James Donaldson on Mental Health - How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers

Stalking (and being ignored) Another big change that has come with new technology and especially smart phones is that we are never really alone .

Kids update their status, share what they’re watching, listening to, and reading, and have apps that let their friends know their specific location on a map at all times.

Even if a person isn’t trying to keep his friends updated, he’s still never out of reach of a text message.

The result is that kids feel hyperconnected with each other.

The conversation never needs to stop, and it feels like there’s always something new happening.

“Whatever we think of the ‘relationships’ maintained and in some cases initiated on social media, kids never get a break from them,” notes Dr.

“And that, in and of itself, can produce anxiety.

Everyone needs a respite from the demands of intimacy and connection; time alone to regroup, replenish and just chill out.

When you don’t have that, it’s easy to become emotionally depleted, fertile ground for anxiety to breed.” It’s also surprisingly easy to feel lonely in the middle of all that hyperconnection.

For one thing, kids now know with depressing certainty when they’re being ignored.