Instagram detrimental to teens' mental health, research shows – KFYR

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – While many adults get their social media fix from Facebook, teenagers are more drawn to Instagram. Recent reporting from the Wall Street Journal shows Instagram can be harmful to teenagers’ mental health.Elsie and Haylie have many things in common: they’re both freshmen in college, they’re both 18, and they both spend ample amounts of time on Instagram.”Every day,” said Haylie Gramling, a freshman at Bismarck State College.”Like, every other hour probably,” said Elsie Marchuk, her classmate.Haylie says she’s seen firsthand the impact the social media site can have on mental health.”You know, you look at somebody else’s post and you’re like, ‘Oh, they have a lot of likes,’ then you look at yours and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s not a lot of likes.’ So you have to focus on that and that brings you down. And you’re like, ‘Well what makes them better than you?’ Or like the comment section. So I think it’s very detrimental to people’s mental health,” said Haylie.This is apparently something Facebook — the parent company to Instagram — has known for several years. Experts in North Dakota say spending too much time on social media can affect various parts of your…
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