social media is everywhere and students use it all the time but is it really good for their mental health some say it helps them stay connected to friends but others feel like it causes stress anxiety and even depression.

imagine scrolling through your feed and seeing perfect lives perfect bodies perfect vacations it makes you wonder why your life doesn’t look like that and then you start feeling like you have to get more likes more followers just to fit in and when you dont you feel left out lonely like you’re not good enough.

experts say spending too much time on social media can make anxiety and depression worse it can mess up sleep cause cyber bullying and make students feel bad about themselves a study by the american psychological association found that 41 percent of teens who use social media the most say their mental health is poor or very poor compared to 23 percent of those who use it the least another study from the us surgeon general found that kids who spend more than three hours a day on social media are twice as likely to have mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

but not everyone thinks social media is all bad some say it helps students express themselves and stay informed a study from the university of south Florida found that kids with smartphones actually felt better about themselves spent more time with friends and reported fewer depression symptoms than kids without phones.

students feel differently about it some say they need social media to stay in touch with friends and get support when they’re feeling down others say they feel stuck on it wanting to stop but not knowing how.

so what should happen should students use social media less should schools teach kids how to use it in a healthier way should parents set limits one thing is clear social media is shaping the mental health of a whole generation and people are still trying to figure out what to do about it.