Do I look good in this photo? Will I get any likes? Omg I need to look like this! These are just some of the things that most teenagers want in their life today. To look appealing to everyone’s eye.

Some of you will probably disagree, you may think social media isn’t doing any harm to teens, well is it? It can have a positive and negative impact but the negative side is definitely more dominant than you think. According to a new study by Common sense media teens are spending more than one third of their day using social media to text and post images which leads to depression and anxiety in teens.

“I was 13 when I got my first phone I won’t lie, I was immediately dying to get a feel of Instagram and snapchat, my experience has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. On social media I made everyone think I was a different person with my biography and tried to make myself look appealing to the public eye, it just made things worse. That experience made me look at myself in a different way, once I deleted it, it eased the pressures”.

Social media has affected teens who are concerned about their body. I felt like my body wasn’t perfect and I would try dieting to decrease my weight but I soon realized that I look pretty we should all feel that way too. For teens getting “likes” and “followers” provides us with achievement, popularity and purpose.

I’m beginning to realize why depression, and anxiety are connected. Researches have said that depression occurs due to social media and can increase loneliness and decrease social activity.

More social media apps can increase the risk of depression than if you had less apps. Cyberbullying is also part of it. Cyberbullying can increase symptoms of anxiety and depression by trying to post perfect pictures and well-written posts that don’t get hate comments.

Have you ever considered whether your sleep is affected? Sleep deprivation occurs when teen spend too much time on social media. There are consequences when it comes to that like moodiness, grades go down, overeating, as well as stress that go to the mix.

Journal of Youth Studies surveyed 900 teens between the ages of 12 and 15 about their social media use and its impact on sleep. they found that one-fifth of teens said they "almost always" wake up during the night and log in to social media. The study also revealed that girls were more likely to wake up than boys to check social media on their phone. At our age teens need more sleep then adults its facts not a lie. Through this much screen time we can ruin our concentration levels and effect our school work and body,

Social media is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, but is not like face-to-face communication. Example teens cannot see the person's facial expressions or hear their tone of voice, due to this, it’s very easy to misunderstand a conversation. Spending so much time online checking statuses and likes can make you forget to interact with the people right in front of you. friendships and dating relationships can suffer when social media is the centre in a person's life. As a result, teens risk having relationships that are not deep or authentic.

“Millennials lack social interaction skills with real people – Geetha Krishnan former journalist. 

Why am I saying this? Well Take a break from it, love yourself no matter what and Social media is a good thing but be warned of the consequences that come with it.