The current digital culture has affected every part of a teenager’s life through communication, learning, relaxation, and forming their own identities. Smartphones, social media, and an internet connection at all times have caused a situation in which adolescents are left alone in their access to information and social media for comparison purposes.
Technology has plenty of advantages in the lives of teenagers, including access to a lot of knowledge and opportunities, but at the same time, it has presented a new situation in which either a lack of technological access or a lack of access to the internet brings about extreme levels of anxiety in adolescents in the United States in recent times. The constant stimulation and demands of the digital lifestyle are primarily causing increased levels of anxiety in adolescents in the United States today, as the phase of adolescence is a crucial stage of a human’s brain development.
Image Credit: dole777 from Unsplash
Let us slide into your dms 🥰
Get notified of top trending articles like this one every week! (we won't spam you)Rise of Teen Anxiety in the United States
Anxiety disorders in teens have skyrocketed over the past ten years.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Anxiety disorders rank among the most common mental health disorders in children and adolescents, affecting learning, socialization, and everyday functioning.” This can be attributed to “excessive fear, worry, or nervousness that interferes with everyday functioning and affects school performance and social interactions.” This vulnerable life stage makes teens highly susceptible due to the many fast-paced physical, emotional, and neurological developments and challenges of school.
Teens at this life stage are discovering their own sense of identity and independence, and therefore become highly dependent and rely on outside opinions. If this mental state is not treated in its early stages, consequences can be severe, such as depression, substance abuse, and a loss of interest in succeeding in school.
Image Credit: Jeswin Thomas from Unsplash
Take the Quiz: What's Your Hidden Personality Trait?
This might expose you a little...
Screen Time, Social Media, and Overstimulation
Excessive screen time, in particular social media use, is one of the most significant factors in teenage anxieties. This is because social media sites like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are made to maximize user engagement through endless scrolling and notification loops. Social media is known to heighten emotional pressures in this sense because it fosters endless comparison to others as well as pressures to meet others’ expectations about success, attractiveness, or popularity.
Social websites expose users to a fake representation of others’ lives. This prompts feelings of insecurity or FOMO. The notification system also overloads the mind because it makes it hard for a teenager to focus or even wind down. This is because excessive stimulation keeps the mind in a state of continuous alertness.
Image Credit: Vitaly Gariev from Unsplash
Brain Development Between the ages of 15 and 25
The effects of the online world are very alarming, as the adolescent brain is still in the process of development. Studies by the National Institute of Mental Health indicate that the brain is still in the process of development up to the age of twenty-five years, specifically in the regions of impulse regulation, emotional regulation, and decision-making. The adolescent brain is more attuned to rewards and social cues, making the brain highly sensitive to the dopamine-based social structures of online social platforms.
The overstimulation of the digital world could negatively affect the development of the brain by affecting the adolescent's ability of the adolescent to withstand boredom, deal with his/her emotions, and resist the lure of instant rewards. The instant rewards in the online world could affect the ability of the adolescent to deal with the demands of the real world, making the adolescent more anxious as the levels of anxiety are raised.
Image Credit: Elisa Ventur from Unsplash
Sleep Disruption and Mental Health
Sleep disturbances are another huge way in which the fast-paced living of a technological lifestyle exacerbates anxiety in teens. Excessive usage of technology, especially at night, affects the ability of teens to have a sound sleep. Staying up really late watching TikTok and messaging on Snapchat starts to affect teens' sleep schedules.
This can spike their anxiety as it results in irritability and difficulties in focusing. When teens are not well rested, it can start to build their anxiety on top of the other overwhelming moments in their lives.
Image Credit: Solving Healthcare from Unsplash
Why Fast Digital Lifestyle Increases Stress
Furthermore, digital life accelerates and conditions the brain to seek continuous activity and instant rewards. Certainly, living in a world of instant answers, entertainment, and validation promotes impatience and a lack of sustained attention among teens. As a result of this decrease in attention span, everyday activities may be mentally fatiguing, such as studying or even face-to-face conversations.
This means that when situations do arise that require effort or delayed rewards, frustration and stress rise more intensely in teens. The inability to slow down and disconnect keeps the brain from fully resting; thus, teens remain mentally overstimulated and emotionally spent. Anxiety thereby becomes increasingly usual as the teens feel pressure to keep up with an overwhelming digital environment that never stops.
Image Credit: Solen Feyissa from Unsplash
Healthy Alternatives
Despite these difficulties, healthy alternatives are available to help with anxiety about the internet. Engaging in activities like exercise, spending time outdoors, and socializing helps achieve the positive effects of balancing emotions. Exercise increases the production of endorphins in the body, acting as a natural anxiety reducer.
Spending time outdoors and pursuing hobbies gives teens the opportunity to unplug from technology and recharge their attention. Making a healthy schedule, such as sleeping at the same time every night and supervising screen time, gives the feeling of control over the situation. Techniques like meditation and journaling help the teenager develop the capacity to understand and control their anxiety.
Image Credit: Corentin Geniaux from Unsplash
Conclusion
In summary, the fast pace of the digital age is a major contributor to increased levels of anxiety in the teen population. The increased levels of anxiety, excessive screen use, ongoing brain development, disrupted sleep patterns, and constant stimulation all add up to a recipe for higher levels of stress in the teen population.
Technology is not necessarily a negative influence in and of itself, but rather a means that can easily overwhelm the teen in their development stage if balanced strategies that promote good habits are not employed in an effort to combat the negative aspects of digital overload.