The dark side of social media on youth mental health

Media influences and conventional beauty standards have long plagued society. This issue took on new urgency in May 2023 when the U.S. surgeon general issued a major public advisory over the links between social media and youth mental health. Research shows that images of beauty as depicted in movies, television and magazines can lead to mental illness, issues with disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction. These trends have been documented in women and men, in the LGBTQ+ community and in people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Experts have long suspected that social media ma...