Free Essay Sample on How Social Media Can Affect Women's Mental and Physical Health

Purpose: To collect and analyze data to determine how the use of social media can impact the mental and physical health of women

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Example 1: Thesis Statement: women are social beings and can reduce their anxiety and derive comfort by connecting and sharing their emotions with other people. Social media help people connect with others and may help women deal with and improve their mental health

Example 2: Thesis Statement: Spending a lot of time on social media by women may result in them comparing themselves with other people they connect with. This creates feelings of frustration, sadness, and dissatisfaction with their lives. This has a negative impact on the mental health of a woman.

Example 3: Thesis Statement: Social media can help women improve the status of their mental and physical health

Research Questions

1. How has women's participation in social media by women changed over the last 20 years?
2. Has there been a change in the status of women's mental and physical health with an increase in the use of social media?
3. Is there a correlation between women's mental and physical health and the use of social media?

Main Points

1. The level of women's participation in social media has increased over the last 20 years
2. Social media has an impact on the status of mental and physical health
3. Signs that social media has an impact on mental health
4. Impacts of social media on the perception of physical health

The Rationale for Data Collection

A structured questionnaire will be prepared and administered to women aged between 13 years and 60 years. Interviews will also be conducted among ladies aged 13 years to 60 years. Data will be collected among women of this age gap in order to determine the usage of social media among the different generations. This will also help determine the impact of social media on different age gaps mental and physical health. It will also help in determining the status of mental and physical health before social media became popular. Secondary data will also be collected from journal articles, books, websites, and various research work results.

A descriptive method will be used to analyze the data collected. Linear regress will also be used to analyze the impact of social media on women's mental and physical health.

Sources

Canady, V. A. (2018). Survey explores social media, mental well-being among youth. Mental Health Weekly, 28(29), 3-4. doi:10.1002/mhw.31535

The use of social media can help young people to find support and help when they are depressed. The study found that social media can positively impact young people's mental health due to the presence of readily available information. The study will be important in the literature review in discussing the impacts of social media o mental health.

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38-45. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002

Spending time on social media can affect a woman's mood. The moods differ on the site where they are spending most of the time. The study spending a lot of time on Facebook affected women's moods negatively instead of spending time on a controlled website. After spending time on Facebook, women would compare their body appearance, hair texture, and facial structure. The study recommended the need to investigate the impact of social media on the concerns that women had on their appearance. I will use this paper in the literature review as I discuss the various effects of social media on the state of mental health after using social media.

Glazzard, J., & Stones, S. (2020). Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health. Selected Topics in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. doi:10.5772/intechopen.88569

Social media can affect the mental health of a person in both a negative and positive manner. The paper outlines the role that schools, parents, advertising companies, and social media can play in protecting young people from social media's harmful effects. I will use this paper to refer to the impact of social media on young women's mental health. I will compare the finds of this paper and what I will find in my research.

Krcmar, M., & Cingel, D. P. (2019). Exploring Relationships Between Gender, Social Media Use, and Young Adults' Well-being. Race/Gender/Class/Media, 33-36. doi:10.4324/9781351630276-7

The use of social media can reduce the social connectedness and psychological welfare of young people. However, this impact may be different between male and female social media users. The study found that the use of specific media lowered self-esteem, life satisfaction, and young women's mental well-being. This article will be used in comparing the findings of my research on the impact of social media on the mental state of young women and the results of this paper.

Pantic, I. (2014). Online Social Networking and Mental Health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(10), 652-657. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0070

Prolonged social media use can increase signs of depression in the user, but it is not clear if the use can lead to psychiatric conditions. The study reviews various studies and compares their results regarding the mental state after using social media. This study will be useful for my research as it will help evaluate the multiple impacts of using social media sites on a person's physical and mental health.

Want, S. C. (2009). Meta-analytic moderators of experimental exposure to media portrayals of women on female appearance satisfaction: Social comparisons as automatic processes. Body Image, 6(4), 257-269. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.07.008

The use of social media can result in body comparison appearance by women. The study found that social media can affect the satisfaction level of body appearance by women. This study will be necessary for the current research as it shows how social media can affect physical and mental health.