Depression rates in college and high school students during the pandemic have risen sharply.
Social media usage is one factor thought to cause anxiety and depression among this age group. During the pandemic students have been on social media more than ever.
A study by a Boston University researcher concluded that depression and anxiety in young people continues to increase due to the pandemic and social media pressures among other things. While it does allow students to connect, it also makes individuals compare themselves to others.
Indiana University Senior Ryli Hockensmith thinks social media plays a huge role in causing young adults to compare themselves to one another.
"That might cause one to compare themselves to others," Hockensmith said. "Whether it’s this person has more friends than me, this person has more followers, this person gets more likes, they have better clothes, they have clearer skin, you know, they look better than I do."
This constant comparison has caused many students to develop body image issues, which leads to developing anxiety or depression.
This week, Instagram decided to combat this issue by no longer showing how many likes a post receives.
Hockensmith thinks this is a good initiative because people worry too much about how their posts are doing.
"If you post a photo and you keep updating it every two minutes seeing who's liking it, who's commenting on it," Hockensmith said. "Oh, it’s been posted for five minutes and it only has ten likes, like - is it an ugly photo? Do I look bad?”
If this is successful other social media platforms potentially will follow suit. It is encouraged for students to try to limit their daily intake of social media in order to help combat the effects it can have on their mental health.
