Social Media Use Affects Youth Life Perception and Sleep Patterns
A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics revealed that Instagram and TikTok cause young people to feel worse about themselves by comparing their lives to others.
A comprehensive study conducted in the US with 472 adolescents aged 13-17 revealed the negative effects of social media platforms on young people's psychological well-being and sleep quality.
Comparison and Loss of Self-Esteem
According to the research results, the tendency of young people to find their own lives worse by seeing other people's posts was observed mostly on Instagram and TikTok platforms. 16.6% of Instagram users and 13.4% of TikTok users stated that they experienced this negative feeling.
Bullying and Digital Experiences
While 44.7% of the participants stated that they witnessed online bullying within the last four weeks, 29.8% stated that they experienced this situation themselves. It was determined that bullying cases occurred at similar rates both online and face-to-face.
Effects on Sleep Patterns
51.5% of young people stated that technology use disrupted their sleep patterns. The proportion of those who said their sleep was interrupted specifically due to TikTok use was 42.2%, while this rate was recorded as 27.8% for Instagram.
Scope and Limitations of the Research
Led by Angela Y. Lee and featuring experts such as Jonathan Haidt, the study serves as a pilot research involving 472 participants. Experts emphasized that direct cause-and-effect relationships cannot be established because the data was collected at a single point in time.