Almost all of us would admit that we spend too much time on our phones. Even before the pandemic, which dramatically increased our online presence, we lived in a world that was dominated by smartphones, apps, and in particular different forms of social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
As counsellors and psychotherapists in Hampstead and online who work with young people as well as adults, we have noticed how social media and technology has an especially damaging impact on teenagers. It is now the norm for young people to spend a major portion of their day in front of some kind of screen, whether it’s their phone, a TV, tablet, or laptop. Some teenagers record nearly eight hours of screen time a day.
Of course, this level of dependence can have a corrosive impact on a young person’s mental health. They are trapped in a cycle whereby they feel bored, look at their phone, receive a dopamine hit from doing so, put their phone down, get bored again, and go back onto the same apps they were looking at five minutes ago. They end up craving their phone, and it becomes an automatic pattern.
The automatic nature of teenagers using social media is an especially harmful trait. Our work as counsellors and psychotherapists often involves using mindfulness, working with people to bring themselves more into the present moment and make them more mindful of what they are doing, thinking, and feeling in each moment. Social media, it goes without saying, severely inhibits a teenager’s ability to be mindful. They are on autopilot, scrolling through apps in a mindless way, which takes them out of their body and more into their own head, thereby accentuating problems like anxiety and depression.
There are many ways in which social media negatively influences a teenager’s self-esteem. Platforms like Instagram, for example, cause young people, particularly teenage girls to always compare themselves to others, which in turn makes them feel inadequate in some way. While this is a problem for anyone, it becomes notably problematic for young girls. Every day, they are met with unrealistic expectations and beauty standards through the many ‘perfect’ profiles on social media, from high-profile influencers to their own friends, along with the continued presence of popular culture, with the Kardashians being a famous example.
Spending so much time in this bubble inevitably leads to a sense of isolation, inadequacy, and reinforces problems like anxiety and depression. Social media is an endless loop that prevents teenagers from being mindful and truly connecting with themselves, as well as other people in the real world. It can be used in a mindful, considered way, but most of the time it isn’t, and we have to be aware of the problems this can cause.
If you or someone you know struggles with this pattern of behaviour, as so many people do, we are here to offer confidential, personalised counselling and psychotherapy in Hampstead and online, where we can use mindfulness and other modalities as a way of bringing you closer to the present moment. Please get in touch to arrange your initial consultation.