{"id":372,"date":"2019-05-06T07:21:52","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T23:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/?p=372"},"modified":"2019-05-06T07:21:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T23:21:52","slug":"facebook-and-young-women-the-social-isolation-and-the-health-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/2019\/05\/06\/facebook-and-young-women-the-social-isolation-and-the-health-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook and Young Women: The Social Isolation and the Health Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Facebook and Young Women- The Social Isolation and the Health Risks<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paper explores Facebook as a social networking\nsite that has allowed for communication among society but has also led to\nsevere health risks among teenage girls such as social isolation, mental health\nand body image issues. The social networking site has become a large part of\npeople\u2019s daily lives, particularly among young girls who are using the site in\na problematic way, becoming dependent on the site to prove their self-worth. With\nthese key issues occurring, it is imperative to look at the online community and\nother users on Facebook and how they interact on the site that could lead to\nsuch feelings among the younger generation. The younger generation is prone to\ndeveloping these health risks, leading to detrimental impacts that could stay\nwith them for years to come. It is also important to realise that the online\ncommunity of Facebook could play a key role in helping these young girls if they\nwere able to realise these issues were occurring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking about social media in the sense of\na community, it is a large online space where many will join to interact and\nconnect amongst themselves. With an estimated 2.2 million young people in\nAustralia using the internet to access social media in 2009 (Richards, Cladwell\n& Go, 2015) it proves to be a key tool in the way society communicates. It\nis an ever-growing community that holds a place in many people\u2019s lives, but\nthere can be an extremely dark side to social media. Since the birth of social\nmedia, there has been an increase in mental health issues including anxiety,\ndepression and body image issues, especially among teenage girls. According to\nCain (2018) there has been recent research surrounding the implications that\nsocial media could be an underlaying factor within young people\u2019s mental health\nissues. Facebook has become a popular social media tool connecting the public\nthrough many aspects of the site. Tiggerman and Slater (2013) found that\nadolescent girls who were using Facebook were \u201cmore concerned with their body\nappearance and idealised thinness\u201d when using the social networking sites. At\nsuch a young age, an influence from Facebook like that can have extreme\nconsequences on later development of young girls. Kranzler and Bleakley (2019)\ndiscuss the \u201ccomplex relationship\u201d between social media and health risks among\nyoung people, as well as the exposure to certain elements on these sites also\nhaving a significant impact. With issues surrounding body image, mental health\nand even social isolation, social media sites prey on the innocent and\ninfluence their feelings and head space, dramatically. Key contributors to this\nproblem faced by these young girls could be the use of Facebook. The online\ncommunity within Facebook may be unaware of the health risk that are facing\nthese younger users, leading to the continued problematic use of the site. Facebook\nhas created a space that allows for the growth of health risks, including\nsocial isolation and mental health issues within the community among teenage\ngirls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Isolation and Mental\nHealth Risks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook has become a phenomenon among\nsocial media platforms and boasts more than 2.3 billion users monthly, as of\nDecember 2018 (Noyes, 2019). The platform allows the user to add friends, share\nstatus updates and post photos that include themselves and others. It is an\ninnovative tool that can connect a community together all over the globe but\ncan have dire effects on the health and well-being of the younger female\ndemographic. Facebook has the ability to connect users all over the globe but\nusing these platforms as a communicative tool has altered real life\ninteractions (Joo & Teng, 2017). Makwana, Lee, Parkin and Farmer (2018)\nfound that 71% of 13-to-17-year olds are now using Facebook to communicate with\nfriends and family. Although Facebook has created a positive communication tool\nfor people to connect with others online, many are becoming reliant on the site\nin order to communicate with others. Clark (2005) coined the term \u201cconstant\ncontact generation\u201d due to the fact that young girls on social media are always\nclosely intertwined, even when they are away from one another. Although the\ninternet is viewed as a \u201crapidly diffusing technology that extends social\ncontact\u201d (Joo & Teng, 2017), these young girls are failing to form real\nlife connections and are lacking communicative skills used in the real world,\nwhich can lead to damaging effects in the future. Teenage girls are at a\ncrucial age in their life which puts them in a higher risk category for\nexperiencing or developing social isolation (Whaite, Shensa, Sidani, Colditz\n& Primack, 2018). The increased use of Facebook by these young girls can have\ndetrimental effects on both their happiness and self-esteem, which further\nleads to health hazards that include both social isolation and mental health\nissues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although young girls developing social\nisolation is dependent on their own personality and characteristic traits, as\nwell as the time spent on these social media sites (Ilakkuvan, Johnson,\nVillanti, Evans & Turner, 2018), most young girls are exposed at a much\nearlier age to social media and the health risks it poses. Within the community\naspect, social isolation on the digital sphere is a major problem. Turkle\n(2011) coined the phrase \u201calone together\u201d in relation to how the technology of\nsocial media has destroyed relationships between one another. People are now\nspending majority of their time on Facebook, virtually connecting with people,\nhowever they are missing out on the real-life relationships. According to\nShensa et al.\u2019s study (2017) teenage girls are spending large amounts of their\ntime on the internet and social media forming such relationships, as well as\nclosing themselves off from the real world and placing themselves in this\nbubble of isolation. This use of social media becomes \u201cproblematic and is\nmotivating girls to use Facebook\u2019s platform within an excessive nature\u201d\n(Shensa, Escobar-Viera, Sidani, Bowman, Marshal & Primack, 2017). Using\nsocial media in an excessive fashion is a major problem not only affecting\nyoung girls, but the entirety of society. Using Facebook in such a way can\n\u201cdeteriorate interpersonal relationships in real-life and can lead to social\nisolation\u201d (Charoensukmongkol, 2018). Facebook is damaging relationships one\nlike at a time and continues to push social isolation further into the heads of\nyoung girls using the platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social isolation can be detrimental to\nyoung girl\u2019s health and well-being and can also lead to other extreme health\nrisks, such as mental and physical health problems. Social media has become the\nplaying field for the youth of today (Williams & Ricciardelli, 2014), it is\nwhere they can share and interact with peers about what\u2019s going on within their\nown lives and the lives of others. Social media has infiltrated young people\u2019s\nlives and has become a significant part of their daily routines. Young girls are\nspending majority of their free time on social media sites and it is allowing\nfor them to develop health problems that not only include social isolation, but\nmental health risks relating to depression and body image issues. Cain (2018)\nexplains that the rise in depression is without an exception due to social\nmedia use and \u201cthe more time spent on screen activities, the more likely one\nwill be unhappy\u201d. Facebook can also be blamed for eating disorders on the basis\nthat images posted by users of idealised physiques can motivate or force others\nto achieve the same slimness (Williams & Ricciardelli, 2014). Social media\nenvironments are influencing teenage girls into comparison which is leading to\nfeelings of poor self-esteem and harmful body image issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook is a platform that enables people\nto post statuses and images, allowing for the sharing with their friends on the\nsocial networking site. However, too much exposure of content from others of\nthese idealised lives can trigger others to compare themselves\n(Charoensukmongkol, 2018). Young girls find it hard to escape those influencers\nwho are promoting these perfect lifestyles and body images, making it harder\nfor them to exterminate these negative thoughts in their heads that they are\nnot good enough for society\u2019s standards. Richards, Cladwell & Go (2015)\nstate that the more time these young people spend on Facebook, the lower their\nself-esteem becomes, ultimately leading to a poor mental health. Facebook has\ncreated an atmosphere of teenagers promoting a self that is not entirely true\n(Charoensukmongkol, 2018), this may lead to other teenage girls to feel envious\nof this person\u2019s social persona and try to emulate it, which could lead to\nproblematic health issues. Teenage girls are presenting more feelings of envy\nand neuroticism due to following others and viewing such idealised lives that\nare not always true to one\u2019s self on Facebook (Ozguven & Mucan, 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The online community within\nFacebook<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook is one of the most popular social\nnetworking sites to date with over 864 million daily users on average as of\n2015 (Stachi & Uysal, 2015). The online community within Facebook is large\nand far-reaching and the virtual community it has created can unite users\ntogether, wherever they may be located (Charoensukmongkol, 2018). Many people\nwho are promoting the ideal life and body types explained earlier are not\nrealising the harm that they may be inflicting on the teenage users of\nFacebook. Facebook offers a \u201ccollaborative space for social interaction\u201d\nbetween large amounts of people (Makwana, Lee, Parkin & Farmer, 2018) but\nthe online community within Facebook needs to be careful with how they may\nportray themselves as it is leading to issues surrounding young girls and unfortunately,\nthe downside is that many parents may be unaware of the situation at hand and\nwhat is occurring online (Guinta & John, 2018). This means that these girls\nmay not be receiving any help to tackle their health issues. Facebook users can\nsometimes find it hard to control the time spent on the social networking site\nwhich can lead to problematic use (Satici & Uysal, 2015). Feelings of low\nself-esteem and severe depression are again linked to problematic Facebook use.\nSome online communities on Facebook are \u201cknown to break down barriers\u201d to help\nthose suffering with health problems (Owens, Sharkey, Smithson, Hewis, Emmens,\nFord & Jones, 2012), but in this case many are not seeing a problem with\nproblematic Facebook use by teenage girls and are ignoring the issue at hand.\nFacebook can seriously \u201cimpinge on an individual\u2019s well-being and mental\nhealth\u201d (Frost & Rickwood, 2017) and teenage girls are at the most serious\nrisk. Facebook is a key communicative tool, but in terms of helping those who\nare struggling, Facebook\u2019s online community \u201ccannot replace face-to-face\ncommunication\u201d (\u201cSocial media, screen time\u201d, 2019) among teenage girls.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poor use of social media by teenage\ngirls in today\u2019s society is presenting to be a prevalent issue that is not disappearing\nwith the further development of technology. Teenagers are vulnerable and are at\na higher risk to the effects of problematic social media use (Guinta &\nJohn, 2018) and are ultimately risking their health while using Facebook. With\nthese problems beginning online, it can be hard to tackle the effects and\nimpacts that these girls might be facing. The online community needs to start looking\ndeeper into the root causes of these issues and tackle them head on. Closer\ninspection of young girls on social media by the online community can help with\nmonitoring the impacts that may be occurring on their mental health. The\nadvances in technology have affected the way human beings communicate\neffectively (L. Wankel & C. Wankel, 2012), but the online Facebook community\ncan utilise the platform to help this group in certain ways to overcome mental\nhealth issues and those feelings of social isolation. The social media\ncommunity is far reaching, containing millions of users worldwide, if the\ncommunity works together to help reinforce positive social media use, young\ngirls may experience less feelings of social isolation and mental health issues.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook as a social media platform has\nproven to lead to poor health among young girls, their maturity levels mixed\nwith the extensive use of the platform is allowing these health risks to grow\n(Guinta & John, 2018). Young girls are at a higher risk of developing\nsocial isolation and mental health risks with the continued use of Facebook. Facebook\nhas given a new definition to what communicating means and provides people with\nonline connections with other users, but these connections can be problematic\nand lead to greater issues among this large community. Younger Facebook users\ncan find it hard to discern when problems may be occurring on the social media\nplatforms, making it easier for them to develop such health issues. This social\nnetworking site has created an entirely new atmosphere among the younger\ncommunity, which has allowed for them to communicate more easily but has\nallowed significant health risks to arise. There needs to be a greater\nawareness of the problems that these teenage girls are experiencing from both Facebook\nand the online community. Ensuring both the mental and physical health of our\nyounger generation, especially young girls on a platform such as Facebook, can\nensure the community is making the most of this social networking sites and\nlooking out for those who might be feeling the negative effects of Facebook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charoensukmongkol, P. (2018).\nThe Impact of Social Media on Social Comparison and Envy in Teenagers: The\nmoderating role of the parent comparing the children and in-group competition\namong friends. Journal of Child and Family Studies,<\/em> 27(1), 69-79.\nRetrieved from https:\/\/doi-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/10.1007\/s10826-017-0872-8<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cain, J. (2018). It\u2019s time to\nconfront student mental health issues associated with smartphones and social\nmedia. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education,<\/em> 82(7), 738-741.\nRetrieved from https:\/\/search-proquest-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/docview\/2120666330?accountid=10382<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clark L.S. (2005). The constant\nContact Generation: Exploring Teen Friendship Networks Online. In S.R.\nMazzarella, Girl Wide Web: Girls, The Internet and the Negotiation of Identity\n(pp. 203-221). New York, NY: Lang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frost, R.L., & Rickwood,\nD.J. (2017). A systemic review of the mental health outcomes associated with\nFacebook use. Computers in Human Behaviour<\/em>, 76, 576-600. Retrieved from https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/jchb.2017.08.001<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guinta, M.R., & John, R.M.\n(2018). Social Media and Adolescent Health. Pediatric Nursing<\/em>, 44(4),\n196-201. Retrieved from: http:\/\/search.ebscohost.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/login.aspx?diret=true&db=rzh&AN=131366570&site=ehost-live<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joo, T.M., & Teng, C.E.\n(2017). Impacts of Social Media (Facebook) on Human Communication and\nRelationships: A view on behavioural change and social unity. International\nJournal of Knowledge Content Development and Technology<\/em>, 7(4), 27-50. DOI:\n10.5865\/IJKCT.2017.7.4.027 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ilakkuvan, V., Johnson, A.,\nVillanti, A.C., Evans, D.W., & Turner, M. (2019). Patterns of Social Media\nuse and their Relationship to health risks among young adults. Journal of\nAdolescent Health,<\/em> 64(2), 158-164. Retrieved from https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2018.06.025<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Williams, R., & Ricciardelli,\nL. (2014). Social Media and Body Image Concerns: Further considerations and\nbroader perspectives. Sex Roles<\/em>, 71(11), 389-392. DOI:\n10.1007\/s11199-014-0429-x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abstract This paper explores Facebook as a social networking site that has allowed for communication among society but has also led to severe health risks among teenage girls such as social isolation, mental health and body image issues. The social networking site has become a large part of people\u2019s daily lives, particularly among young girls… Continue reading Facebook and Young Women: The Social Isolation and the Health Risks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[83,148,147,21,146],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social","tag-facebook","tag-online-community","tag-social-isolation","tag-social-media","tag-young-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions\/378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}