Social media is not necessarily a bad thing, but it has become so important to some teens nowadays that they might need to take a step back from it.

One of the reasons for this is the way teens portray themselves on social media. They usually make sure to be very selective on the things they post, making them seem happy all the time. Obviously this is not realistic, because it is not showing the struggles and hardships that life throws at them.

This may seem harmless, but it can in fact be harmful. Some teens are looking at other teens’ lives on social media and are wondering why their lives do not quite match. This can cause them to feel sorry for themselves, when really they are only basing their feelings off of the happy-go-lucky social media world.

It can be easy for teens to compare themselves to others when they are regularly on social media, which can lead to them becoming insecure about themselves.

I am not saying teens should completely get rid of social media, because that is simply not realistic for most of them.

If every once in a while teens would take a break from social media and find some other way to spend their time, it would be very healthy and beneficial to them. I have chosen to limit myself to only one social media platform so that I am spending less time on my phone and more time doing other activities that I enjoy.  

According to a study done by a research team from the University of Pittsburgh, those who checked their social media the most were 2.7 times more likely to be depressed, when compared to those who checked less often.    

Teens could start taking a step back from social media by limiting the amount of time they are on it. This may seem hard at first, but teens may find their overall happiness increasing and their overall mood improving.