The way we communicate, socialize, and create friendships has been strikingly changed by social media. While living in a digital world has its advantages, there are also some risks that goes along with it. Today’s youth tend to miss out on critical social skills development since they allot most of their spare time interacting with others through a screen, instead of connecting with their peers in person. If we think about it, it’s as if the use of social media is almost an essential part of living in this modern world. However, social media is a world full of unlifelike comparisons, decreased social skills, pressure to fit in a crowd, and even cyberbullying that can cause one to feel left out; all of which can sooner or later lead to something much worse— depression.
Depression is caused by a lot of things, and unfortunately nowadays, social media plays a big part in how much teenagers are affected by it.
Sadly, some people still take the issue of social media being an instrument for teen depression so lightly and treat it as if it is not alarming at all. I believe that in order for our society to possibly resolve the aforementioned issue, our society has to, first, understand how social media partakes in teen depression and take this matter seriously. From there, we can use that knowledge to help others and teach more people about the mindful use of social media. Another essential step is to make them feel loved and accepted, showing them that we care and that they are not alone in this fight, instead of making them feel otherwise. Obviously, ending depression is unimaginable and seems unattainable. As citizens, we may feel helpless in helping those who suffer from depression battle their demons.
However, I believe that there are a handful of ways to help them deal then defeat this mental illness. I believe that in order to work things out, there must be a listener and sharer, and so as an individual who only wishes for the betterment of the society, I could simply lend an ear to my friends, and family who are going through something— regardless of whether or not they’re suffering from depression. Going back to the cause of teen depression for this paper, which is social media, I suppose that we do it upon ourselves to focus on balance in such a way that we make sure we, and the people around us, are also engaging in social interactions physically, and we must make time to do activities that can help build self-confidence. In relation with the Exitus-Reditus event of St. Thomas Aquinas, which states that all things come from God, and, in different ways, return to Him, I believe that the blessings and love God has poured down to us has to be shared with others, especially those who need it most, in order for it to return to Him. As I have mentioned earlier, ending depression seems quite impossible. There quite a handful of foreseen difficulties in aiming the concept of alleviating depression.
Teen depression, or even depression itself is something a lot of people are still making a joke out of. People are still a bit ignorant and usually have a tendency of judging someone by the façade they’re showing, which is something that has to end. Another reason why it will be hard to attain this ideal is that people who are depressed often lack motivation, and hope. When one lacks the ability to find happiness, they are only going deeper down the hole where it will be harder to climb out of it. Depression is nearly impossible to cure on your own which is why as members of the society, we should always reach out and spread love and support.They say that “even mountains can be broken into pieces if there is a strong will power inside,” so with this, I believe and aspire to help lessen the percentage of those suffering from depression, and eventually, end this issue.
