source: US National Survey on Drug Use and Health
4 https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/key-takeaways-from-imh-s-national-youth-menta-health-study
5 https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/childhood-trauma-can-lead-to-mental-health-issues-among-young-adults-study
6 Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One’s Own Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021, Mar 11;18(6):2880). https:// www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/2880.
7 Maternal influences on body image and eating concerns among 7- and 8-year-old boys and girls: Cross-sectional and prospective relations. International Journal of Eating Disorders (2019). Rachel F. Rodgers PhD, Eleanor H. Wertheim PhD, Stephanie R. Damiano PhD, Susan J. Paxton PhD. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23166
8 8 Toxic Things Parents Say To their Children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= GS_mATLF7BE &rco=1
9 https://www.healthline.com/health/negative-body-image