Social Media and Academic Stress

Social media is something that teens today use daily. Many people post about their daily life, exciting events, or even show off their accomplishments. These things can actively cause competition and can negatively impact people’s mindset. As social media may have benefits like access to mental health resources, it's important to balance things especially during finals week.

If you open social media, you may be welcomed with celebrations, perfect grades, college acceptances, or etc. People may feel the urge to compare themselves to others and put their mental health behind. However, it's important for people to understand that not everything you see on social media defines someone's life as “perfect”. This is because you never know how hard it could’ve been for people to gain those achievements. Sometimes, people can ignore this and make unrealistic goals for themselves. 

Another major factor is sleep. Most teens today are so addicted to doomscrolling and social media that they fall into a rabbit hole before bed. This makes it harder for students to fall asleep and reduces sleep quality as well. This is a huge issue since sleep is important especially during finals season and may affect academic performance. To prevent this, students should set a screen time limit before bed and take breaks from social media.

As students feel pressure from school and their future goals, it is important for them to realize that social media doesn’t reflect reality. Excessive use of social media can impact a student’s focus, productivity, and learning if they aren’t able to balance it with other responsibilities. Everyone struggles and doesn’t show it on social media. If students use social media mindfully, they can protect their mental well being as social media also won’t negatively affect their mental health.

Art by Aayushi S