Social media has become a staple in the lives of most. From communicating with family and friends to documenting important life events, there are many uses for popular platforms such as Instagram and TikTok amongst Gen Z.

Many joined social media at a young age, typically around 6-15, and this can have effects on mental health and well-being.

One of the common effects of social media use is a decreased attention span. This can make focusing in class and on homework difficult, especially when new content is one scroll away.

Natalie Mejia (Senior, Communications) shared how social media has led to struggles with her attention span.

“Social media can definitely affect my attention span, especially when I am used to constantly scrolling through short content. It makes it harder to stay focused on one task for a long period of time,” Mejia said

In 2004, attention spans averaged approximately two and a half minutes. Now the American Psychological Association reports that attention spans average around 47 seconds. This can be linked to heightened social media use on cell phones, as it has become more easily accessible.

Angela Azevedo (Senior, English) does not commonly use apps. Instead, she opts for web versions.

“I realized that if I don’t have the apps on my phone and instead use the platforms as a web browser, it’s much easier to stay grounded in reality. The real life reality, not the reality that’s portrayed on the internet,” Azevedo said.

According to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, posting on social media can also trigger feelings of anxiety in users. This can be chalked up to the waiting game of receiving likes and comments. As comments can be negative or positive, this can greatly affect how a person feels about themselves and the world they are interacting with.

Mejia shared an experience she had with comments on a post she made that didn’t go to plan.

“I posted a video to both TikTok and Instagram and the video blew up on both platforms. I posted it back in October, and I am still getting comments. It is at 9 million views at the moment. You are going to have people that do and don’t like your content,” she said. “I had one person make a negative comment on my post and people began fighting in the comments defending me, to the point of sending death threats to this person over a single comment.”

She continued on with the aftermath of the incident.

“The person messaged me individually asking for forgiveness. In reality, I didn’t take much offense to the comment at all since it’s a stranger I don’t even know online. I still responded and told them I was actually sorry they were getting so much hate,” she said. “It is moments like this where I wonder if an innocent post I made to my account is even worth all the attention. It’s very dystopian at times.”

Content on the platforms can be triggering for individuals as well. When one is constantly seeing negative posts, it can be difficult not to take that on.

It is not uncommon for those struggling with mental health issues to seek out this content as well, leading to the worsening of these problems. With today’s technology, it can be difficult to determine when a break is needed.

Muskaan Ali (Senior, English) shared how she deletes social media when it becomes too overwhelming and encourages others who may be struggling to do the same.

“Deleting social media has always had a good impact on my mental health, especially with Instagram. I sometimes want to be away from it for personal reasons, but also, my feed tends to make a lot of relatable and sad posts show up whenever I’m scrolling, so I kind of stay away from those posts and don’t engage,” Ali said.

Although it comes with negatives, social media can also be a great tool to remember important events or moments in life.

Ali shared how she uses it as a form of photo journaling to commemorate moments with friends and family.

“I started doing story journaling through Instagram stories recently. I got more confident again in posting and I’ve loved sharing some memories that I’ve spent with friends, family or myself and putting them in creative layouts, adding them to highlights to save and remember,” she said. “I love remembering the memories I save, and it’s also interesting to see how much time has passed and how much I’ve grown since then.”

Although social media can create meaningful memories and connections, it can also negatively affect mental health and attention spans. Recognizing when to step away and set boundaries is becoming increasingly important for many Gen Z users.