Somaliland: Social Media and Mental Health Problems in Teenagers

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Somaliland sun – When using properly social media can be helpful rather than hobby. Most of our youngsters only know to place their face book accounts announcement, status updates, latest photos and useless videos and that is what they like most to use in the social media. Teenagers are sitting around with their gadget in their hands all day long, tapping messages onto screens instead of communicating with real people. Many teenagers feel more comfortable with virtual friends than with real ones. The majority think that it is easier to chat on the Internet. But dear youngsters using Social media may directly relate to mental health problems as a new research has discovered.

On one hand, One of biggest advantages of social media is its power to connect people. It has become a popular way for family and friends who live far away from one another to keep up with what is going on in each other’s lives, without the expensive cost of long-distance calling but on other hand It is a good for Somaliland youngsters to be aware that using Social media may directly relate to mental health problems.

New research suggests that social media use might be directly related to mental health issues in teenagers. Dear Somaliland youngsters this recent study from British researchers analyzed almost 470 teens who participated in constant social media use.

“The 467 study participants were questioned about their social media habits, during the day and around bedtime. The teenagers also underwent mental health testing, and were asked how much pressure they felt to be available to respond to incoming social media communications, and how much anxiety they felt when they couldn’t do so — a state of mind known as ’emotional investment,'” according to Health Day.

Because of the high emotional investment found in teenagers who frequently used social media, it resulted in loss of sleep as well as depression and anxiety.

“Jumping online at night was linked to a ‘significantly’ higher risk for bad sleep quality, independent of other factors that might interfere with sleep, such as anxiety, depression or low self-esteem, the study found,”

‘Teenagers who may be feeling lonely already and are looking for a little boost may then turn to social media, in which case they’re bringing their sense of low self-worth with them to the table…That happens. It can definitely go in both directions. In the end, it’s a pretty complicated situation,'” he said, according to the article wrote on health Day.

According to this research it is a good for youngsters to understand that using social media for long hours at bed had high risk for bad sleep quality and may lead them anxiety, depression etc.

Mahmud D OmarAlthough it is the duty of our government to held social awareness about advantages and disadvantages of social media but our country (Somaliland) both public and private don’t yet possess research capabilities, infrastructure and need to make them active beneficiaries of global knowledge and to generate knowledge, innovation and problem solving so that it is good for us to be well aware the disadvantages of social media.

Thank You

the author Mohamoud Dahir Omar is an Education Analyst based in Hargeisa Somaliland

Mobile: 0634423327

Read similar article by Education World, titled Social Media Might Be Linked to Mental Health Problems in Teens