How Social Media Affects Mental Health — Especially for Our Generation

Let’s be real: social media has been part of our lives for as long as we can remember. Some of us grew up watching “Dora the Explorer” and “The Wiggles.” Others grew up in front of the camera, starring in family vlogs or social media posts before we could even spell the word “privacy.”

And then came the pandemic, where the internet wasn’t just a distraction, but a lifeline. That’s when our screen time skyrocketed, and with it, so did the impact of social media on our mental health.

But how exactly is it affecting us, especially those of us who’ve been online since childhood?

The First Exposure: Growing Up Online

For a lot of kids, their first introduction to social media wasn’t scrolling through Instagram, it was being in someone else’s content. Family vlogging became a huge trend, but behind the cute thumbnails and “Day in Our Life” titles is a serious concern: kids feeling like they always have to perform.

“When children are constantly filmed for family vlogs, they often experience increased stress and anxiety... Many children begin to feel like they're always ‘on stage,’ which can be extremely overwhelming for their developing minds,” said Michael Anderson, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Clinical Director at Healing Pines Recovery.

As those kids grow up, the pressure doesn’t just disappear, it morphs into frustration, resentment, or even rebellion. Some feel like they were robbed of a private childhood. Others struggle with self-esteem because they’ve never not been watched. Add in the risk of cyberbullying, and you’ve got a recipe for long-term mental health struggles.

A well-known case is the Franke family, a once-popular YouTube clan. Their daughter, Shari, opened up in her memoir about the bullying she faced both online and at school, and how constantly being filmed shaped her mental health. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t great.

Teens and Young Adults Aren’t Immune

Of course, it’s not just the kids in front of the camera. It’s also the millions of us who grew up watching this kind of content, endlessly comparing ourselves to perfect lives, perfect bodies, and perfect filters. And it’s only gotten worse since the pandemic.

When lockdown hit, social media became our only real connection to each other. But that connection came with a cost. According to UC Davis Health, by 2020 nearly 44% of all internet users experienced some form of cyberbullying. That’s almost half the internet, and a huge chunk of those were young people just trying to find community online.

And here's the kicker: even though social media is supposed to make us feel more connected, more and more young adults report feeling depressed and lonely. A survey from the Royal Society for Public Health found that many 14 to 24 year olds link social media to increased feelings of isolation, according to Child Mind Institute.

The Silent Pressure - Social Media Affects Mental Health

We use social media for everything: staying in touch, sharing memories, catching a laugh, or passing time in awkward situations. But behind the scroll is something heavier, a kind of invisible weight. It's this weird paradox where you're surrounded by people online but still feel incredibly alone.

Today, many teens and college students struggle with basic social interactions. Why? Because they’re not used to face-to-face conversations. We text, DM, email, even when someone’s sitting right next to us. This over-reliance on tech is eroding important social skills, like reading body language or handling uncomfortable conversations in real life.

Before smartphones, you could go home after school and unplug from the world. Now? The social pressure follows you, in your pocket, on your pillow, even in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep.

So… What Can We Do?

This can all feel a bit overwhelming that social media affects mental health. But the good news? People are fighting back. More creators are ditching the filters and sharing content that’s real. Advocates are pushing for stronger protections for child influencers. And more of us are setting boundaries, like screen time limits or unplugging for a full day.

Social media isn’t going anywhere (well… except maybe TikTok again). But we don’t have to accept everything that comes with it. We can create healthier spaces online. We can talk about mental health more openly. And we can help each other remember that likes should never cost us our sense of self.

Because the goal isn't to disappear from social media, it's to exist in it without losing who we are.