Before uploading a picture to her Instagram, freshman Brooke Seib opens her “editing folder” on her iPhone. In it, she taps FaceTune, an application used to edit and enhance physical image.
After using the “whiten” effect on her teeth, and “brightness” effect on the background, Seib uploads the picture.
“Sometimes I get a little carried away.” Seib said. “It ends up being forty minutes and I’m still staring at the same picture, deciding on last touches.”
Social media is a growing addiction in high schoolers — one that’s causing depression and anxiety, according to psychologist Dr. Claire Barron. Teens internalize what they see on social media, according to Tamara Finlen, a clinical social worker at Behavioral Health Specialists.
While social media can be a positive outlet for connecting with others, it is magnifying many students’ insecurities.
According to Finlen, social media offers an artificial gratification. She says that receiving a number of likes on an Instagram post, or Snapchatting the “right” people can be deceivingly rewarding.
She describes the feeling as a momentary “high” or a social ego boost, drawing the kids in even more. At East, students like freshman Stella McKinney value “likes” on an Instagram post, and take them to heart.
“If no one likes your post, then that tells you if you should delete the picture, or keep it up,” McKinney said.
According to a new study on the U.S National Library of Medicine website, receiving “likes” on social media activates the same circuits in the teenage brain that are activated by eating chocolate or winning money.
To sophomore Will Mohr, boys and girls don’t share the same behavior on Instagram. Some behavior, like posting too often or commenting on other pictures is less masculine — less acceptable for a boy using social media. According to Mohr, a boy has to be careful what he posts, if he doesn’t want to be made fun of.
Junior Mallory Frank “follows” Alexis Ren, despite the insecurity Frank feels when looking at the famous model sporting bikinis and lingerie.
“I wonder, ‘how does she look like that?’ and ‘What do I have to do to look like that?” Frank said.
These are the subconscious thoughts that cause depression, according to Finlen.
“Rationally, we know no one has a perfect life,” Finlen said. “But teens internalize that their lives are horrible because all they see [are] all these great things people are doing. With that comes depression.”
Sophomore Lizzie Macadam resents the patterns she notices on social media. The way clothes must be perfect or too unnatural of a pose backfires, because it puts out a false impression. Macadam believes her friends would be happier if they didn’t waste time on finding the picture that will receive the most likes.
“I don’t like how people try to be someone they’re not,” MacAdam said.
Barron also believes people who change themselves physically for a post are giving a false impression to the world, reflective of self image issues and further leading into depression.
However, sophomore Camille Talkington believes social media can be positive in moderation. When a sophomore Alex Carney died in a car crash earlier this year, a vigil was organized and the word was spread through social media. In less than a day, hundreds of students and parents had received notice of the event.
Finlen agrees that there are positives. Apps like GroupMe help students with homework, and social media can connect students with babysitting jobs.
But some days sophomore Delaney Calvert falls asleep in class – or gets a 40 percent on a physical science test because Snapchat or Instagram claims her attention. Off the top of her head, Calvert can recite her Instagram statistics: 1,810 followers, following 1,282.
Studying can often feel impossible when she has notifications rolling in every few seconds. She’ll take a 30-minute break every 15 minutes.
In addition to its impact on mental health, social media can distract from school and sleep, Barron said.
English teacher Melanie Miller keeps a purple storage box by her desk, scotch tape labeled with “phone hiatus.” The idea is to confiscate a phone if it’s visible in class, but when thirty kids have glued eyes to their iPhones, Miller decided the phone hiatus lost its authority.
“Whatever a teacher does, it probably won’t be as interesting as what your friends have to say on Instagram,” Miller said.
She believes media like Twitter and constantly Snapchatting are designed for addiction, and her teaching can’t compete with it. Teen addiction to social media is a never-ending addictive loop affecting 50 percent of teens, according to Newportacademy.com. They keep coming back for more, whether their emotional response is good or bad.
Barron sees teenagers unable to tear away from their bright, stimulating screens. She notices four kids at a restaurant, all separately glued to their devices, which she believes is anxiety provoking behavior, because kids are losing normal down time.
“Kids are connecting to an artificial world that appears to be more important than the real world,” Barron said.
Some students are making changes because they see the negativity social media is causing them. Junior Jana Banerjea deleted her Instagram account after feeling like her number of likes measured her value.
To Banerjea, Instagram was stocked with gorgeous people posing at parties, on vacation — pictures she didn’t feel were genuine.
“I think it’s toxic to feel like you always have to be like everybody else,” Banerjea said.
After she deleted the social networking app, Banerjea feels she’s been able see what’s around her more. Without reaching for her phone constantly, she notices how attached people around her are to their phones.
“Everything in moderation,” Finlen said. “We have a lot to live, it’s not just about social media.”