The Impact of Social Media

By: Claire Song, Claire Winchell, Pushkal Chitrada, Yeshwin Gadde

Have you ever seen something online and it turns out to not be real? Many things online can be deceiving if interpreted incorrectly. The media isn’t only a tool for communication and connection; curated digital personas can also be controlling and biased. Social media influences society negatively by giving unrealistic living standards that can affect users mentally and physically.

Influencers display unrealistic living standards on social media for personal gain, which can spread false advertising. A study in an article from Gateway states that, “16.4% of fitness influencers have fitness certifications, meaning most of the information online from these influencers is wrong and not backed up by scientific evidence” (Kovinsky). Most influencers lack credibility in their advice and have little to no training on what they're actually teaching others to do. In addition, fitness influencers show incredibly unrealistic exercises and routines to stay viral and gain attention. This example can be incredibly harmful physically and mentally, as it can lead to following false practices and advice. In a similar study, it showed that “two-thirds of the 100 most popular “fitfluencers”...lacked honest advice or posted messages that could negatively affect people’s mental and physical health by, say, promoting exercise as a tool to become skinnier” (Friedmen). Because of this, it can cause many users to experience falling into a depressive state, or even feeling in isolation. Others may develop social anxiety, and become more sensitive to comments about their bodies. Ultimately, it impacts people mentally by causing people to think and feel negatively about themselves.

Furthermore, social media influencers can alter their appearances using beauty filters, which can severely affect people’s confidence. A 2017 Washington Post survey determined that, “55% of plastic surgeons had patients request surgery for the purpose of appearing more attractive in selfie pictures.” (Penn Foundation). Social media plays a huge role in degrading people's confidence by featuring unrealistic appearances through beauty filters. As seen, unrealistic content can cause users to also participate in surgical procedures and physical altercations in order to compensate for their lack of confidence in their appearance. Surgeries are not always good for you and can cause health concerns, along with being a waste of money. These types of reckless and unnecessary procedures can lead to more “repeated surgeries”, and users can also develop constant negative criticism of themselves, which can further degrade one's confidence. A report from King University suggests that, “59% of Americans polled in 2021 shared that they found beauty filters troubling. Many respondents cited concerns for the mental health of young people, who may not be able to differentiate between edited and untouched content.” (King University). Because of the mass use of these beauty filters, many young users report that they struggle to differentiate what their true identity is. This can lead people to live in an “augmented reality” with no real interpretation on what they actually look like. This is a major concern as being unable to recognize one's own identity is a huge indicator of mental health issues, and a decrease in confidence.

  Some may argue that social media is useful because it can connect people through multiple easy to access platforms for their videos. However, they need to take into consideration how the use of social media is affecting us. Social media in the long term can play a crucial role in mental problems. A report by eMarketer states that, “US adults spend an average of 82 minutes a day on social media platforms.” and that this was a stark jump from 2019.” (Daman). In accordance with that report, this trend also correlated with people's mental health. In a study by Mental Health America, “9.7% of youth in the U.S. have severe major depression, compared to 9.2% in last year’s dataset.” (Daman). These positively correlated trends really give the idea of how long-term social media usage is in direct correlation of experiencing severe major depression, and is an immediate effect of the usage of easy to access social platforms.

 Ultimately, social media can reshape the way we think and feel about ourselves negatively as it promotes unrealistic living standards that can harm people’s mental and physical wellbeing. Due to influencers using filters to enhance their appearances and exaggerate their experiences, it can hypnotize the audience to want to look and be just as ‘good’ as the influencers. Looking up to someone whose features consist of filters can harbor feelings of depression, anxiety, or 'not being enough’. Social media usage directly correlates with people's self value in the long run as people are focused on getting views and likes for attention. In this digitalized world, being accepted online is more of a priority than real world interactions, and social media can cause disconnection with the real world and our families. 

Note from Publisher

This article was originally written for a group English assignment where the authors explored teamwork through research, and learning how to write an extended constructed response. This article may have been thrown into the back of a google drive forever and never read again after submission to the teacher. But instead, it was published for everyone to read and acknowledge the hard work and effort students put into each essay and writing assignment given at school. Advocate for recognition for students writing through publishing. The authors hope there article has educated readers and helped them see the impact of social media through multiple lenses.

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Works Cited

Daman, Emma. "The Long-Term Effects of Social Media on Teens." Lamplighter Media Productions, 16 May 2021, pldlamplighter.org/features/2021/05/16/the-long-term-effects-of-social-media-on-teens/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

Friedman, Danielle. "Most Fitness Influencers Are Doing More Harm than Good." The New York Times, 10 May 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/well/move/fitness-influencers.html. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

"The Impact of Social Media." StLukes Penn Foundation, www.pennfoundation.org/news-events/articles-of-interest/the-impact-of-social-media/.

Kovinsky, Hannah. "Social Media Influencers Promote Unrealistic Expectations." Medium, 22 Feb. 2022, medium.com/si-410-ethics-and-information-technology/social-media-influencers-promote-unrealistic-expectations-8123cf293737. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

"The Link between Social Media and Body Image." King University Online, 18 Oct. 2024, online.king.edu/news/social-media-and-body-image/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.