By Ella Seo
Introduction
In an increasingly digital world, the mental health of adolescents can be reflected in their interactions on social networking sites (SNS). As adolescence represents a pivotal transitional period characterized by changing dynamics in social relationships, the transferal of in-person connections to online spheres in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant development in teen mental mental health. While excessive social media use during the lockdowns led to an increase in cyberbullying (highlighted in Canada’s updated criminal code) and eating disorders (explored through mukbang, or ‘escapist eating’ in South Korea), the types of SNS interactions adolescents engage in—comparative social media use and more passive, autonomous enjoyment—are critical to identifying its positive and negative effects of social media on adolescent health. To examine the impact of social media usage on teen mental health during the pandemic, this study utilizes a comparative analysis of surveillance and harm within social media consumption in South Korea and Canada. For South Korean and Canadian adolescents, the distinction between active and passive social media use and the degree of online autonomy can define the level of harm to mental stability, emphasizing the importance of autonomous social media consumption in ‘safe digital spaces.’
In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia of an unknown origin was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China (Ciotti et al., 2021). The World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 12, 2020, due to the airborne nature of SARS-CoV-2, its high level of worldwide transmission, and the thousands of deaths brought on by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Measures enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic included closing public recreation sites, shutting down schools and universities, implementing quarantine policies, and strictly enforcing "social distancing" to prevent any in-person interactions (Andrews et al., 2020). In addition to physical, economic and social implications, the pervasive psychological impacts of the pandemic remain key sociological factors. In a case study focusing upon youths aged 10 to 19, this article will examine the effects on the restrictions on in-person connectiviness held on adolescent mental health.
Adolescent mental health is shaped by the transitional period between late childhood and early adulthood. As adolescence is characterized by an increase in group interactions and social relationships, and a decrease in parental control (Lerner and Steinberg, 2004), the independent connections adolescents form during this time period become highly important. Generation Z, commonly seen as “digital natives,” do not remember a time before the Internet existed (Ilaria et al., 2021), with digital consumption having a high relevance in their lives. Moreover, recent studies show that the brain goes through a remodeling process that facilitates the development of social cognitive skills during this period (Choudhury et al., 2006). In 2020, “social distancing” shifted the methods which teens interacted with, resulting in an explosion of an already-escalating adolescent social media use. Figure 1 (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019) depicts the social media landscape just before the pandemic.
Figure 1. Number of People Using Social Media From 2004 Until the End of 2019 (2019).
Even before COVID-19, mental illnesses were highly prevalent amongst South Korean and Canadian teens. Hong (2011) observed that in 2011, 35.8% of South Korean adolescents experienced mental health issues, while Gallson (2019) revealed that 18% of Canadian adolescents suffered from a mental illness or substance abuse problem during pre-pandemic. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced a period of “emotional crisis” (Lee et al., 2021, para. 19), with research finding that increased social media use during the lockdowns correlated with a rise in cyberbullying, eating disorders, and depression and anxiety (Kee, Al-Anesi, and Al-Anesi, 2022; Cooper et al., 2020; Magson et al., 2020). As well, scholars have differentiated between two types of social media engagement: active, comparative use, examples including obsessively counting likes, comparing profiles, and determining personal worth, and passive, autonomous enjoyment, including reviewing pleasing content, and connecting with friends. These separate forms of online consumption have been found to have generated distinct positive and negative impacts on teens.
To detail the variation within adolescent mental health before, during, and after the pandemic, this study utilizes a comparative analysis of surveillance and harm within social media consumption in South Korea and Canada. For South Korean and Canadian adolescents, the distinction between active and passive social media use and the degree of online autonomy can define the level of harm to mental stability, emphasizing the importance of autonomous social media consumption in ‘safe digital spaces.’
Body Perception
Body Perception and Social Media
Adolescents often face a disconnect between their self-image and actual image—this discrepancy is exacerbated on apps such as Instagram. According to Lupu (2012), society and its cultural offsets define a set criteria that differentiates an “ideal” body from a “not ideal” body (p. 771). Body perception has also been further skewed by social media, which encourages the use of image filters and editing to create unattainable standards. Moreover, pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia content is common on platforms such as Twitter (although hidden in cryptic hashtags) (Ilaria et al., 2021), and can increase eating disordered behaviors via like-minded communities. Through social media use, the line between surveillance and self-harm amongst teenagers blurs, particularly when triggering existing eating disorders or eating disordered thoughts. However, experiences related to body perceptions can differ between adolescents, depending on their initial mental health state.
Body Image in South Korea
In South Korea, adolescent body standards are often shaped by media consumption. According to Yassin (2021), 10% of adolescents in Asia have eating disorders, much of which developed from active use of social media platforms, such as the Korean application Kakao. Common Kakao trends, like mukbang, provide voyeuristic entertainment for teens, depicting individuals filming themselves, eating massive quantities of food, creating an experience of "vicarious eating." This "escapist eating" could encourage behaviors such as binge eating, purging, or restricting, developing into eating disorders, which may be triggering content for those with existing symptoms or previous histories with such conditions.
Body Perception in Canada
Amongst Canadian adolescents, comparative viewing on social networking sites (SNS) can increase negative body perceptions. According to Santarossa and Woodruff (2017), social comparisons on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook increase body image dissatisfaction; body image construction is linked to social media activities, such as commenting on other profiles or engaging with content. Where the type of interactions on SNS (comparing profiles, likes, or comments, etc.) can shape their effect on adolescent body images, studies find that interactive social media use can be more harmful than passive use (Santarossa and Woodruff, 2017). Yet, as found by Alberga et al. (2018), prior to the pandemic, fitspiration, or positive, inspirational messages and/or images surrounding health and fitness became popular, as well. This shows that the type of content that teens consume can be just as important as the kinds of interactions (passive or comparative) that adolescents practice. On SNS, the distinction between obsessive and more passive consumption defined the mental health experiences of Canadian adolescents during lockdowns.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying and Social Media
Cyberbullying is defined as harassment using communication technologies such as electronic mail, smartphones, short message devices, or social media platforms. Chatzakou et al. (2019) find that over half of younger social media users have experienced online harassment at some point. Cyberbullying's autonomous nature, as discussed by Hamm et al. (2015), can intensify its especially detrimental impacts on adolescents. The harmful nature of these attacks can initiate victims’ depression and/or anxiety. By violating safe online spaces, adolescents experiencing cyberbullying during the pandemic may have suffered more extreme consequences due to them being unable to separate their online and offline spheres.
Cyberbullying in South Korea
In South Korea, cyberbullying narratives often focus on the offline experiences of victims. According to Lee (2016), cyberbullying can be broken down into distinct methods: “cybermoyok/bibang (insults); cybermyungye-hweson (defamation); cyberstalking; cybersungpokryuk (sexting); gaeinjungbo-youchul (personal information drain); cybergangyo (coercion); and cyberttadolim (exclusion), cybergorophim (harassment), or cyber wang-ta” (p. 151). In South Korea, the most common form of cyberbullying is “cybersungpokryuk (sexting)” (Lee 2016, 155). Furthermore, Shin and Choi (2021) found that in the country, cyberbullying increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting transition of social communication to online spaces. To protect the mental health of adolescent students, teachers should protect the autonomous interactions of students online and keep online spaces ‘safe spaces.’
Cyberbullying in Canada
Canada’s Criminal Code, updated in 2021, outlines legal consequences to cyberbullying that violates online spaces. According to Espelage and Hong (2016), the suicides of two teenagers in 2013, Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons, sparked widespread attention to the public health issue. As both cases were linked to sexual assault and sexual abuse, Canada’s stance against cyberbullying speaks to a decision to separate the overlap between online and in-person harassment. In her Canadian study, Beran et al. (2017), the authors find that cyber-relationships parallel the dynamics of in-school peer interactions. Although Canada’s cyberbullying rates are comparable to the rest of the world (Beran et al., 2017), the criminalization of cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic speaks to the necessity of viewing online interactions as a part of large sociological trends. And with increased anti-cyberbullying campaigns during the lockdowns, Canada acknowledges the intersection between online and offline dimensions during COVID-19.
Global Positive Aspects of Social Media Use
Given the risks associated with adolescent use of digital media, it is critical to examine aspects of SNS that contribute to adolescent mental health. Social media use can serve as humor and entertainment, identity exploration, and creative expression.Social connections are also crucial advantages of SNS; in Clark et al.’s (2018) international survey, 77% of adolescents reported that social media was important for keeping up with friends, and 69% stated that it allowed them to have meaningful conversations with close friends. While acknowledging the harmful associations between body image and SNS (Santarossa and Woodruff, 2017), it is also relevant to note that #ProRecovery hashtags dominate platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. While cyberbullying can exacerbate depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies, digital media algorithms can detect signals of mental illness, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicidal thoughts. To global adolescents, social media can be harmful or helpful—the degree of harm involved is dependent on varying ways adolescents engage in content; either from a lens of comparison or the desire to connect.
Conclusion
According to Uhls, Ellison, and Subrahmanyam (2017), “Identity exploration, or the search for a coherent sense of self, takes place online as well as offline (p. 68).”The adolescent social media landscapes in South Korea and Canada reflect crucial stages of cross-cultural identity formation. While obsessive, unwanted, or comparative behavior on SNS can lead to negative impacts on adolescent mental health, utilizing SNS to engage in meaningful content or social relationships can lead to the construction of positive, ‘safe online spaces’ during the instability of the COVID-19 pandemic. As this study examines the overlap between online and offline spheres through the lens of body image and cyberbullying, future researchers should further explore the intersection between mental illness and recovery on social-networking sites..
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