Social Networking Sites Cause Depression and Low Self-Esteem in Teens

In recent years, social networking websites have become something of a staple for teenagers, but are they doing more harm than good?

Disturbing new research has found that teenage girls who use social networking websites on a regular basis are more likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem.

The research, which was conducted by the School of Psychology at Flinders University in Australia, also revealed that girls who spend long periods of time on websites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are far more likely to hate their body and have issues with their weight

In fact, 40 per cent of the teenage girls who were surveyed during the research stated that they were dissatisfied with their bodies and over half said that they were absolutely terrified of gaining weight.

The researchers also found that teenage girls who spent more time online were more likely to experience negative feelings about their body.

“We set out to investigate the role of media in adolescent girls’ self-image,” said Dr Amy Slater, who undertook the research with Professor Marika Tiggemann.

“Our findings demonstrate a worrying correlation between excessive media use, particularly social media and the internet, and lower self-esteem, body-esteem and sense of identity and higher depression,” she added.

The researchers believe that the content of online advertisements may be to blame. Dr Slater said that the models used in online advert promoting weight-loss products and dating sites were generally female, young, thin and attractive.

“A content analysis of adverts found on sites that appeal to adolescent girls showed likely exposure to those images reinforcing the importance of beauty and thinness,” said Dr Slater.

Do you think the internet can have a negative impact on the self-image of a young girl?