Understanding in teenagers and youngsters
Thanks to the impact of social media, young adolescents especially suffer from increased levels of stress and anxiety as they feel more and more excluded from all that's “cool”
FOMO – or fear of missing out – is an “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media” – as defined by the Oxford Languages. The impact of FOMO can be severe indeed — loss of esteem, feelings of dissatisfaction and overwhelming, skewed perceptions of self and the world, frantic efforts to “stay current” or to be “up-to-date” and even to “fit in” based on one’s perception of acceptability, and in some cases clinical anxiety or depression.
If I am always worried about missing out, it tends to make me anxious and dissatisfied. If I believe others are engaged in “more exciting” activities, I start feeling “my life is boring.” If I believe that others are doing things together and I am (the only one) left out, I start feeling lonely. If I feel what others are doing is much more worthwhile and
Covid-19 alone is responsible for skyrocketing the number of people experiencing stress, anxiety and depression across the globe
For every human who commits suicide, 100+ people suffer intense grief
The general catalysts for suicide are: Financial woes, high psychosocial stress, poor cognition and emotional turmoil
Suicide rates in schizophrenics are estimated to be 10 to 12 times higher than the average person
“Everyone in the world has a friend but me!” — exclaims a teenager, completely sincere in her belief that she is the only one without friends. Why? Because social media posts tell her about all the people who are out partying with friends — everyone but her.
valuable, then I start questioning my own worth.
Social media and the technology boom have made it possible to bring the news of the world to the palm of our hands via our mobiles. Thus, it is very easy to know what is happening in all corners of the world and to get minute-by-minute updates about what is happening in the lives of our peers.
The writer is a M.D., D.P.M. Director at Aavishkar Centre for Self Enrichment.