Emily Peck

Dr. Cassel

English Composition 2

April 21, 2021

Literature Review

The question I’ve decided to research is “How have large social media platform’s need

for profit effected the social fabric of society and how has that impacted the mental health of

Gen-Z?”. My question has shifted around a bit and will probably do so a couple more times

while I continue to finalize my phrasing of the issue. I’ve chosen this question because I’ve

recognized that a lot of people from my generation (I’m apart of Gen-Z), have mental

illnesses that significantly affect their lives. Meanwhile, large tech companies such as

Facebook, and Google become tighter Oligopolies while profiting off of increased user use. I

personally, often find myself somewhat addicted to social media and my devices, and become

frustrated at myself, but that led me to wonder if there is more at play than just my own lack

of self-control?

With my research question focusing on the effects of social media on mental health a

scholarly article published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information by the

author by Igor Pantic MD PhD, called “Online Social Networking and Mental Health”. Pantic

is a professor at the University of Belgrade in Belgrade Serbia where he is a Faculty of

Medicine, Department of medical physiology and specializes in anxiety and depression

psychiatry.
 In this article, Pantic discusses about the effects that prolonged social media use has on

youth’s self-esteem, as well as the relationship between sites such as Facebook on creating

increasing symptoms of depression in people (Pantic, 2014). This article was released in 2014, so

it is relatively old in terms of the speed technology improves but is still relevant as society still

experience these effects today at the same rate, if not higher.

Pantic introduces the sheer size of social media networks, and their reach of more than

one billion active users and counting. Pantic discusses how although social media networks have

its many benefits, but it is growing (Pantic, 2014).

Pantic cites that this discussion has been ongoing since around 1998 when one of the

first studies to focus on the effects of social networking on social relationships as well as

community was published by Kraut R, Patterson M, Lundmark V, Kiesler S, Mukopadhyay T,

Scherlis W. This early study was the precursor to how the internet will manifest in the years to

follow, and says that internet users at the time increased usage, and in result their relationships

with family and friends lessoned, social circles got smaller and this led to symptoms of

loneliness and depression (Pantic, 2014). This study was before the creation of Facebook. Pantic

also distinguishes the distinction that individuals who spend time social networking are more

likely to get depression, but also more notably that one who was already depressed is more likely

to spend more time social networking further exasperating these symptoms (Pantic, 2014).

Pantic says that from his own study as well as mentioning other previous studies that

there is data that proves a positive correlation between spending time on social media and

depression symptoms in teens (Pantic, 2014). Pantic also distinguishes the distinction that

individuals who spend time social networking are more likely to get depression, but also more
notably that one who was already depressed is more likely to spend more time social networking

further exasperating these symptoms (Pantic, 2014).

Pantic says that the generations since then have increased screen time and that this leads

to reduction of intensity of interpersonal communication, and although social media gives room

for individuals to speak to a wider audience of people and more overall, it isn’t near as fulfilling

as in person communication (Pantic, 2014). All while interpersonal communication is lessoning

in efficiency.

Regarding social networking’s effect on teens self-esteem, Pantic did a study that

exposed teens to things that exacerbate self-esteem issues such as placing them in from of a

mirror, hearing oneself talk, compared to their fake internet feeds. It also showed inconclusive

evidence because the matter of self-esteem is too complex (Pantic, 2014).

When it comes to addiction, Pantic says that social media is inherently addictive in nature

and can often lead individuals to neglect their real life to tend to their socials and that when you

take social media away from them they show signs of withdrawals similar to drug/ alcohol

withdrawals (Pantic, 2014). However, it is still a question as to if ‘internet addiction” is an actual

mental disorder and if it should be treated as such, and that its hard to conclude because of a lack

of controlled data to back it up.

Pantic says that it will be an uphill battle to get answers to his own research question as

the issues being discussed are multi- faceted and wide and need go have more focused and

controlled experiments to conclude on anything concretely (Pantic, 2014). Pantic concludes that

overall social media has affected the way people communicate, but it is not conclusive if this is

negative or positive (Pantic, 2014).

my paper. However, most of the evidence was inconclusive. That seems to be the case for a lot

of articles and studies on this topic, and this is due to the complexity of the issue. There is good

information in the depression and social media section of the paper because it was based on

Pantic’s own research and is still honest that the information’s isn’t conclusive.

Another article called “The Effects Of Active Social Media Engagement With Peers On Body

Image In Young Woman” answers my research question. It is written by Jacqueline V. Hogue

who works at York University in the Department of Psychology and specializes in Media

Psychology, and also Jennifer S. Mills who also works at York University in the Department of

Psychology and specializes in the psychology of body image in women and eating disorders in

media.

This article was posted in 2017, and studies a sample of 118 undergraduate women and

had them look at various categories of bodies and had them answer questions gauging how they

felt about them and it gave evidence that suggested that appearance comparisons on social media

may promote increase body image issues among young woman (Hogue, Mills, 2017).

This study also shows evidence that may reveal that young adult women use social media

to present their idealized self and watch their peers do the same and compare themselves to one

another to warp their own body image and relationship with ones body (Hogue, Mills, 2017).

They are finding this information by studying the relationship between active social media

engagement (or ASME) on content (specifically photos), and negative thoughts about their own

bodies and comparisons (Hogue, Mills, 2017).

The study also shows that women tend to have a more positive opinion on friends and

families’ bodies than their own and just tend to have their own internalized negative association
with their own bodies. Concluding, “It extends prior research by showing ASME with known,

attractive female peers causes adverse effects on body image, but the same type of interaction

with family does not have this effect,” (Hogue, Mills, 2017).

This article is also slightly older in internet years, but there is a strength within this date

posted given that this was when Instagram culture was at its height (the idea of lip fillers and

face tuned photos). This study uses a controlled experiment to measure the effects that the media

has been speculating for years (Hogue, Mills, 2017). The article does not go on to explain how

negative body image can affect young girls and create eating disorders, but that is something else

that can be further explored (Hogue, Mills, 2017). Overall, this study will contribute to

answering the question at hand.

There is a podcast called American Psychological Association (APA) called, “Why Gen

Z is feeling so stressed,” from their show called Speaking of Psychology hosted by Emma Adams

PhD, a developmental psychologist at Northwestern University, who specialized in studying

stress.

There is a podcast from the American Psychological Association (APA) called, “Why

Gen Z is feeling so stressed,” from their show called Speaking of Psychology hosted by Emma

Adams PhD, a developmental psychologist at Northwestern University, who specialized in

studying stress.

This article is more recent than the others and while, doesn’t attach social media in its

name, discusses that social media is large looming factor in why kids are so stressed these days

as well as other environmental factors that may play a part in adolescences mental health that

may be beneficial to explore.

psychologist, educators, Clinicians, and students, and also the oldest founded in 1892. According

to Media Bias Fact Check.com, this source is very science focused which will be good in proving

psychological reasoning in my paper. However, while this specific source is based in science, it

is more of a conversation based on previous studies. Evidence from this source can provide more

nuanced evidence and palatable direct quotes to accompany the data from my previous sources,

or even to use the data from her own study(s).

In this interview between host and Adam, she discusses the phenomenon and rising

increase in poor mental health in Gen-Z. This is based on her own study that measures stress

from many different factors in many different age groups. And has been concerned by this age

group for a while.

Adam says that stress levels in adolescence and young adults may have risen for many

reasons, some of which being impending environmental doom, increased social media attention,

and lack of sleep (Adam, 2020). But these are all just strongly believed personal theories she’d

like us to note. She then talks about the effects of each of these things on mental health which

gives more evidence and possible candidates for direct quotes (Adam, 2020).

Adams also mentions factors such as increased poverty levels and racial discrimination

that may lead to chronic stress that makes the above factors heightened and overall decreases

mental health. Adams notes that it’s the chronic stress that is the biggest change when it comes to

the stress of Gen-Z (Adam, 2020).

Adam also says that this chronic stress that Gen-Z has been inhibiting is key in lack of

focus (Adam, 2020).

of Social Networks? iGeneration on Instagram”, written by Abrina Cipolletta, Cleila Malighetti,

Chiara Cendese and Andrea Spoto and published by the international Journal of Environmental

Research and Public Health.

This article focuses specifically on social media site, Instagram which is one of the three

main pillars that is owned by Facebook. This article is very modern as it was posted in 2020. It is

focusing on the effects of Instagram on young adults ages 11-16 and their interpersonal and

relationships with themselves.

The article says that social media sites were made with the intention of building

communities and sharing cultures that an individual may have not otherwise seen (Cipolletta et

al, 2020). It also gives stats that show that American teens nowadays are more likely to use apps

like Instagram and Snapchat in lieu of more traditional sites like Facebook (Cipolletta et al,

2020). It also gives an international perspective of teens on social media citing that 94% of

Italian teenagers use their socials to talk to friends and only 54% use it to check their social

profiles (Cipolletta et al, 2020).

This article says that Instagram has a different focus than Facebook and teens use it in a

different way, “A crucial feature of Instagram is the ability to like an image, allowing a

straightforward measure of peer endorsement, and the possibility of becoming a potential source

of peer influence,” (Cipolletta et al, 2020).

This article also says that teens on Instagram use the platform to gain validation in likes

from their peers, or better yet—strangers. However, though this is a rather known idea, the
article decides to focus on the idea that Instagram can create a community to exchange ideas,

raising self-esteem, and can reduce loneliness.

The last source is The Social Dilemma, a documentary released by Netflix in 2020 that

features former big name tech employees that explains various ways that social media is

designed to be addictive and its societal implications.

The Social Dilemma is produced by Larissa Rhodes and directed by Jeff Orlowski, and

follows former social media employees who “got out”, such as Tristan Harris who worked at

Google, Jeff Seibert who worked at Twitter, Bailey Richardson who worked at Instagram, and so

many more. The documentary also follows a dramatized fictional family who is used to playout

and explain the themes discussed by the professionals.

Some of the issues explained are all around the basis that social media is addictive on

purpose and is used to track data from consumers at an extreme invasive level that is used to

exploit them and their daily habits for these companies to capitalize off of (Rhodes, 2020). The

main person who speaks on these things is former Google employee Tristan Harris who exposes

the backside of Google hoarding data to sell their consumers to ad agencies, as well as the

practices of other social media companies he sees (Rhodes, 2020). He discusses the ideas that

people are being exploited because technology has improved faster than humans have been and

the gap of these things in combination with capitalism begging for constant growth of the

wealthy has led to a toxic system that has caused many of other holes in society (Rhodes, 2020).

Some of these holes being how confirmation bias has begun to lead the fabric of

democracy to erode and the idea that news outlets have become corrupt and a slave to the
“clicks” that are needed to stream revenue effecting the news we see (Rhodes, 2020). Others

being the idea that the AI and data collected is unethical and invasive as it can sway sales and

elections , as well as how it can lead people down dangerous pathways (Rhodes, 2020). All of

these things allude to the dangers of addiction and mental health but they specifically mention

how they don’t let their own children use social media because “they know the effects” of it

(Rhodes, 2020).
 Work Cited

Adam, Emma. “Speaking of Psychology: Why Gen Z Is Feeling so Stressed, with Emma Adam,

PhD.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2020,

www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/gen-z-stress. 

Cipolletta, Sabrina et al. “How Can Adolescents Benefit from the Use of Social Networks? The

iGeneration on Instagram.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health 17.19 (2020): 6952. Crossref. Web.

Hogue, Jacqueline V., and Jennifer S. Mills. “The Effects of Active Social Media Engagement

with Peers on Body Image in Young Women.” Body Image, Elsevier, 12 Nov. 2018,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S174014451730517X#! 

Pantic, Igor. “Online social networking and mental health.” Cyberpsychology, behavior and

social networking vol. 17,10 (2014): 652-7. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0070

Rhodes, Larissa. The Social Delimma, 26 Jan. 2020,

www.netflix.com/title/81254224?s=i&trkid=13747225