Algorithm Blues: How Social Media Affects Teens’ Moods

Overview

Our study investigated the effects of social media use on the stress levels and self-esteem of middle school students. We hypothesized that higher social media consumption would correlate with increased frequency of stress and lower levels of self-esteem due to the pressures of online social comparison. Our data was collected from 95 middle school students who were categorized into "Low Usage" (56 students) and "High Usage" (39 students) groups based on their self-reported daily hours spent on social media. The participants completed our survey to measure the frequency of stress days per month and rate their self-esteem on a scale of 1 to 5. The "Low Usage" group reported a lower stress frequency, 3.18 days per month, and a higher average self-esteem of 3.68. In contrast, the "High Usage" group reported a higher stress frequency, average of 3.49 days per month, a 9.7% increase and a lower average self-esteem of 3.26. Overall, the study found that the "Low Usage" group maintained a 12.9% higher self-esteem rating than the high-usage students. The results confirm that increased social media negatively impacts middle school students by increasing stress and decreasing confidence. Scientifically, this suggests that high-frequency usage likely exposes students to "social comparison". Therefore, minimizing social media time correlates with more stable mental well-being and higher self-esteem in adolescents.

Algorithm Blues: How Social Media Affects Teens’ Moods

Overview

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